PNP should keep chopper fleet amid drone-forward tack – Ejercito

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police should increase or at least maintain the number of its air assets amid its new thrust to become a drone-forward police force, Sen. JV Ejercito said on Wednesday.

Ejercito made the remark during the Senate hearing on the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs as he revealed that there is a plan to trim the number of helicopters in the arsenal of the PNP Air Unit in favor of acquiring new drone assets.

“We think it would be better to maintain and increase PNP air assets along with the addition of drones and other equipment,” Ejercito said in his opening speech in Filipino. “It is not possible for a national police force not to have air assets.”

“The new direction of PNP and DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) would like — since they said the maintenance [cost] of air assets like choppers and helicopters are high — to just use drones. But I don’t think that drones can match the capability of helicopters,” he pointed out.

The PNP has acquired 700 drones worth P80,000 each in 2018, and more machines have arrived since then.

But Ejercito said: “A drone is an eye in the sky but it could not be used for medical evacuation, search and rescue in calamities, and some more other things that only helicopters can perform.”

PNP eyes chopper transfer to PCG

The senator first revealed the plan for the PNP Air Unit during the plenary session in November last year.

“So if that happens, what will it be called now? Drone unit?” said Sen. Panfilo Lacson at that time.

“If there’s no more, maybe the PNP is the only police force in the entire world that doesn’t have an air unit,” Lacson observed.

Ejercito said the plan is to just maintain two air assets under the PNP Air Unit. 

To date, the unit has nine assets namely six Airbus helicopters, two Robinsons RAA helicopters and a fixed wing aircraft.

During that time, Ejercito said four out of six Airbus helicopters were operational, while both of the R44 helicopters were also functional.

“Actually, they have a proposal to just transfer or donate some of their units to the [Philippine] Coast Guard (PCG),” Ejercito said then.

At present, the PCG has a Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft (tail number: PCG-2081), two Islander aircraft (tail numbers: PCG-251 and PCG-4177) and two Airbus helicopters (tail numbers: CGH451 and CGH1452).

Lack of air assets can be fatal 

The PCG is stretching its air assets thin to conduct maritime domain awareness in the West Philippine Sea.

However, Ejercito said the PNP would still need its air assets for special operations.

The senator cited the infamous Feb. 4, 2015 tragedy in Mamasapano village in Maguindanao where the Special Action Force (SAF) troops needed crucial backing up, including air support, which did not arrive. 

“So to prevent that from happening again, we are slowly building up the PNP’s air assets,” he said.

A total of 44 SAF members died in a botched mission to serve arrest warrants to high-ranking terrorists. /apl