Newly acquired Navy vessel from US arriving

By Jaime Laude
Philippine Star, Sunday, July 17, 2011

Manila, Philippines - The Philippine Navy’s newly acquired cutter from the United States (US) Coast Guard is arriving in the country in three weeks’ time and after some refinements will be immediately deployed to secure the country’s territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea. Navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama said yesterday.

Pama flew to California yesterday in time for tomorrow’s sendoff of BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15) for a long voyage home, with stopovers in Hawaii and Guam for replenishment.

“The sendoff will signal the last activities for BRP Gregorio del Pilar in the US and to start its journey to the Philippines,” Pama said.

He said Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr., US Coast Guard Pacific Area and Defense Force West commander Vice Admiral Manson Brown and Philippine defense and Armed Forces attaché to the US Navy Capt. Antonio Habulan Jr. will be around during the official sendoff ceremony.

Aside from the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the government is also shopping for additional military assets in the US in line with the capability upgrade program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), to be used for its territorial defense amid the increasing tension in the West Philippine Sea brought about overlapping claims over the Spratlys.

A former USCG cutter, the Hamilton Class vessel, which is also classified as Weather High Endurance Cutter (WHEC), will first undergo refinements in its weapon and electronic systems upon its arrival before its deployment for maritime security operations in Palawan.

To accommodate the newly acquired PF-15, Pama said the Navy is putting up a naval base in Hulugan Bay fronting the West Philippine Sea, which will serve at the vessel’s homeport.

The scheduled deployment of PF-15 in the West Philippine Sea is expected to further boost the Navy’s platform in the hotly contested region to include maritime security operations for the Malampaya project west of Palawan.

“The Philippine Navy intends to use this multi-mission vessel for operations such as maritime security patrols and search and rescue. But more importantly, it will be deployed to aid in the maritime security of the Malampaya project,”Pama said.

While PF-15 is classified as a WHEC in the US, the Philippine Navy has refitted and refurbished it as a surface combatant ship with a type code of “P” for patrol and is further classified as a frigate with a type code of “F,” hence the designation of “PF.”

The vessel is powered by combined diesel engines and gas turbines and is equipped with a helicopter flight deck, a retractable hangar, and facilities to support helicopter operations.

With a total length of 378 feet, 42 inches beam, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar will be the Navy’s flagship.

philstar.com

New Logistics chief assumes post

By Zaida delos Reyes-Palanca
journal Online, Sunday, July 17, 2011

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has a new deputy chief of staff for Logistics, J4 in the person of former commander of the Naval Forces West (Nav-forwest) in Palawan Commodore Edgardo D. Tamayo.

In a simple turn-over ceremony held in the AFP Conference Room, Commo. Tamayo succeded Commo. Teddy O. Pan who will retire from his military service today, July 17.

In his speech, Tamayo asked the cooperation of the Logistics family and the support of the command in performing his responsibilities in the office.

“Sama-sama tayo at magtulungan para sa tamang proseso at pagtungo sa matuwid na daan,” Tamayo said.

Tamayo has been serving the Armed Forces for 31 years now since he joined the Philippine Navy after graduating from the Philippine Military Academy in 1980.

Before serving as the commander of the Navforwest, Tamayo served as the commander of Service Force Philippine Fleet (PHLFLT), the deputy commander of the Naval Forces Central located in Visayas, commander, Naval Task Force 71 in Eastern Mindanao, deputy commander of the Patrol Force PHLFLT, chief of staff of the Naval Sea Systems Command and commanding officer of five Commissioned Vessels the last of which was BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS-37).

Tamayo signified the importance of working together as one unit which shall share the same goal of fulfilling the mandate to protect the best interest of the Filipino nation while upholding a transparent and credible service in the military.

“Let me now profess on this spot, with all the officers enlisted personnel and civilian employees of the AFP and the logistic family, that we should all together pledge to dedicate and rededicate our unwavering commitment to work towards common purpose in order to accomplish our tasks,” Tamayo said.

“Individually, we cannot do much but collectively, we can do a lot and produce better results,” he added.

www.journal.com.ph

AFP assigns new deputy for logistics

ABS-CBN News, Saturday, July 16, 2011

MANILA, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has already replaced the deputy chief of staff for logistics who was investigated over the questionable procurement of petroleum and lubricants.

AFP public affairs officer-in-charge Maj. Enrico Gil Ileto said Commodore Edgardo Tamayo was named new deputy chief of staff for logistics 3 months after the relief of his predecessor, Commodore Teddy Pan.

Pan was probed over the alleged irregular procurement of P400 million worth of petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL).

He was also questioned for the POL’s alleged conversion and the unauthorized distribution of fleet cards.

AFP spokesman Commodore Miguel Jose Rodriguez later disclosed that Pan was already cleared of all the allegations.

Pan's successor Tamayo, meanwhile, sought the cooperation of the AFP’s logistics division.

"I seek the cooperation of the logistics family and the support of the Command in the gigantic tasks and enormous responsibilities of the office. Sama-sama tayo at magtulungan para sa tamang proseso at pagtungo sa matuwid na daan," he said.

Tamayo was the commander of the Navy's Philippine Fleet Service Force. He was also the deputy commander of the Naval Forces Central; Naval Task Force 71; and Patrol Force of the Philippine Fleet.

He also served as chief of staff of the Naval Sea Systems Command aside from being the commanding officer of 5 ships.

www.abs-cbnnews.com

Aquino's developer turns out to be Malaysian

By Joyce Pangco Pañares
Manila Standard Today, Saturday, June 9, 2011

A GOVERNMENT-backed Malaysian developer has emerged as the proponent of the redevelopment of the Philippine Navy headquarters along Roxas Boulevard that President Aquino announced in his State-of-the-Nation Address last year.

According to a Philippine Navy briefing paper, no less than Malaysian Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Bin Hamidi wrote Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin to push the proposal of Malaysian Resources Corp. Berhad to award the lease not only of the Navy headquarters but also of the Sangley naval base.

The Malaysian defense minister, in his letter to Gazmin in January this year, proposed that the Roxas Boulevard and Sangley redevelopment be pursued “through a government-to-government arrangement under the ambit of the RP-Malaysia Defense Cooperation,” the Navy briefing paper said.

The Malaysian developers want to turn the Navy headquarters into a mixed-use development and build a bigger shipbuilding yard out of the Sangley base in Cavite.

Contrary to Mr. Aquino’s pronouncement that the proponent was willing to pay $100 million to lease the Navy property, a Malaysian delegation said their proposal offered no such payment and was instead based on profit-sharing.

According to the Navy briefing paper, Gazmin in turn told the Malaysian delegation that the Finance Department was “not supportive” of their proposal.

It wasn’t clear what the Finance Department’s objections were to the Malaysian proposal, which turned out to have been substituted from a Singapore-led consortium, First Link, when the first unsolicited proposal was submitted to the Philippine Navy in April 2010.

manilastandardtoday.com