Former Senator Gringo Honasan on Sunday vouched to include the acquisition of military hospital ships in the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (AFPMP).
A former Army colonel before entering politics, Honasan noted that these military ships beyond being deployed for war, can also be used to support the government’s disaster relief and humanitarian operations.
“Considering that we are an archipelagic nation extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, military hospital ships would be a wise and practical investment,” said Honasan.
Also the former chair of the Senate Defense committee, he emphasized that the hospital military ships can be part of the country’s overall disaster readiness – capable of swift mobilization and coastal operations, and can receive patients by air and water.
Honasan also suggested that the Army can initially procure three military hospital ships – to be positioned in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao respectively – ready to provide life-saving mobile emergency medical services.
Overseas, he mentioned that other countries presently are designing military hospital ships with 60 beds and 18 intensive care units (ICU), provisions for operating suites, and a blood bank.
He said the hospital ships will be operated and maintained by the military.
The revised AFPMP, enacted by Congress in 2012, aims to build up the capabilities of the Navy, Air Force, and the Army.
In the last five years alone, Congress has earmarked a total of P121 billion to support the military’s modernization projects, including the procurement of new warships, fighter aircraft, helicopter gunships, early warning air surveillance radars, and batteries of shore-based, anti-ship supersonic cruise missiles.
The World Risk Index (WRI) has ranked the Philippines as the most disaster-prone country, followed by Indonesia and India.
The WRI ranks 193 countries in terms of potential exposure to natural disasters or severe weather events such as super typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and drought.
The Philippines has the highest disaster risk rating because it straddles the western Pacific Ocean’s typhoon belt – an area where almost one-third of the world’s most intense tropical cyclones form.
The country is also situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions happen.
