Body armors, helmets being acquired for Army

THE Department of National Defense (DND) is in the process of acquiring P11.7 billion worth of body armors and ballistic helmets for the use of the Philippine Army which is leading the fight against communist rebels and other internal security threats.

The DND said the bidding is open to foreign and local manufacturers, subject to eligibility conditions provided under the 2016 revised implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

In separate invitations to bid, the DND said P8.83 billion has been earmarked for the procurement of 115,000 units of body armor and P2.87 billion for 115,000 units of ballistic helmets.

It said the bidding will be conducted through “open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary ‘pass/fail’ criterion” specified under the IRR of the procurement law.

The defense department said bidders should have completed a contract similar to the project in the past five years.

Submission and opening of the bids were set on August 20 at the DND building at Camp Aguinaldo.

“This is part of modernization (program) of the Philippine Army,” said Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala, without discussing details of the bidding.

He said that while the Army has body armors and ballistic helmets, these have expiry dates and should be replaced with new ones so that its troops will have “reliable” protection equipment during combat.

Army soldiers are leading the campaign against the communist New People’s Army, which authorities said is down to a strength of around 1,000 men, from a high of over 20,000 in the 1980s.

They are also at the forefront of the campaign against terrorist groups including the Abu Sayyaf, the Daulah Islamiyah, the Maute Group, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

“It’s for protection of our personnel… We really need body armors and helmets,” Dema-ala said.

Dema-ala said the importance of such equipment was realized when terrorists attacked Marawi City in May 2017. The conflict that lasted five months resulted in the death of about a thousand terrorists, 168 soldiers and policemen, and 47 civilians.

Dema-ala said it is the Army’s objective to provide each soldier a set