The Department of National Defense will review all its current projects, including the purchase of military helicopters from Russia worth P12.7 billion, DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said.
The review comes as Defense Secretary Jose Faustino took over the agency.
In March, Faustino’s predecessor and now Bases Conversion and Development Authority chief Delfin Lorenzana said the contract for the procurement of heavy-lift helicopters from Russia was signed in November and a down payment of an undisclosed amount was made in January.
Andolong described the review as “customary” given that there is now a new administration and was “not borne out of any suspicion.”
Faustino also has the option to cancel or terminate contracts if they were found disadvantageous to the government, Andolong said.
Meanwhile, the HMAS Sydney (DDG-42), a Hobart-class air warfare destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy, is now docked at Pier 15, South Harbor, Manila for a two-day port visit starting Wednesday.
The warship’s visit highlights the strong and long-standing relationship between the Philippines and Australia in promoting maritime safety and security in the region, said Navy spokesperson Commander Benjo Negranza.
“The Philippine Navy contingent led by Offshore Combat Force chief-of-staff, Commander Johanns Cruzada, accorded the visiting Australian Navy ship and its crew members headed by their commanding officer, Commander Andrew Hough a welcome ceremony upon arrival at the port,” he added.
The RAN’s Hobart-class air warfare destroyer consists of three ships and is designed to protect a naval task force and shore assets from air and missile attack.
These ships could also conduct anti-surface, anti-submarine, and naval gunfire support roles.
Hough then paid a courtesy call to Navy flag-officer-in-command Vice Admiral Adeluis Bordado at the Navy headquarters in Naval Station Jose Andrada, Roxas Boulevard, Manila.
