16 May Presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte to Sell Presidential Yacht and Make Use of Choppers as Air Ambulances
Image Source | www.gmanetwork.com
On May 15, Sunday, leading presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte said that will be selling the presidential yacht BRP Ang Pangulo and he also added that he wants all aircrafts assigned to the Presidential Airlift Wing to be used as “air ambulances”. The announcement was made after he met police chiefs of Davao City Police Office at the Hotel Elena in Davao City.
Duterte told the reporters that the proceeds from selling the yacht will go to the improvement of hospital facilities, war veterans, and salaries for doctors so they wouldn’t have to leave the country for higher salary abroad.
In 1986, when President Cory Aquino took over, she put the BRP Ang Pangulo up for sale with an amount of US$5.5 million trying to do away with all the extravagance fot he Marcos administration noting that the yacht costs P400,000 a month just for maintenance, but was not sold.
During President Estrada’s regime in 1998, the BRP Ang Pangulo was furnished extensively and was used as a venue for presidential events as well as a mobile office fo the president.
Yet in 2006, the yacht was caught on fire while it was being repaired. After the refurbishing and repair, President Arroyo renamed the yacht BRP Pag-Asa.
It was President Benigno Aquino who restored the yacht’s name back into BRP Ang Pangulo which also ordered the ship to be augmented with the capabilities of the Philippine Navy.
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