Alejano hits gov’t for ‘deceiving’ public on navy frigates deal

Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano said the Duterte administration is deceiving the public concerning the frigate deal of the Philippine Navy, which he claimed to be plagued by questionable transactions and selections.

Alejano said the frigate deal became controversial when Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go interfered with the selection of P15.5-billion Combat Management System (CMS), which is a computer system for warships.

In a conference on Oct. 18, President Rodrigo Duterte clarified that he gave the complaint of the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to Go, who handed it to Malacañang lawyers to study the report.

Go allegedly referred a whitepaper containing a complaint of a frigate supplier, HHI, to the Department of National Defense (DND).

Duterte then said the lawyers transferred the report to the DND.

“It turns out that the President himself acted on the white paper of [HHI.] Tahasang niloloko ng administrasyon ang taumbayan lalo na sa usaping ito na may kaugnayan sa kurapsyon, [It turns out that the President himself acted on the white paper of HHI. This administration is definitely deceiving the masses especially on talks about their relation to corruption cases.]” Alejano said in a statement on Friday.

Alejano lamented that the project remains in effect despite the doubtful process between officials, saying he will still continue to “seek the truth” on the frigate anomaly. 

“Nakakalungkot na sa kabila ng mga tanong sa Frigate Acquisition Project na hindi naman nabigyang-linaw, itinuloy pa rin DND ang proyekto. Despite the consummation of the project, my office continues to act on this matter and to seek the truth,” Alejano said.

(It is disappointing that the constant doubt on the Frigate Acquisition Project which was unsettled, the DND still continued the project. Despite the consummation of the project, my office continues to act on this matter and to seek the truth.)

The Frigate Acquisition Project (FAP) began during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III and continued the deal under the Duterte administration, which signed the deal with HHI last August 2016.

Go, however, allegedly chose another South Korean firm, Hanwha Thales, for the warships’ weapon system over the Tacticos CMS of Dutch-based Thales Nederland Inc. /jpv

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