US, PHL start joint naval exercises in Sarangani Bay

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, July 2 (PNA) – About a thousand joint American and Filipino troops are taking part in the nine-day United States (US)-Philippines naval maneuver exercises along Sarangani Bay that formally opened Monday. Capt. Robert Empedrad, deputy commander of the Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao Command, said the troops, which comprise 400 American as well as 550 Filipino naval and coast guard personnel, will undergo joint training exercises as part of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2012 program.
He said two US vessels — the missile-guiding frigate USS Vandergrift and cutter-ship US Coast Guard (USCG) Waesche —are taking part in the naval exercises.
USS Vandergrift arrived around 1:05 p.m. Sunday near the mouth of Sarangani Bay and was met by Philippine Navy (PN) ship Salvador Abcede. USCG Waesche arrived about an hour later.
Vandergrift arrived at the Makar Wharf here around 3 p.m.
Empedrad, who acts as CARAT 2012 exercise director, said another US ship also arrived in the country — the USNS Safeguard, a rescue and salvage ship — and docked in Manila for training exercises at the Manila Bay.
He said naval exercises, which is the first time that US naval units were holding in the area, would be conducted in the seas off Maitum and Maasim towns in Sarangani and in Balut Island of Sarangani town in Davao del Sur.
The naval exercise, which would not be visible from the shores, is within the area of responsibility of the Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao Command, he said.
The official said inland activities include medical and dental civic action program and concerts by the US Navy’s 7th Fleet Band in this city and Glan town in Sarangani.
At-sea activities include in-port training, subject matter exercise exchanges, riverine operations training, and diving and salvage exercises.
Empedrad said four PN ships - corvettes BRP Magat Salamat and BRP Miguel Malvar, Salvador Abcede, and coastal patrol craft BRP Teotimo Figuracion — as well as Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) BRP Pampanga are taking part in CARAT 2012.
Commander Joseph Coyme, spokesperson of the PCG Contingent in CARAT P012, said the Coast Guard exercises will cover search and rescue and emergency medical situation.
He said the Coast Watch Stations, which are operated by the PN and being worked out to be handled by the PCG, will have a communications exercise with the American’s P3C Orion aircraft.
CARAT 2012 aims to enhance combined inter-operability and capability between the Philippine Navy and United States Navy as well as to test its personnel and naval assets’ operational readiness and ultimately, improve the defense capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The specific objectives of CARAT 2012 are: to enhance current PN and USN and USGC and PCG capabilities in naval operations; increase the level of interoperability between the navies and coast guards of both countries in the conduct of combined naval operations focused in night time operations; test and develop the combined communications interoperability between the PN and USN; and promote situational awareness and information sharing between PN and USN forces.(PNA)

Sarangani Energy raises capital stock, sets start of 200-MW coal plant project

GENERAL SANTOS CITY - The Alcantara-controlled Sarangani Energy Corporation (SEC) has increased its capital stock to P4.5 billion as it moved ahead with the construction of its US$ 450 million coal-fired power plant in nearby Maasim town in Sarangani province.
The increase in capital stock will mainly cover for the equity in the development, construction and operation of the 200-megawatt (MW) coal power plant in the coastal village of Kamanga in Maasim that was targeted to go on stream by 2015, the company said in a statement emailed Thursday to the Philippines News Agency.
It said SEC’s capital stock, which was raised from an initial declared capitalization of P5 million, will be divided into 4.25 billion shares with a par value of P1 per share.
SEC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) – the publicly-listed holding company of the Alcantara Group.
The coal plant project is a joint venture between the Alsons and Thailand's Electricity Generating Public Co. Ltd. or EGCO.
With the increase in its capital stock, SEC said it gave the go-signal to Korean contractor Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd. to proceed with the engineering and construction of the Sarangani coal plant project’s first phase.
Daelim, which is considered as one of the biggest construction and engineering firms in South Korea and with projects moving in over 24 countries, was earlier contracted by SEC to handle the project’s engineering, procurement and construction aspects.
Daelim executives and engineers recently flew in from its Seoul offices to conduct an ocular inspection of the site, signaling the start of the detailed design and engineering works that will run through the fourth quarter of the year.
Oscar Benedict Contreras III, Alsons Power Business Unit manager for communications and stakeholder relations, said the actual construction of the coal power plant is targeted to commence by the third quarter of the year.
He said the completion of the project’s detailed design and engineering will lead to the actual erection and installation works of the power plant.
The power plant project is a two-phase complex of two 100 megawatt plants each. The second phase will commence within 18 months of the start of the first phase.
Maasim Mayor Art Lawa, who earlier met with the Daelim and SEC executives, expressed full support to the coal plant project, which is so far the biggest investment venture in Region 12 or the Soccsksargen Region.
The mayor expressed optimism that the SEC power plant would put an end to the worsening power supply shortage in Southern and Central Mindanao.
SEC had forged a power supply deal with the South Cotabato Electric Cooperative II (Socoteco II), which serves this city, the entire Sarangani province and parts of South Cotabato. The power sales agreement covers the provision of 70 MW to the electric cooperative. It is still up for review by the Energy Regulatory Commission. (PNA)