SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union, March 5 (PIA) -- The Philippine Navy has deployed the BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS-35) to secure the nation’s territorial waters off the coast of northern Luzon.

An elaborate ceremony to welcome the arrival of the  warship was held on March 5. 

The arrival was presided over by Naval Forces Northern Luzon commander Commo. Francisco G. Tagamolila, Jr. and Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) deputy commander Commo. Karl A. Decapia. 

Tagamolila Jr. said the arrival of the ship also aims to send a message that the navy is now focused on maritime security and territorial defense. 

“The ability of this ship in protecting our sovereignty is good because it can detect vessels over a large distance,” Tagamolina, Jr. said of the vessel’s advanced surveillance capabilities. 

The BRP Emilio Jacinto  has a 60-man crew and is the lead ship of the Jacinto-class patrol ships that were acquired by the Philippines in 1997 following the handover of the administration of Hong Kong to China.

“The ship and its crew shall undergo a briefing on the peculiarities [of our area] then it will perform its first mission,” Tagamolila Jr. said, adding that the ship shall also dock in Subic in between missions.

The ship’s most recent mission before its deployment to northern Luzon was in the West Philippine Sea in Palawan. 

One of the vessel’s most notable recent missions is the delivery of relief goods to COVID-19 patients in the Turtle Islands and the town of Mapun in Tawi-Tawi during the early stages of the pandemic in April 2020.

The ship is equipped with one of the PN’s most advanced systems, undergoing a weapons, navigation, and combat systems upgrade last August 2019.

“In 2019, it underwent combat, navigation, and weapons system maintenance and it was completed in 2020. The ship returned to the Naval Forces Western Mindanao [after that], then to the Naval Forces West before being sent here,” Tagamolila, Jr. said. 

Maintenance work and extensive repairs were also recently made to the ship, ensuring the readiness of the ship and its crew for security, logistics, and maritime operations. 

BRP Emilio Jacinto was first commissioned as HMS Peacock under the Royal Navy in 1983 and was commissioned with the Philippine Navy in 1997. (JCR/AMB/MJTAB/CCMT, PIA La Union)