The country’s third Gregorio del Pilar-class frigate converted from a former United States Coast Guard Hamilton class high endurance cutter has finally arrived in Manila.
The BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF-17) and its crew arrived at Pier 13 on December 8, according to the US Embassy in Manila, after conducting 14 weeks of training on the ship’s operation, engineering and propulsion systems, damage control and emergency response procedures.
From 1967–2016, the ship was a Hamilton-class high endurance cutter of the US Coast Guard that was named US Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell (WHEC-719). The US decommissioned the cutter in early 2016 and the Philippines acquired it under the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) and the Foreign Assistance Act.
The EDA offers excess military equipment to US allies in support of their military modernization efforts.
The ship was officially transferred to the Philippine Navy and renamed BRP Andres Bonifacio, July 21, 2016, during a ceremony at Coast Guard Base Alameda, California.
The Philippine government invested $16 million (roughly R796 million) for BRP Andres Bonifacio’s modernization.
The ship is expected to bolster the Philippine Navy’s Fleet, providing increased maritime presence throughout the Philippines’ territorial waters and its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
BRP Andres Bonifacio is a sister ship of BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (FF-15) and BRP Ramon Alcaraz (FF-16).
In a speech he delivered in welcoming BRP Andres Bonifacio, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the arrival of the ship serves as another meaningful milestone to the history of the Philippine Navy.
“The Philippine Navy’s acquisition of BRP Andres Bonifacio is proof of our continuing firm resolve and determination to upgrade the capabilities of the Armed Forces, of course courtesy of the United States of America,” Lorenzana said.
Lorenzana said he expects the ship to ply the Sulu seas and help prevent kidnappings and piracy in the area.
(with a report from Francis T. Wakefield) (ROY C. MABASA)