The mysterious letter
I thought the issue of the dismissal of Vice Admiral Ronald Joseph Mercado last December was over. Apparently not. Defense Secretary Lorenzana lost confidence and trust in Mercado's integrity and leadership because the latter supposedly favored a different company to supply the Combat Management System (CMS) of two warships that the country will acquire from South Korea. The country already has a contract with Hanwha Systems to provide the CMS, a system for the warships. According to Lorenzana, Mercado's insubordination and lobbying for another CMS caused inordinate delays in the acquisition of the two frigates.
In a privilege speech Rep. Gary Alejano, who is also a former Marine, said that special assistant to the president Christopher Go handed a "white paper" to Sec. Lorenzana, where the benefits of Hanwha Systems over that of Thales Tacticos, the supposedly preferred CMS of the Philippine Navy (PN), were laid out. Lorenzana writes some notes on the side, then handed over the document to Mercado, who in turn handed it over to Commodore Robert Empedrad for a rebuttal, since the PN did prefer the Thales Tacticos CMS. Thales Tacticos is used by more than twenty navies in the world, while Hanwha Systems is used by the navies of South Korea and Malaysia.
Because of the allegations, Sec. Lorenzana has cleared Go of any interference whatsoever regarding the warships and the CMS. The letter in question supposedly came from Hanwha Systems, which only passed through the Palace, so Lorenzana just assumed it was from Go. No less than President Duterte has come in defense of his longtime friend, promising to fire him if proof of interference can be presented. Go himself has vehemently denied the allegations.
Vice Adm. Mercado has also spoken on the issue, clearing Go as well of any interference. But despite that statement, he said he would discuss many more issues regarding the frigates at the right time and the right place. For now, he just wants to clear Go of any wrongdoing. If that is not a loaded statement, I don't know what is. Apparently the issues surrounding the two frigates and their CMS are not over. We can only wait if Mercado will make good on his speaking at the right time and forum.
But if the letter is from Hanwha Systems, why was it written on an unmarked "white paper"? Why was it not written on an official letterhead? If Hanwha Systems was presenting its combat management system as far superior to that of Thales Tacticos, why not send it to the Department of Defense or even the Philippine Navy who are directly involved in the frigate project? Why not a concise presentation, instead of an unmarked letter? There is even a technical working group created to specifically assess all available CMS for the frigates. Does Hanwha Systems have a close insider in the Palace, which is why they sent it there? Is the Palace in the habit of receiving unmarked, unsigned, unofficial documents from foreign companies? While there are those who have spoken in defense of the special assistant to the president, no one is denying the "white paper" exists. Mysterious indeed.
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