Philippine officials are considering a US offer to provide heavy-lift helicopters like its widely used Chinooks after Manila scrapped a deal to buy military choppers from Russia due to fears of Western sanctions, the Philippine ambassador to Washington said on Monday.
Then-President Rodrigo Duterte approved the cancellation of the signed deal to buy 16 Russian Mi-17 helicopters due to concerns over possible Western sanctions, which could hamper fast bank transfers of the income Filipino workers send home from the US and other Western countries, Ambassador Jose Romualdez said.
Romualdez said Washington did not pressure the Philippines to drop the 12.7-billion-peso (USD 227 million) deal with the Russians.
But following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, countries that would purchase Russian equipment could face Western sanctions, he said.
“I think it was really prudent specially for President Duterte to approve the cancellation of that contract because it can save us a lot of trouble,” Romualdez told an online news conference organised by Manila-based foreign correspondents.
The US offer to sell Boeing CH-47 Chinooks was discussed as early as last year by former Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, in Washington even before Duterte was persuaded by key Cabinet members to cancel the deal, Romualdez said.
One of Duterte's Cabinet members, Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez, warned Duterte then that Western countries may withhold assistance that could help the Philippines deal with and recover from coronavirus outbreaks, two Philippine officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss the issue publicly.