Pandemic sinks gov’t plan to acquire subs

MANILA, Philippines — The COVID-19 pandemic spoiled the country’s plan to acquire its first-ever submarine.

Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, chief of the Navy, said on Monday the country would have already signed a deal for the acquisition of a submarine, had it not been for the pandemic.

“If not for this COVID-19, per my timeline as the chief of the Navy, I was expecting that the signing of the contract would have been done this second semester of 2021 or at the latest first semester of 2022,” he said.

Bacordo will retire on June 9 at the age of 56. He said the budget was P70 billion for two submarines and the host ports.

—JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE