SARO release on funds for Ex-ROKN Flight III Pohang-Class corvette ROKS Chungju

During the Christmas party of the Offshore Combat Forces over a week ago, President Rodrigo Duterte is said to have signed the Department of Budget recommendation and order to release funding on the transfer of the former ROKN Flight III Pohang-Class Corvette ROKS Chongju. The SARO release for the Philippine Navy's funds transfer is worth Php 250 million. The Officers, men and women who will man the ship will be sent to South Korea by January 2018.

The SARO signing was done after the SARO release order for other project like the MPAC Batch 4 and PAF Combat Utility Helicopters which the SARO release last 22nd of December 2017. The actual SARO release for the Pohang-Class Corvette is on January 2018 when the government Offices resumes business after the long holidays.

The Pohang-Class Corvette will be used to as a stop gap measures as the world war 2 era ship will be decommisioned in the Navy Ship inventory. According to sources, the BRP Rajah Humabon was set to decommissioned on december 2017, due to high maintenance cost but it will still be sailing until the arrival of the POhang-Class Corvette. The Ship also set to be armed and upgraded that it will perform Anti-Air, Surface-to-Surface and Subsurface Warfare as the Frigates from South Korea to be delivered. Also, on the Horizon 2, there will be 6 corvette procurement which the Pohang-Class corvette will serve as a training platform. 

The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) operated a maximum of 24 locally-made Pohang-class "combat corvettes", of which 21 are still in active service as of June 2014. Being a derivative of the Donghae-class, the Pohang-class provided increased size and improved performance, and improvements on sensors and weapons systems fit including accommodation for anti-ship missile systems.  The lead ship of the class, ROKS Pohang (PCC-756), was commissioned to the ROKN on December 1984, while the last unit, ROKS Gongju (PCC-785), was commissioned on July 1993. Construction for the ship class was divided to 3 of South Korea's foremost naval shipbuilders in the 1980s, Korea Tacoma Shipbuilding (now Hanjin Heavy Industries), Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

Sources:Maxdefense Philippines