After spending four days in Hawaii, BRP Ramon Alcaraz departed for Guam on Tuesday, the last port stop before she finally arrives to her new home, the Philippines on the first week of August.
Alcaraz with 90 Officers and Enlisted personnel headed by Captain Ernesto Baldovino, arrived in Hawaii last July 12 for a port visit and reprovisioning. Upon their arrival, they received a warm welcome from the Commander of Joint Base Hickam Pearl Harbor, Captain Jesse James along with Colonel Restituto Padilla, the AFP Liaison to US PACOM and the Filipino Community as well.
On the evening of their arrival, the Fil-Am community hosted a welcome reception aboard the ship wherein more or less 250 Fil-Am celebrated an enchanting evening of fun, music and photographs.
The acquisition of the BRP Ramon Alcaraz along with our previous acquisition, the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar symbolizes the strong determination of the government to upgrade our military and achieve the minimum credible defence capability for our Armed Forces.
Both ships will be primarily important for the Philippine Navy’s maritime security and sovereignty patrols in line with our mandate to protect the people and the state.
The acquisition of BRP Ramon Alcaraz is in line with the revised and extended AFP Modernization and Capability Upgrade Program signed into law by President Benigno Aquino in December last year. The law will significantly contribute to the development and transformation of the AFP into a multi-mission-oriented force, capable of effectively addressing internal and external security threats.
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Press Release, July 18, 2013; Image: Philippine Navy