Excerpt from Manila Times: December 29, 2020
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/12...ns-comelec-bidding-over-lowest-bidder/819199/2.
.... “Is the United States coming back to Subic? — About three months ago, this newspaper reported that Maritime Industry Authority Administrator Robert Empedrad, former Philippine Navy chief, said a contract had already been finalized between Australian shipbuilder Austal and US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and would reportedly soon take over the Subic Bay yard from Hanjin Shipping, a South Korean firm that went bankrupt in 2016.
Empedrad also reportedly said the US and Australia were eyeing the yard as a possible ship repair and maintenance facility (read, naval base).
He added that US and Australian naval presence at Subic Bay could bolster national security.
That would directly run counter to what President Duterte said in his fifth State of the Nation Address in July.
“Kaya ‘yang maglagay lagay ka ng base at this time, this will ensure, if war breaks out because there would be atomic arsenal brought in, this will ensure the extinction of the Filipino race,” he said.
A grim scenario indeed!
So, what will Digong do, or can do, if the contract is already a fait accompli?
A reliable source said Austal and Cerberus were reportedly poised to take over the facility during the first quarter of next year.
An authoritative source suggests that the government could insist on renegotiating the contract to include a provision that “there should be a restriction that prohibits the yard from accepting any naval business, whether for repair, routine or emergency, and new construction defining clearly the protocols. It should also prohibit the accommodation of any nuclear powered vessel, armed ships whether they are government or civilian-controlled.”
The source also said that “we should get a clear picture on who the beneficial owners really are. It is just too bad that our local entrepreneurs do not have the appetite for this business.”....
(20min delay)