The acquisition of submarines of the country has been delayed as the allotted funds were already transferred to the COVID-19 response, Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said on Monday.
In a press conference, Bacordo said the timeline of the contract signing for the submarine acquisition project was originally around the second semester of this year up to first semester of 2022.
“If not for this COVID-19 per my timeline as the chief of the Navy, I was expecting that the signing of the contract would have been done this second semester of 2021 or, at the latest, first semester of 2022,” Bacordo said.
“But because of this government's COVID-19 response so much of our funds have been devoted to the government’s COVID-19 response,” he added.
Bacordo said the Submarine Group will be kept in case a submarine will arrive.
“They will be relieved for a time to undergo required career courses for their promotion,” he said.
After these career courses, they go back to the submarine group because these people have already undertaken so many foreign schoolings, seminars, trainings all related to submarines,” he added.
Bacordo said they are hoping that a contract will be signed for the acquisition of submarines before President Rodrigo Duterte ends his term in 2022.
According to Bacordo, the budget for the submarine acquisition program is P 70 billion. --NB, GMA News
