Popularly known as “Huey” helicopters, Department of Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Undersecretary Fernando Manalo could be charged with plunder for signing off on the purchase of scrap helicopters refurbished from a junk yard in Germany.
The deal involved the importation of 21 choppers worth P1.26B (AUD35million) which could not be operated by Filipino pilots because the instructions for their use is written in German with no English translation. Apparently, the Philippine Air Force pilots have to study and learn to understand German to be able to fly the helicopters. But that’s a big risk.
Of the 21 choppers ordered, seven have already been delivered to Manila but only one unit is flying. When the helicopters arrived, the engines were detached from the hulls and had to be assembled at the PAF hangar in the former Clark Air Base in Pampanga.
During his 2014 State of the Nation Address, President Aquino reported that the Philippines has ordered 21 state-of-the-art helicopters. What he apparently did not know is that the supposed-to-be flying machines were rebuilt in the backyard of Robert Rice, American owner of Rice Aircraft, reportedly a run-of-the-mill US company.
The President was not told that Rice failed twice in the public bidding conducted by the Department of National Defence (DND), but the American got the contract that was tailor-made for him.
Rhodora Alvarez, an examiner at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), said that she was supposed to receive P37.8 million from the P1.26 billion deal as a 3-percent “commission,” but she turned it down and instead exposed the deal she describes as “rotten.” She said she did not want to be held responsible for the death of Filipino pilots.