Navy ships to pick up donated PPE in India

Two Philippine Navy ships, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz and BRP Davao Del Sur, are en route to the Philippines after a stop in Oman and will pick up donated personal protective equipment (PPE) in India.

The PPE shipment was donated by a Filipino businessman named Paul Dantes, who has a company in India, in coordination with the Office of Civil Defense.

The Naval Task Force (NTF)-82, composed of the two vessels and a 400-man contingent, left Port Sultan Qaboos in Oman and will make a brief stop at Port Cochin, India.

The ships and their crew left Oman after ensuring all members were free of COVID-19 symptoms as precautionary measures were beefed up.

NTF-82 is anticipated to arrive in Manila by the third week of May.

The task force was initially deployed to the Middle East in February for the potential evacuation of overseas Filipino workers amid heightened US-Iran tensions.

During their mission, the ships became the first Filipino naval vessels to sail the Indian Ocean and made port visits to Sri Lanka and Oman, strengthening diplomatic ties.

The deployment also fostered national pride among overseas Filipino workers through engagements with local Filipino communities.