RP to send 2 patrol boats to Lebanon.

[Isuzoom]

Eto naman mga henyo natin sa gobyerno...mag padala sila ng 2 patrol boats sa Lebanon para mag rescue ng mga OFW..90 million daw ang budget. fellow tsikoteers pls look at the world map and see the distance of Lebanon sa atin and mag cross ka pa sa Indian ocean na cyclone season pa ngayon. Patrol boat hindi ocean liner....ang bobo!!!!

[nicolodeon]

Eto naman mga henyo natin sa gobyerno...mag padala sila ng 2 patrol boats sa Lebanon para mag rescue ng mga OFW..90 million daw ang budget. fellow tsikoteers pls look at the world map and see the distance of Lebanon sa atin and mag cross ka pa sa Indian ocean na cyclone season pa ngayon. Patrol boat hindi ocean liner....ang bobo!!!!

Well, you'd be surprised na yung dalawang frigates na ipapadala nila eh mayroon talagang capacity to cross the Indian ocean. As far as surviving a cyclone, it can pero hindi yung supercyclone. IMO the main issue would be the practicality of this "adventure".

[the_wildthing]

Ano bang itsura ng patrol boat? At bakit yun lang ang kaya ng 90 million petot?

[uls]

dapat pinadala din nila ung presidential yacht

[nicolodeon]

Ano bang itsura ng patrol boat? At bakit yun lang ang kaya ng 90 million petot?

Eto ang isang pic nung isa sa mga frigates/anti-sub ship ng PN. May service force din an PN - consisting of 16 merchant marine ships. Pwede din yun ang gamitin.

[kupaloids]

Hehehe! Baka mas safe pa yung mga OFW sa Lebanon kesa sumakay dyan sa mga banka na yan.

Hayyy!!!! Mga pulitiko nga naman.

[swordsman]

I think Coast Guard yong nag-offer to do this thing. Nagmagaling na naman mga haliparot na 'to! Buti na lang di pinatulan ng mga in-charge ang kabobohan na 'to.

There's a reason why they are called Coast Guard and Coast Guard ships...

From INQ7.net..

Coast Guard offer

On the proposed deployment of ships from the Philippine Coast Guard, De Castro said the task force was not too keen on this as it would take a longer travel time, was more risky and more expensive.

He said the initial cost of sending Coast Guard ships would be $1.7 million, excluding the $100,000 fee to be paid for the ship’s passage through the Suez Canal, and war insurance.

He said the voyage would take at least 20 days.

The crisis team in Lebanon had been evacuating overseas Filipino workers by land through Damascus, Syria, for the past three weeks. But last Friday’s Israeli bombardment of bridges between Jouniah and Tripoli towns forced the crisis team to lead a convoy of 450 OFWs through an alternate route to Damascus.

Conejos said the team could still use the alternate route but “we have to have a back-up plan” and that was the sea route either to Syria or Cyprus.

To evacuate the OFWs by sea from Beirut to Syria, the foreign undersecretary said they could do this by ferrying them out via commercial ships to the port cities of Tartous or Latakia and then to Damascus.

[mazdamazda]

Eto naman mga henyo natin sa gobyerno...mag padala sila ng 2 patrol boats sa Lebanon para mag rescue ng mga OFW..90 million daw ang budget. fellow tsikoteers pls look at the world map and see the distance of Lebanon sa atin and mag cross ka pa sa Indian ocean na cyclone season pa ngayon. Patrol boat hindi ocean liner....ang bobo!!!!

If smaller yatchs & water vessels can do cross-ocean crossing what more with the Philippine Coast Guard's 56-foot Australian-built Search & Rescue ships.

IMO the main issue would be the practicality of this "adventure".

That's because the air route evacuation is now not feasible since Israel started destroying bridges in Lebanon. The Philippine g6vernment has been hiring chartered planes before to fly in Filipino evacuees from Lebanon.

I think this is one of the PCG's new SAR vessel:

I think Coast Guard yong nag-offer to do this thing. Nagmagaling na naman mga haliparot na 'to! Buti na lang di pinatulan ng mga in-charge ang kabobohan na 'to.

So what are they to do? We complain constantly that the government is doing nothing to evacuate Filipinos and when someone volunteers to do it - we still call them bobo.

Damned if you do... damned if you don't!

[mazdamazda]

FYI to those that are complaining:

Coast Guard ships off to aid Lebanon evacuation

By Leila Salaverria
Agence France-Presse, Inquirer
Last updated 04:33pm (Mla time) 08/06/2006

(UPDATE) THE government is sending two ferries to Lebanon to help evacuate Filipinos stranded after weeks of Israeli air raids that have destroyed roads and bridges throughout the country.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Sunday that it had been ordered to prepare two ferries, the Batangas and Pampanga, for the 15-day voyage to Lebanon.

The Coast Guard ships, three-year old 56-meter search and rescue (SAR) vessels made in Australia, will be used as a "shuttle service" between Lebanon and neutral countries like Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, or Syria, PCG spokesperson Lt. Commander Joseph Coyme said.

The ship, each capable of carrying 300 people, will leave Manila on Wednesday for the 15-day, 6,568-nautical mile voyage to Beirut.

The PCG also expects to spend about P93 million for a 40-day operation. Coyme said the bulk of the money would be spent on fuel.

He said Filipinos will be taken to Cyprus or ports in Turkey, Egypt or Syria for repatriation back home.

Coyme said the decision to send the ships was made by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Friday night during a meeting with officials involved in the evacuation from Lebanon.

On Friday, Arroyo made an urgent appeal for the estimated 30,000 Filipinos working in Lebanon to leave the country, warning the conflict was set to escalate.

Foreign affairs undersecretary Esteban Conejos said in a statement Sunday that Manila was securing the "proper clearance" from Israel to allow the vessels to approach Lebanese ports.

The Israeli navy has maintained a total blockade on all Lebanese ports since Israel began its offensive against Hezbollah positions in the south of the country last month.

Conejos said 465 Filipinos were able to flee Beirut on Saturday to northern Syria using a coastal land route aboard buses.

So far, 2,652 overseas Filipino workers have arrived back in the Philippines from Lebanon using the land route to Syria.

Coyme said the sea route had become the only practical and safe option left for the government.

"The land route to Syria is no longer safe," he said.

[KoKoNAT]

Ahh.. first you criticize the gov't for not doing enough in this crisis. Then when the gov't finally has a plan, you criticize them again. There's no satisfying you people, isn't there?

Since you people are obviously geniuses, maybe you can think of a better way of getting those people out. You know: 'Talk the talk, and walk the walk.'

And for the record, BRP Batangas and BRP Pampanga are NOT patrol boats nor frigates nor anti-sub ships. They are 56m Search and Rescue Vessels. It can land helicopters on its upper deck and can operate RHIBs. They are purpose-built to operate in adverse weather conditions. They should be because what's the use of a search-and-rescue vessel if it cannot respond to a distress call in a stormy sea? Tenix of Australia built and delivered to the PCG both ships in 2000. With a top speed of 25 knots, those SARs are one of the fastest and newest ships in the Philippine inventory. Heck, they're probably newer than most of the cars that the people in this forum own. With a competent crew (and don't tell me Filipinos are not best sailors in the world), they're probably the best ones suited for the mission. And in my opinion, the PCG option is better than sending a civilian ferry (ie. Aboitiz) because a civilian ferry, although big and can accomodate more people, is also slow and cannot operate in bad weather.

Here's an actual picture of the ships that will be sent:



So if the PCG option pushes through, I wish the crew all the best in their mission. Bring our people back. Good luck and God-speed.