Navy to commission 2 US-donated vessels
The Philippine Navy will commission the two vessels donated by the United States later this month, which will be named after two founding fathers of the Katipunan. The last two out of 14 Cyclone-class patrol coastal ships of the US Navy will be christened as BRP Valentin Diaz (PS-177) and BRP Ladislao Diwa (PS-178) tentatively on Aug. 18, flag officer in command Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci Jr. told the Inquirer on Tuesday. The ships—the former USS Monsoon (PC 4) and USS Chinook (PC 9)—will be under the Navy’s Littoral Combat Force, the unit responsible for small vessels intended for shallow-water operations, he said. These vessels will help the country “boost its naval patrol activities,” Adaci said. The ships were handed over by the US Navy’s 5th Fleet to the Philippine Navy in March during the retirement ceremony for the two vessels in Manama, Bahrain. They both served the US Navy for nearly 30 years.
—Frances Mangosing
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