THE Department of National Defense (DND) is eyeing Russian equipment to boost its humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), an official said on Wednesday. Advertisements“We are eyeing [HADR equipment] such as trucks and helicopters, with the likes of that maybe we can finalize it within this year,” said Raymundo Elefante, defense undersecretary. At the same time, Raymundo Elefante, DND undersecretary for finance and materiel, said that Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and his Russian counterpart, Minister Sergey Shoygu, signed an agreement with Rosobronexport that would provide military equipment to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). “The contract was signed but what they (Lorenzana and Shoygu) discussed was more on a ministerial aspect on what will be the equipment that will be provided to us,” he told reporters in an interview. DEMPSEY REYES

Source: Manila Times October 25, 2017 08:15 UTC