Philippines to acquire 115K body armors, 115K helmets for Army

The Department of National Defense (DND) will acquire 115,000 military body armors and 115,000 ballistic helmets for the Philippine Army.

Dated July 22, the DND issued bulletins for the bidding of the military vests with P8,832,000,000 budget and bulletproof helmets with P2,875,000,000 budget.

Philippine Army spokesperson Colonel Louie Dema-ala said that the procurement of the new military gears are under the modernization program of the military.

“Part pa rin ng modernization ng Philippine Army. Hindi ko lang alam kung ano yung nandoon sa DND but meron namang naka-program sa Philippine Army nun,” he told reporters.

(These are still part of the modernization of the Philippine Army. I am not sure what’s in the DND but something is programmed for the Philippine Army.)

“For protection ng ating mga personnel yun, yun yung purpose nya, since time immemorial, hindi pa nagkaroon ng mga ganyan nun. So nakita natin, actually nagstart yan nung sa Marawi so kinakailangan talaga natin yung body armor and yung helmet,” he added.

(It's for the protection of our personnel, that's its purpose. Since time immemorial, there has never been anything like that. It actually started in Marawi so we really need the body armor and the helmet," he added.

The Marawi Siege in May 2017 was perpetrated by the Maute Group and lasted for several months. Then-President Rodrigo Duterte declared the city freed from the group in October of the same year.

Dema-ala said the current body armors and helmets of the Philippine Army need to be replaced because they have “expiration” and to ensure that these soldiers’ gears are reliable.

In July, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said some items have yet to be completed under Horizon 1 and 2 of the modernization program, which now already proceeded with Horizon 3.

The procurement, training, and arrangement of facilities are ongoing, according to Brawner. — Joviland Rita/RSJ, GMA Integrated News