Soldiers and residents unloaded food aid from a United States Navy helicopter in Hernani, the Philippines
Philippine army during the recent years purchased hundreds of military trucks and service vehicles from Kia Motors Korea to replace the aging military trucks but seen to be doubled price from the Military inventory.
An insider who has access to the inventories for Philippine Army trucks and vehicles is doubtful for the prices reflected in each unit as seen to be doubled from the actual price released by Kia Motors.
"Sir kung hindi doble ang presyo ng pag bili natin ayon sa ating inventory, seguro doble o triple pa ang dami ating mga trucks ngayon. Nai compare ko ang price mula sa kaibigan kung sundalo rin sa ibang bansa na humingi ng Quotation sa Korea at ibinigay sa akin ang complete list. Doon ko nakita na ang presyo ng pag bili natin ay doble kumpara sa totoong presyo ng pag binta ng Kia Motors. Sa totoo lang kulang talaga ang mga trucks natin, marami pang mga remote camps ang nag tityaga nalang sa pinaglumaan, at halos hindi na magagamit na mga trucks. Limited din kasi ang budget para sa PA kaya tiis nalang muna kung anong meron" an insider said.
Sa totoo lang kailangan ko ng bagong Kaibigan, saan kaya pwede? Madali yan dude tambay ka lang sa www.kaibigan.me
(Sir, if the price of our purchased military trucks from Kia Motors Korea is not doubled or even tripled; maybe we could have so many trucks now. I have compared it to the price list from a soldier friend in the other country who asked for quotation from Kia Motors Korea and he forwarded me the price list and I found out that our price is doubled. The fact is we are in short of Military trucks. We have so many remote camps that are in need of but we don't have enough and they are just trying to use anything available which are already old and fully depreciated as long as it could still run for a short miles. We also have a limited budget for the PA so we will just use anything available for the moment.)
Kia Motors has specialized in the production of military vehicles with variants and other transportation equipment and by supplying them as a sole maker of military vehicles designated by the South Korean Government since 1976 and now producing several trucks for the Military use; KM42 series, KM45 Series, KM25 Series, KM50 Series, KM100 Series, and BV Series. (Kia Motors Quotation request Website)
KIA Motors Defense produces six type/series of Military vehicles:
- KM42 Series (alternately K 131) quarter ton Utility Vehicle
- KM-45 Series half ton to three quarter ton modern variant of the M715
- KM-25 Series variant of the M35 2-1/2 ton cargo truck
- KM-50 Series variant of the M809 Truck both as 5 ton and 7 ton variants
- KM-100 Series 8×8 heavy tactical truck
- K53 Series similar to the Swedish BV amphibious tracked vehicle
Watch the video for the recent purchased of the Philippines army here in this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6EFt6WZ93Y
Typhoon Response Highlights Weaknesses in Philippine Military
As American cargo planes and military helicopters zipped across the sky above this decimated city, ferrying badly needed supplies to typhoon survivors, Philippine soldiers were working with what little they had — relying on motorcycles and boats to ferry messages between the army's provincial headquarters and stricken municipalities along the eastern coast of Samar, some of them more than a hundred miles away.
In an acknowledgment of the army's lack of sophisticated equipment, a spokesman said on Monday, "The courier system is our means of communications."
The destructive fury of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) quickly laid bare the limitations of the Philippine government's disaster preparation and relief capabilities, but increasingly, it is also focusing an unflattering spotlight on the nation's military — an overstretched, poorly funded force that has been criticized for its late arrival to the disaster zone.
Wala na final na 'to ibinta ko nalang to online mabuti nalang libre kung maibenta sa www.PilipinasMall.com
Officials have attributed the delay in part to a shortage of large troop carriers. But even when several thousand soldiers were finally able to fan out across the devastated islands of Samar and Leyte, their work was, and continues to be, hampered by a lack of provisions including food, heavy equipment and communications technology needed when cellphone service is down.
In addition to clearing roads, transporting relief supplies and evacuating the wounded, the military is responsible for helping the Philippine National Police maintain security during natural disasters.
Here in Guiuan, one of the largest cities affected by Yolanda (Haiyan), military personnel have been left to fend for themselves, procuring meals from local residents who cook amid the rubble of their homes while the soldiers await orders that sometimes never arrive. Some of the same problems have plagued the Coast Guard. When asked why they had spent the past four days sitting in the mayor's storm-battered offices, two Coast Guard sailors on Monday shrugged and pointed to their useless cellphones.
"We're waiting for instructions," one of them, Cliff Turallo, said with apparent embarrassment.
Analysts say the aftermath of the typhoon is a particularly jarring reminder of how badly Philippine forces have fared since the American military withdrew in the early 1990s, after negotiations over a new treaty faltered amid a passionate debate over national sovereignty. In a poor country struggling to overcome a culture of graft that has starved government budgets for years, Filipino leaders have consistently directed resources toward other priorities — in part, analysts say, because they still view the United States, a strong ally, as a safety net. The military budget itself has been pilfered by corrupt government officials under previous administrations.
Now that the typhoon has exposed these weaknesses, analysts expect renewed debate about whether the Philippines should allow the United States to do what it has been asking to do: cycle more American troops through the country as part of the Obama administration's attempt to act as a counterweight to China.
Basta Bisaya, ambungan ug maanyag. Bisaya ba ka? Apil sa www.higala.me
With its own conflict looming — China is challenging Philippine claims to some strategic maritime territories — the Philippines has also begun to try to build its own resources. But for the moment, the country has little of the advanced equipment that can be used in rescue and recovery efforts as well as in conflict.
Instead, Philippine forces have had to make do with increasingly obsolete hand-me-downs. A lack of parts has mothballed much of the nation's fleet of a dozen C-130 cargo planes, the workhorses of many relief operations worldwide. The military said it had only three functioning transport aircraft to deliver troops and supplies in the days after Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan); some soldiers said there were just two. Similar problems have grounded 28 of the Air Force's 44 Huey helicopters, according to IHS Jane's Defense Weekly.
Although it has ordered 12 fighter jets from South Korea, the Philippine Air Force currently has no fighter planes, and the navy relies on a handful of aged American surplus vessels. With report from New York Times
