By Jaime Laude
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of National Defense (DND) is now rushing the procurement of big-ticket items, including the acquisition of two naval vessels to improve the country’s territorial defense.
In line with this, DND planners held a pre-procurement conference yesterday for the acquisition of two service support vessels (SSVs) worth P2 billion each for an outlay of P4 billion.
“We are rushing our procurement of big-ticket items for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),” said Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo, whose office is directly in charge of the acquisition of military hardware.
Defense sources said that Japan, Singapore, South Korea, France, and Italy have expressed interest in supplying the country with two SSVs that are multi-role vessels which could serve as a Navy platform for search and rescue operations during disasters since the ships could be fitted with hospital facilities and a helipad, aside from its primary role as a transport vessel capable of transporting one battalion of troops with armored vehicles.
“It’s a mission capable ship, though a little smaller than the MRV (multi-role vessel),” the source said.
Read the full story at The Philippine Star