Philippine Navy and Sangley Point

A friend in facebook, Dr. Aileen Baviera, an academic in UP and researcher on foreign policy and military affairs, rode a Philippine Navy chopper yesterday and took photos, posted in facebook. I have seen Sangley Point from a distance via commercial plane, but I have never been there. Nice photos.

The skyscrapers of Manila-Makati-Pasay-Paranaque, seen from Sangley Point, Cavite.

Not many battle ships anchored there that day. Maybe the other ships are in Mindanao, Palawan, and near the Spratlys, Scarborough/Masinloc areas.

That long stretch is a runway, for the Air Force, I think.

The Navy headquarters in Roxas Blvd, Manila. I read that the government intends to lease or privatize this area, good move. Huge amount of money can be realized from that scheme. Any move to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should be funded from the privatization of some DND/AFP assets and land, and not resort to raising taxes or more government borrowings.

Our public debt is rising by P400 to P450 billion a year, with or without any economic crisis. It's a pathetic and ugly fiscal situation. It should not be worsened by more public borrowings to pursue certain social or military goals. Privatization is the mdiway solution.

See also: 
External threat and the Navy, January 06, 2011 
Privatization 8: Government Debts: Military Camps and Spratly Issue, June 20, 2011 
China Watch 16: Scarborough Shoal, Spratlys and Citizens Action, May 01, 2012