Navy Seabees constructing 'starshell' on Patag Island

By Jaime Laude
Philippine Star,Sunday, July 31, 2011

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Navy (PN) is about to finish construction of a second star shell-like structure on Patag Island in the Spratlys, which is intended to shelter and protect troops guarding and securing the country’s maritime domain in the hotly-contested West Philippine Sea from inclement weather.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, in the meantime, is eagerly awaiting the US Hamilton-class ship acquired by the PN, which stopped in Hawaii yesterday for refueling before continuing its voyage to Manila.

The Navy’s 3rd Naval Mobile Construction Battalion is now nearing completion of the “Star Shell,” construction of which was started in late May, according to the the PN’s Naval Construction Brigade.

Once completed, Patag Island, the sixth largest among the nine islands being occupied by Filipino troops in the West Philippine Sea, will complement another star shell facility constructed by the Navy for the troops deployed in the area.

The islet has a land area of 5,700 square meters and is also being claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan.

The construction is aimed at improving the living conditions of the troops and was done way ahead of the brewing tensions among Spratlys claimant-countries.

The island is considered highly strategic, as it is located within the vicinity of Recto Bank where local and foreign partners have been conducting oil drilling exploration operations.

Recto Bank, which is within the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEC), is believed to be sitting on huge natural gas and oil deposits.

At present, a 25-man strong Seabees groups headed by Lt. Armelito Alcazar are still in Patag Island building the structure, using pre-fabricated materials brought in by the Navy’s BRP Laguna (LT 501) from Cavite.

The AFP has also programmed the repair and rehabilitation of the Rancudo Airfield in the Pag-Asa Island, the biggest island in the Kalaayan Island Group (KIG), to be able to accommodate C-130 military planes and other civilian aircraft.

AFP spokesman Commodore Miguel Rodriguez said the US Hamilton-class ship will proceed to another port in Guam before proceeding to the Philippines.

“According to the Filipino community in the area, they are giving BRP Gregorio del Pilar a warm reception. We are excited about this,” Rodriguez said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

“It is not a voyage per se so there are a lot of trainings. Even the crew members want to familiarize themselves with the ship,” he added.

Rodriguez said the ship would complement the skills of Navy personnel, whom he described as “among the best in the world.”

A total of 95 Navy personnel are manning the US Hamilton-class cutter that will arrive in Manila in three weeks.

The ship would be used to secure the natural resources and the Malampaya energy projects in the West Philippine Sea. The transfer cost has been pegged at P450 million while the operational cost for two years is estimated at P120 million. A cutter is a high-speed vessel that can cut through waves.

The newly acquired ship is the Navy’s first Hamilton-class cutter and would become its largest vessel.

www.philstar.com

12 Vietnamese fisherman rescued after boat sinks

Times Live, Friday, July 29,2011

A Philippine fishing boat rescued 12 Vietnamese fishermen whose vessel sank in the country's western waters, says a navy spokesmen.

The Vietnamese fishermen were found on Thursday off Roxas town in Palawan province, 630 kilometres south-west of Manila, said Lieutenant Colonel Omar Tonsay, a spokesman at the navy headquarters.

"The rescued Vietnamese appear to be in good physical condition," he said.

The rescued man told investigators they were fishing in Malaysian waters when their boat encountered engine trouble and they began to drift, said Lieutenant Noel Cadigal, a regional navy spokesman.

Cadigal added that according to the Vietnamese, their boat eventually sank while they were taking shelter near the Philippine coast from bad weather.

They were found stranded on a rocky outcrop by local fishermen, who turned them over to the navy on Friday.

The spokesman said authorities were verifying the fishermen's accounts and determining if they trespassed into Philippine territory and were fishing illegally.

www.timeslive.co.za

Newest Philippine Navy Ship Gets Aloha Welcome

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Mark Logico
Commander Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs, Thursday, July 28, 2011

PEARL HARBOR (Jul. 27, 2011) - Members of the Hawaii Filipino community welcome Philippine navy Capt. Alberto Cruz, commanding officer of the Philippine navy frigate BRP Gregorio del Pilar which arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for a scheduled port visit. (U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Mark Logico)

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - More than a hundred Filipino-Americans and other well-wishers welcomed the Philippine Navy's newest ship, BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15), as it arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH), July 27 for a brief port visit.

Commanded by Capt. Alberto A. Cruz, Gregorio del Pilar left Alameda, Calif. on July 18 to make its maiden voyage to the Republic of the Philippines where it will join the Philippine Fleet. Gregorio del Pilar is a former U.S. Coast Guard cutter, USCGC Hamilton (WHEC 715). As a multi-mission surface combatant ship, it becomes the first gas-turbine jet engine-powered vessel in the Philippine Navy Fleet.

"This is very historic moment," said Col. Restituto Padilla, the Filipino military liaison assigned at U.S. Pacific Command. "That's why we have the Filipino community here in force. This is the first time a Philippine Navy ship pulls into historic Pearl Harbor. Coupled with that, this is the first Philippine Navy ship that is gas-turbine. In these two instances, they are milestones. I hope this will be followed through by many more ship visits to historic Pearl Harbor in the months and years to come."

Navy Region Hawaii Command Master Chief Marc Sibal rallied the Filipino-American community in Hawaii to the JBPHH piers to greet the ship. Members of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marines and Coast Guard also attended the event.

"I feel proud, very proud of it," said Sibal. "Even if I'm serving in the U.S. Navy, I'm still Filipino by culture and by heart. It's nice to see the Philippine Navy modernize their fleet. We are very uplifted, and I think everybody is very honored to have this ship pull into Pearl Harbor, to a historic place like Pearl Harbor."

Sibal, who previously served as Seventh Fleet Command Master Chief, said that the relationship between the U.S. and the Republic of the Philippines remains strong and that the ship is an example of the well-built relationship between the two countries.

Prior to taking command of the ship, 74 members of the Philippine Navy underwent two months of intensive hands-on training aboard USCGC Boutwell (WHEC 719), the sister ship of the Hamilton. While aboard Boutwell, the crew traveled to Colombia, Ecuador and El Salvador, participating in multiple missions including the interdiction of drug smugglers.

"Our partnership with the United States has been here for so many years," said Padilla. "It's getting stronger through the years. I hope this will mark a new era, as we embrace new challenges. As new security environments emerge, our partnership with the United States would get even stronger and become more relevant in the years to come."

Deputy Consul General Paul Cortes, of the Philippine Consulate in Honolulu; Capt. Jeffrey James, commander of JBPHH; and Capt. William Johnson, commanding officer of USS Lake Erie (CG 70), host ship during the port visit, were also at the pier to welcome the ship.

During the three-day port visit, Gregorio del Pilar will take on supplies and fuel, hold a reception hosted by the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu and the Philippine Celebrations Coordinating Committee of Hawaii (PCCCH), and visit the USS Arizona Memorial. A social media "tweetup" is being planned during the ship's visit. A Catholic Mass will be conducted prior to their departure.

Gregorio del Pilar and USS Reuben James (FFG 57) are scheduled to conduct a Passing Exercise (PASSEX) off the coast of Hawaii next week. PASSEX is an exercise designed to increase interoperability between the two navies, while enhancing the strong cooperative relationship.

United States Pacific Command

On board the BRP Gregorio del Pilar

By Rodel Rodis

Inquirer, Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Philippines has only a WW II vintage frigate, the Rajah Humabon, to use right now to defend the country against an attack from China’s formidable armada which includes an aircraft carrier, 21 destroyers, 68 submarines, 42 modern frigates and 760 ships. But help is on the way. In three weeks, the 378-foot Hamilton-class cutter BRP Gregorio Del Pilar will arrive in the Philippines where it will be dispatched to the Kalayaan Island Group of the Spratly Islands to defend this “Tirad Pass” from foreign invaders.

Imagine the Philippine David with its cutter slingshot against the China Goliath.

The BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the biggest ship ever to be acquired by the Philippine Navy, will be manned by a full complement of 180 officers and crew, 95 of whom were recently trained in the San Francisco Bay Area at Coast Guard Island in Alameda.

Before it was purchased by the Philippine government from the US for $13 million this May, the cutter, which was built in 1968, was largely used by the US Coast Guard for drug and migrant interdiction, law enforcement and defense readiness. As a multi-mission Surface Combatant Ship (SCS), the first gas-turbine jet engine-powered vessel in its fleet, the Philippine Navy plans to deploy it for operations in the West Philippine Sea.

On the eve of the ship’s departure for the Philippines from its Alameda base this July 17, I attended a Mass officiated on the ship by Fr. Mark Reburiano. Before Holy Communion was served, Philippine Navy Flag Officer in Command Vice Admiral Alexander Pama spoke to thank the members of the Filipino American community.

“You warmly welcomed them in your homes, you fed them and you made them feel at home” he said. “We want you all to be proud of our Philippine Navy which represents not only the Filipino people but Filipinos everywhere.”

“We may face insurmountable odds when we return to the Philippines,” he added, “but at the end of the day, it is people who are the decisive factors in any conflict and I want you all to know that we have people of outstanding quality in our navy.”

After the Mass, we joined the officers and crew at the ship’s mess hall for their final dinner in the United States. We watched the video of the May 13, 2011 turnover ceremonies attended by Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia, Jr. and US Coast Guard Vice Admiral Manson K. Brown.

The highlight of the turnover rites was the departure of the US Coast Guard crew from the ship as the US flag was lowered and the raising of the Philippine flag on the ship as 21 members of the Philippine Navy, who had been in training in the US since February 25, 2011, boarded the ship to take command.

On the following day, 74 additional members of the Philippine Navy arrived to undergo training on the Philippine Navy’s newest ship.

The BRP Gregorio Del Pilar crew includes three female officers: Dr. Joanne Cornista, the Chief Medical officer; Ensign Lolit Gonzales; and Lt. Junior Grade Andrelee Mojica, the Damage Control Officer who happens to be the first female valedictorian of the Philippine Military Academy (Class of 2007).

At the helm of the BRP Gregorio del Pilar is Navy Captain Alberto Cruz, (PMA Class of 1988) who along with his Executive Officer, Navy Commander Reynaldo Lopez (PMA Class of 1992) arrived in Alameda on February 25, 2011 together with a specially selected crew of 19 other officers and enlisted men/engineers (the “crème de la crème”) of the Philippine Navy.

They underwent intensive hands-on training on board the USCGC Boutwell, the sister ship of the USCGC Hamilton, for two months traveling to Colombia, Ecuador and El Salvador to interdict drug smugglers. With no access to the telephone or the Internet, the crew later told reporter Gemma Nemenzo, they felt like “the lost command”. Worse torture for some of them—the steady diet of potatoes, meat, potatoes and more potatoes. No rice.

At our dinner at the Officers’ Mess Hall on July 17, I sat down with Vice-Admiral Pama who had flown in from Manila just the day before to formally issue the orders to Capt. Cruz. He candidly expressed relief that the Philippine Navy was finally getting attention from the national government after years of neglect.

We recalled Pres. Noynoy Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 26, 2010 when he said: “We have 36,000 nautical miles of shoreline, but we only have 32 boats. These boats are as old as the time of (US General Douglas) MacArthur.”

While Pres. PNoy Aquino has been hammered by his critics for lack of accomplishments during his first year in office, PNoy quietly found the government funds to purchase the Hamilton cutter from the US government and is negotiating to acquire even more de-commissioned cutters.

Vice-Admiral Pama shared that the decision to name the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar was no fluke. Philippine Navy officers were keenly aware of the heroic exploits of the “Boy General” who led his Filipino soldiers to victory in the Battle of Quingua on April 23, 1899 against the US forces of Col. John Stotsenburg. With the US forces breathing down on Philippine President Emilo Aguinaldo’s trail, Gen. Del Pilar and 60 Filipino soldiers defended Tirad Pass for five hours against the vastly superior 33rd Infantry Regiment led by Gen. Peyton March before he and his men were killed by the foreign invaders.

On Monday, July 18, we attended the send-off ceremonies at Alameda as Vice Admiral Pama officially issued the order to Capt. Cruz to depart for the Philippines. I then joined the Filipino-American community in shaking the hands of each of the 95 officers and crew of the BRP del Pilar to wish them each Godspeed. As I shook their hands and looked in their eyes, I worried that they may be the first casualties of a war with China over the Spratlys.

The Filipino American community has scheduled a national Day of Prayer for Peace in the Spratlys for Sunday, August 21, the 28th anniversary of Ninoy Aquino’s assassination, to pray for the peaceful and just resolution of our territorial conflict with China and for the protection and safety of the brave men and women of the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar.

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