Navy buying used US cutter

By Donna Pazzibugan

The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Monday, 24 January 2011

The Philippine Navy is seeking to acquire a secondhand ship from the United States Coast Guard to upgrade its antiquated fleet.

Navy Flag Officer in Command Rear Admiral Alexander Pama said they were in talks with the US government to acquire a Hamilton class cutter, the largest ship in the US Coast Guard Fleet next to its polar icebreakers.

"We are actively discussing with the US Government the possible acquisition of a Hamilton-class cutter," Pama told reporters.

He said they had their eye on a high-endurance cutter to significantly boost country's capability to patrol its vast waters.

"We need this to boost security in our exclusive economic zone," he said.

The Hamilton-class cutter, at 115 meters, would be the biggest ship in the Philippine Navy fleet which consists of donated World War II era ships with an average age of 65 years.

The normal operating life span of a sea vessel is 30 years.

Pamadid not give the cost of acquisition, saying negotiations were ongoing.

But he said the Navy might shoulder the cost of repairs and training to operate the ship.

"We are in the stage where there is an understanding. We are about to send formal letter request," he said.

Former Navy flag officer in command Rear Admiral Danilo Cortez, who retired on Jan. 4 inspected the vessel they planne dto acquire by November, according to Navy spokesperson.

Capt. Giovanni Bacordo also said they expected the ship to be in the country within the first half of the year.

The vessel will replace the Navy's flagship BRP Raja Humabon, a Cannon-class destroyer escort which is probably one of the world's oldest war ships, the Navy said.

The Hamilton-class cutter is equiped with a rectractable hangar, helicopter flight deck and a close-in weapon system. It's powered by a dual engine or gas turbines.

KL firm eyes dev't of Navy property

By Gil Cabacungan

Philippine Daily Inquirer, Wednesday, 06 October 2010

A MALAYSIAN property developer has emerged as the first entity to take a bite into the offer of President Benigno Aquino III to lease and develop the Philippine Navy's properties.

Rear Admiral Danilo Cortez told reporters after a budget hearing in the Senate that Malaysia Resources Corp. Berhad (MRCB) has formalized its offer for the 22-hectare Fort Bonifacio Naval station which it planned to convert into a mixed use, commercial, office and residential project. The property includes a golf course, a hospital, housing units for the soldiers and officers and the headquarters of the Philippine Marines.

Cortez said the MRCB submitted its letter proposal dated Sept. 10 this year to Aquino who has ordered the Department of National Defense to evaluate the unsolicited proposal from Malaysia.

"It's still in the evaluation stage, there are still a lot of requirements. We will bid it out in one year," said Cortez who noted that the naval station property along Roxas Boulevard was a separate deal.

In his State of the Nation Address, Aquino bared his administration's thrust toward public-partnership projects for major capital projects including the monetization of military assets to bankroll the modernization of the Armed Forces Aquino hoped to raise at least $100 million from the 5O-year lease of the military assets. "We are offering all our assets to maximize their potential," said Cortez.

Cortez said that while the military ngets lease offers for its properties, it has already started the relocation of its major service units to the AFP general headquarters in Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in Quezon City.