In 1968, Filipino seamen sailed a cast-off U.S. warship across the Pacific for service in their navy. In November, the 48-year-old vessel finally sank in a typoon. The saga of the patrol ship Nueva Vizcaya, which sank Nov. 14 off Cebu, typifies the problems facing the navy, the stepchild of a poorly equipped armed forces. Although a nation of 7,100 islands, with a longer coastline than the continental United States, the Philippines has the most primitive navy in Southeast Asia. ``Being an archipelago, we must become a sea power or we will be powerless,'' navy chief Rear Admiral Mariano Dumancas said in a recent interview. The reality makes Dumancas' words seem comical. The navy's inventory consists mostly of World War II hand-me-downs from the United States, including the Nueva Vizcaya, built in July 1942 and once known as the Altrus. The vintage ships have poor navigational equipment and inadequate anti-pollution maritime devices, according to a secret navy report obtained by The Associated Press. The report said Philippine warships average 41 years of age, compared with 19 for the Indonesian navy and 13 for the Malaysians. ``It's not safe or effective to have these floating coffins used,'' admitted a senior navy officer, who spoke on condition he not be named. The demise of the Nueva Vizcaya, which spent its last few years being towed from dock to dock because its engine was inoperable, left the navy 22 patrol ships, 21 transport vessels, 85 small craft and 14 aircraft. ``On the surface, this inventory looks huge,'' the classified report said. ``In reality... they have very limited operational capabilities, and have become very expensive to operate and maintain.'' The report admitted that ``in an honest-to-goodness encounter, the capacity of our men-of-war to sustain as a viable naval force is extremely doubtful.'' Among its other deficiencies, the Philippine navy has no capability against submarines, missile attack or mine warfare. While the U.S. Navy has a formidable fleet of carriers, destroyers and assault ships in Subic Bay, 50 miles northwest of Manila, Philippine sailors patrol their own waters with three wooden outriggers. Occasionally, the navy must borrow private boats for raids against pirates and smugglers, according to navy officers in Subic. ``Countries in this region are modernizing their navies and some are in good shape,'' said Joris Janssen-Lok, naval editor of the respected Jane's Defense Weekly in London. ``But this country is indeed deplorable.'' Since independence from the United States in 1946, land forces have traditionally received the largest share of the defense budget because of persistent internal security problems, including Moslem and Communist insurgencies. Meanwhile, Filipino officials grew lax in building an effective navy because there was no immediate threat and even if there were, they could always rely on the Americans. But the Mutual Defense Treaty obligates the United States to defend the Philippines against foreign aggression and not combat smugglers, pirates or incursions by foreign navies. ``The prolonged presence of the U.S. military in our country made us neglect to undertake the necessary long-term steps to build our external defense over the years,'' said Sen. Leticia Shahani, chief sponsor of a congressional bill to modernize the navy. Dependence on the U.S. Navy is often illustrated during typhoons, air and sea accidents and other disasters when Philippine authorities turn to the Americans because they lack the capability for their own search and rescue. ``We have become too dependent on the Americans,'' said Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, a former defense minister. ``We have neglected to modernize our navy.'' The psychological blanket that the U.S. presence provides has resulted in giving less priority to buying, repairing and modernizing ships. Last year, the navy received 16 percent of the defense budget with the army and the Philippine Constabulary receiving more than half. Realizing the need to modernize, the navy proposed an additional allocation now equal to $430 million to buy new ships over 5 years. But inflation and the falling peso are threatening to increase costs beyond those projections. ``There is an urgent need to upgrade the navy, but realistically, we cannot afford it,'' said Sen. Ernesto Maceda, chairman of the Senate defense committee. ``We have to subsidize rice, fuel, schools, buy medicines - basics first.''
