PAF earmarks P68M to buy spare parts for attack helicopters

MANILA — The Philippine Air Force has earmarked over P68 million to purchase spare parts for the future maintenance of its AgustaWestland AW-109 “Power” attack helicopters delivered in 2015.

The two contracts for the procurements are worth P68,928,376.55 based on the Air Force’s bid invitations.

Col. Enrico Canaya, Air Force spokesperson, said the spare parts would be for future use as he assured the public that the eight AW-109 attack helicopters, which were delivered in 2015, have remained in good condition.

He explained that the procurement process usually took a long time and that they decided to advance the procurement ahead of the scheduled maintenance.

“Whether the requirement is immediate or for later, we do the procurement as programmed. This is to make sure that our air assets are in top condition and in good shape,” Canaya said.

One of the contracts for the procurement has an approved budget of P31,420,483.32, while the other has an approved budget of P37,507,893.33.

Interested bidders have until before 9 a.m. of March 31 to purchase bid documents for a non-refundable fee of P25,000.

The opening of bids is on March 31, 9 a.m. at the PAF Procurement Center conference room at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

The Air Force requires prospective bidders to have an experience in a similar project within the last five years.

Last year, the Air Force bought eight of the attack helicopters from Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland for P3.4 billion.

The first two AW-109E helicopters were commissioned in August 2015 while the remaining six were delivered and accepted into the Air Force in December 2015.  SFM