Philippines gets P1B in military equipment from China —DND

Military equipment worth P1 billion have been turned over to the Philippines from China in a ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo on Wednesday, the Department of National Defense said.

In a statement, the DND said the donations came from the Ministry of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China.

Donated items include rescue and relief equipment, drone systems, detectors, water purification vehicles, ambulances, firetrucks, X-ray machines, EOD robots, bomb disposal suits and transport vehicles.

Also, some items in the grant include engineering equipment like backhoes, dump trucks, forklifts, and earthmovers.

“This military grant from China speaks volumes on how our two nations can be civil, diplomatic and friends despite some issues on territorial claims,” DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

Aside from Lorenzana, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian also led the ceremony.

A second batch of donations is set to arrive at a later date, according to the DND.

Photos courtesy of the Department of National Defense

Under the grant, the DND said China will support the capacity building activities of the Presidential Security Group, Marawi rehabilitation efforts, and other humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations.

Also present during the ceremony were Undersecretary for National Defense Cardozo Luna, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Andres Centino, Philippine Veterans Affairs Office Administrator Undersecretary Ernesto Carolina, Office of Civil Defense Administrator Ricardo Jalad, and Veterans Memorial Medical Center Director Dominador Chiong. —LBG, GMA News