Navy’s BRP Jose Rizal arrives in Guam from RIMPAC 2020

The Philippine Navy’s BRP Jose Rizal (FF150) on Wednesday arrived in Guam from the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) 2020, the world’s largest joint and combined naval exercise, held in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Captain Jerry Garrido Jr., FF150 skipper, said that the layover was “intended for refueling, re-provisioning, and other health and bio-safety protocols," which will allow them to check the well-being of the 125 crewmen onboard amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The FF150 arrived at the Romeo 1 Pier of Naval Base Guam on Wednesday, September 16. It will depart from Guam on Friday, September 18.

Meanwhile, it is expected to arrive in the Philippines on Tuesday, September 22.

The Philippine Navy said the FF150 conducted several post-RIMPAC exercises along with the USS Chung-Hoon of the United States Navy and the KDB Darulehsan (OPV 07) of the Royal Brunei Navy while en-route to the Pacific Island.

It added that this was to improve the Navy's interoperability and forge stronger diplomatic ties with other Navies.

The FF150 departed from the country on July 29 to attend RIMPAC. — Joahna Lei Casilao/BM, GMA News