Marcos witnesses commissioning of two new PH Navy gunboats

The BRP Gener Tinangag and BRP Domingo Deluana during their christening at the Philippine Navy’s Pascual Ledesma Naval Station on May 8, 2023. The new two gunboats built by Israel Shipyards Inc. are fast-attack interdiction craft platforms delivered to the Philippines on April 11, 2023. INQUIRER.net / Ryan Leagogo

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday attended the commissioning ceremony for two Israel-made gunboats, as the Philippine Navy marked its 125th anniversary.

The two fast-attack interdiction crafts (FAICs) were named BRP Gener Tinangag and BRP Domingo Deluana – after Medal of Valor awardees Corporal Gener Tinangag and Sergeant Domingo Deluana who were killed in action.

The commissioning rite for the two gunboats was held at the Navy Headquarters in Manila.

READ: 2 Navy gunboats named after fallen Medal of Valor awardees

During the Battle of Marawi in 2017, Tinangag was the assistant rifleman who rescued four wounded marines before succumbing to an enemy sniper shot to his stomach.

READ: Wounds still fresh for widow of Medal of Valor awardee 6 years after Marawi siege

In 2000, Deluana provided suppressive fire to cover the medical evacuation of his wounded fellow marines until an RPG blast caught them during the campaign against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Maguindanao.

The FAICs, procured from Israel for P10 billion, are intended for territorial and coastal patrol operations.

Their acquisition is part of the Horizon 2 List of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program.

The two Acero-class patrol gunboats were among the nine platforms contracted with Israel Shipyards Inc. It would join frontrunners BRP Nestor Acero and BRP Lolinato To-ong, which were also named after soldiers who received the highest military honor.

READ: Philippine Navy unveils two more Israeli-made gunboats

Capable of delivering precision strikes against larger hostiles and high-value targets on land and sea, the 32-meter long FAICs are equipped with quick intercept ability, remote stabilized weapons, and short-range missiles.

Aside from the President, Defense officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Andres Centino, Navy flag Officer-in-Command Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci Jr., and other Navy senior officials attended the ceremony.