DND awaiting President's order to convert part of Subic port into naval base — Dela Rosa

The Department of National Defense (DND) is waiting for a presidential proclamation that would declare a portion of the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone a naval base for the Armed Forces of the Philippines' new frigates.

This was disclosed by Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, sponsor of the DND's proposed spending plan, during the continuation of the Senate plenary deliberations on the proposed 2025 national budget.

"They are awaiting the signature of the President for the Presidential Proclamation making a portion of SBMA as their naval base," Dela Rosa said.

The plan was disclosed after Senator JV Ejercito shared that he saw AFP's 2 newest frigates, namely: BRP Tarlac and BRP Andres Bonifacio, docked in a former ship-building facility of Hyundai which was later on revealed to be rented by the DND for P1 billion a year.

Ejercito said the facility that he personally saw was not "conducive to be a naval base" because it has no existing infrastructure that would support the Philippine Navy's needs.

"We would be paying P1 billion pesos, but we still have a lot to build in that facility. Kumbaga nakadaong lang dun pero wala talaga yung necessary support that is needed for our naval vessels," Ejercito said.

For Ejercito, the expected proclamation of the part of Subic's economic zone would be a "win-win" situation for the AFP and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. — BAP, GMA Integrated News