From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 26): PA on its way to becoming a credible military force
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=609537
With more focus on getting more heavy weapons and modern armored fighting vehicles, the Philippine Army (PA) is now on its way to becoming a credible military force capable of defending the country against internal and external threats.
This develops as the Department of National Defense (DND) earlier this month signed a P888 million contract with Elbit Systems Land
Fourteen of these units will be armed with 76mm auto-cannons while six of the Israeli-built armored vehicles are classified as the "armored personnel carrier" models, four as "infantry fighting vehicles and the remaining four as "recovery and repair" units.
Once in service, the 14 armored vehicles armed with 76mm cannon will act as the mobile artillery units of the PA which at the moment is armed with 273 units of heavy guns.
Having these weapon platforms at hand ensures the capability of the Army to respond immediately and decisively at any threats.
Last December, the Army announced that its field units is already already equipped with the brand 81mm Serbian-made mortars.
Around 100 of these fire support weapons were acquired as part of the ongoing military modernization program.
Aside from weapons, the PA also boosted its disaster response capabilities with the planned acquisition of engineering and emergency equipment worth around P530 million.
Among the equipment to be purchased are six units of road rollers, 30 units of dump trucks, 14 units of excavators, eight units of road graders, and 12 units of bulldozers.
“If acquired, these (pieces of) equipment will be distributed and deployed in strategic areas nationwide for faster, better and improved disaster relief strategy,” PA spokesperson Capt. Anthony Bacus said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=609537