Second-hand fighter jets better than brand new FA-50s —Golez
The government would have been better off purchasing good, second-hand combat aircraft instead of pricey FA-50 fighter jets whose specifications leave much to be desired, former National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said Thursday.
Golez, a former Parañaque representative, questioned the Aquino administration’s purchase of the FA-50 jets and said it should have bought used aircraft instead.
“Bakit yun (FA-50) ang binili eh napakamahal. Dapat second hand [aircraft] na lang that will be immediately usable,” he said in a press conference.
Golez described the FA-50 as “too expensive” and lacking arms.
“‘Yung FA-50, bukod sa mahal, ang delivery niyan makukumpleto within three to five years pa. Eh kailangan natin yung eroplano kahapon pa,” he said.
President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has criticized the government’s purchase of the jets, saying at a business forum Tuesday that the money used to buy 12 FA-50 jets could have been used instead to buy helicopters with night vision capability.
He said such choppers could have been used to prevent the kidnapping activities of terror group Abu Sayyaf.
The jets acquired by the government from the Korea Aerospace Industries is worth P18.9 billion. Two out of the 12 jets arrived in November 2015 while the other ten are expected to arrive next year.
In the government’s defense, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the administration only implemented the Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program “vigorously.”
He expressed confidence that the purchase would pass “objective public scrutiny.”
Even as the government is striving to modernize the military’s capabilities, Golez said it would be more prudent for the country’s leaders to be more practical with the equipment it plans to purchase.
“Ibaba natin ang aspiration natin. Hanap tayo ng mas mura but will still be okay for the protection of our economic zone and territory,” he said. —NB, GMA News
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