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Philippine Helo Competition Mired By Corruption
Oct 13, 2010
By Leithen Francis
Corruption allegations are miring the Philippine military’s efforts to procure helicopters, but delivery of trainer aircraft and moves to purchase a secondhand Lockheed Martin C-130 appear to be on track.
Derco Aerospace, a Sikorsky aerospace services company, appears likely to win a contract to sell a refurbished C-130H to the Philippine air force, according to officials at the service and the Philippine defense department.
The C-130H arrived in the Philippines on Oct. 11, and if it passes the air force’s technical evaluation, it will be selected, the officials say.
Local reports, quoting the department’s assistant secretary and head of the bids and award committee, Ernesto Boac, say Derco offered the aircraft for 1.747 billion Philippine pesos ($40 million).
The Philippine air force needs the aircraft because one of its C-130s crashed in August 2008 off the southern Philippines coast.
An air force spokesman says the service has three other C-130s, but only one is in operation, as the other two are undergoing maintenance.
Corruption allegations have put a temporary stop to procurement of helicopters for the air force and navy.
AgustaWestland’s Polish subsidiary, PZL-Swidnik, was selected to provide seven W-3 Sokol attack helicopters for the air force in a deal reportedly worth $73 million.
This contract is a separate from the one the Polish firm won last year to provide the air force eight W-3 Sokol utility helicopters.
Some politicians in the Philippines have raised concerns that corruption may have tainted the selection process for the attack helicopters.
“It is suspicious that five of the six interested bidders backed out of the bidding process,” says opposition politician and former investigative journalist Teddy Casino.
“These included such big names as Boeing, Asian Aerospace Corp. [and] MD Helicopters, Eurocopter, Elbit Systems [and] Joavi Philippines and the Russian Federation [Rosoboronexport].”
Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin has responded by calling for a one-month investigation.
Consequently, the decision to award the air force attack helicopter contract to PZL-Swidnik is being reviewed and authorities are holding off on awarding a contract for two helicopters for the navy, which PZL-Swidnik might also win.
Bids for the two multipurpose naval helicopters originally were due Oct. 4 and the purchase is reportedly budgeted at $19.5 million.
While the helicopter procurement is bogged down in controversy, the air force’s purchase of 18 Aermacchi SF-260 trainer aircraft has progressed.
The first SF-260 has been assembled in the Philippines and is undergoing flight tests, a Philippine air force spokesman says, adding that “we will officially receive it in the third week of October.”
The spokesman says the new aircraft are being delivered in batches, starting with four, and that deliveries will be completed in the first week of 2011.
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