TSAMTO, October 26. The House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress approved the request of the country's Air Force regarding the allocation of funding for the purchase of five new C-130J "Super Hercules" military transport aircraft.
As reported by Philstar.com, an amendment was made to the "General Appropriations Act for 2022", providing for the financing of the project in the amount of 5.5 billion pesos ($108.55 million) for the initial payment for the BTA C-130J aircraft of Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Recall that the President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte at the first stage in May 2020 approved the purchase of five aircraft, but in October of the same year the number of purchased vehicles was reduced to two units due to the need to redirect budget funds to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Later, in February 2021, Defense Minister Delphine Lorenzana stated that the measures taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic revealed an insufficient number of air transport. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, only Philippine Air Force aircraft were flying, as civilian aircraft were not allowed to fly due to quarantine.
In 2020, the Air Force Command informed Parliament that five new C-130J will be enough to effectively perform the tasks assigned. The cost of the five aircraft is estimated at 37 billion pesos ($730 million), which will be paid in tranches under a long-term contract. The contractor demanded the first payment of 15% of the cost (about 5.5 billion pesos) for the first year.
