The military is eyeing a “tie-up" with private companies involved in oil explorations in Palawan province to augment its limited resources in western Philippines, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said Sunday.
Mabanta said this was the instruction of AFP chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo David to Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of the military’s Western Command (Wescom), which has jurisdiction over the island province.
The tie-up could be in the form of manpower and equipment, Mabanta said.
“What we are looking into here is the possibility of lending or helping us out in the usage of helicopters and air assets and even water assets to augment our limited resources. The instruction has been given to start tying up with them (private companies)," he said without identifying the preferred companies.
Mabanta said the planned tie-up is also a move to avert possible violence involving private armed groups and attacks by local terrorist groups similar to the May 2001 kidnapping of 20 foreign and local tourists at the posh Dos Palmas resort by the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
The Wescom, which patrols the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea and the Malampaya gas-to-power project in Palawan, is based in Puerto Princesa City, the capital of Palawan.
David has admitted that the lack of the Wescom resources has led to the country’s “very neglible" presence in Spratly Islands, also called the Kalayaan Group of Islands, in the South China Sea.
Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam are claiming all or part of the about 100 Spratly islets, reefs and atolls.
Navy chief Rear Adm. Danilo Cortez said the Air Force is continuously patrolling the disputed island group. - Sophia Dedace/KBK
