THE acquisition of the 48-year-old Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas (BRP) Andres Bonifacio (FF17), the country's third Hamilton-class cutter, is part of Philippines Navy's (PN) modernization that is seen to further advance its maritime capacity in securing the sea waters to deter any potential threat in the country's seaboards.
BRP FF17 Commanding Officer Brendo Casaclang said the ship has the capacity to conduct search and rescue operations in high seas, combat operation and maritime protection that will augment the existing facilities and assets of the Navy.
He added he and other BRP crewmen underwent series of training for three months with United States Coast Guard personnel and former Boutwell crew wherein the training focused on ship handling and weapons familiarization.
Part of it was also learning about the engineering structures, damage control procedures, communication, network and navigational operation that provide a solid platform of knowledge and skills that brought the operational capability of the ship in line with its modern system.
“We are very much thankful that we have this ship in order to improve at madagdagan ang ating capability at madagdagan ang floating assets ng Navy natin para ma-perform namin ang aming (and add the capability and the floating assets of the Navy in order ot perform our) function to conduct territorial defense operations,” Casaclang said.
He said the first PN ship was acquired in 2010 named BRP Gregorio del Pilar while the BRP Ramon Alcaraz was obtained in 2013.
The latest one was named in honor of Andres Bonifacio, Casaclang said, although the vessel was made in 1967, it remains to be a sturdy vessel.
It was decommissioned on March 16, 2016 in San Diego, California and was officially transferred and commissioned for the PN under the Excess Defense Articles and Foreign Assistance Act on July 21,2016 at US Coast Guard Base Alameda, California.
“Maganda pa and hindi kami nagkaroon ng (Its good and there weren’t any) major problem in our voyage from United States to the Philippines crossing the Pacific while staying on the ship for 26 days,” he said.
He said the full force of the PN together with the unified forces and command are ready to respond to contain illegal activities including kidnapping which is prevalent in Western seas.
According to him, in the pipeline of their modernization, he bared that there are two other frigates that would be coming in two to three years from now. The other one was coming from Indonesia, which is a brand new vessel that can accommodate one battalion or 500 troops.
“Actually ang concern natin (our concern) is for us to have a capable Navy that can protect our country. We will continue modernizing in order for us to have a strong and credible Navy,” he said.
BRP Andress Bonifacio also has general capabilities of conducting territorial defense operations, exclusive economic zone (EEZ) protection, maritime interdiction, naval gunfire, command and control facilities, humanitarian assistance and extended surveillance range through the use of an embarked naval helicopter.