MARAWI City — The Department of National Defense is moving forward with plans to acquire land for a new naval base and dockyard at the 3,000-hectare Phividec Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said.
Speaking to reporters, Teodoro said the department is in the process of acquiring 300 hectares of the industrial estate’s land. The site was previously considered for a shipyard by a South Korean firm, but the project fell through in 2008.
Teodoro said the land title has been separated for the defense department and approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The new facility will serve as a base for eight new frigates built by South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Four of the frigates — the BRP Jose Rizal, BRP Antonio Luna, BRP Miguel Malvar, and BRP Diego Silang — have already been commissioned by the Philippine Navy, with eight more expected in the next two years.
Teodoro added that the naval base will become the center of Philippine Navy operations in Northern Mindanao and the Visayas.
According to Phividec Administrator Joseph Donato Bernedo, the selected land has deep-sea capability suitable for berthing frigates and submarines.
Bernedo previously said that the defense department would need to finalize a financial agreement to acquire the land.
