HHI HDC 3100 corvette (photo : rhk111)
MANILA – The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Wednesday released funds worth PHP6 billion for the construction and acquisition of two brand-new missile-armed corvettes.
The Special Allotment Release Order (SARO)-BMB-D-23-0017382 was released to the Department of National Defense (DND) which covers the funding requirements of the "Corvette Acquisition Project of the Philippine Navy under the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program".
The DND and South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) signed the contract for two brand-new corvettes which are capable of conducting anti-ship, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare missions on Dec. 28, 2021.
The project is worth PHP28 billion.
Then Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said acquiring the two corvettes from HHI, where the two Jose Rizal-class guided-missile frigates were also acquired, will ensure commonality and interoperability.
The two ships will also serve as backstops for the two frigates now in commission with the PN.
"With a common shipbuilder for all our naval platforms, we expect ease of maintenance and repairs," Lorenzana noted.
The first SARO, which is for the 15 percent advance payment for the corvettes amounted to PHP3.75 billion and was released by the DBM on Dec. 10, 2021 while the second milestone payment worth PHP3 billion was released on May 20, 2022.
(PNA)