She’s been in service for more than half a century. She’s done so for seven presidents of the Philippines. But incoming President Rodrigo Duterte won’t use BRP Ang Pangulo. In fact, he plans to sell her.
Duterte made the statement earlier this month. He indicated that the sale would benefit war veterans, improve hospitals, and raise doctors’ salaries. (The latter, he explained, is to keep them at home, vs. seeking opportunity abroad.) A spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Philippines has subsequently declared the sale “speculative,” according to local media. Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla indicates that the president elect could change his mind upon taking office, for example, based on advisors’ recommendations. Even if he doesn’t, Padillla adds, procedures dictate the disposal of government assets such as BRP Ang Pangulo. A special committee would then evaluate whether the sale would be necessary.
Regardless, this isn’t the first time the 253-foot (77-meter) BRP Ang Pangulo has been considered for sale. President Corazon Aquino formally offered her for $5.5 million back in 1986. It was an effort to break from the opulent lifestyle of her predecessor, President Ferdinand Marcos. No deal was ever signed, though.
The history of BRP Ang Pangulo dates to 1958. She was built in Japan that year as part of its war reparations to the Philippines, as a presidential yacht. Her original name was RPS Lapu-Lapu, so-christened in 1959 to honor a Filippino war hero of the 1500s. The then-president, Carlos Garcia, made her first trip a trade and cultural exposition to Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other nations. Heads of state and other dignitaries were entertained onboard by Garcia, too, including Gen. Douglas Macarthur in 1961. She was the flagship of the Philippine Navy until 1962, when she was converted to a naval-troop transport ship and named RPS Roxas, after the Philippine president of that time. Marcos returned her to yacht use in 1967 and re-christened her BRP Ang Pangulo.
Marcos’ usage was high-profile, and ended up being highly controversial, too. BRP Ang Pangulo hosted lavish parties for family and friends. Dancer Rudolf Nureyev and actress Brooke Shields were among the famous faces who stepped aboard at his invitation. That lavish lifestyle was among the reasons the national will turned against Marcos. He and his wife were forced to leave the Philippines in 1986. Shortly thereafter, a video, purportedly shot for or by the Marcos family, showed them hosting a New Year’s Eve party aboard BRP Ang Pangulo, one of a few such celebrations.
Whatever fate awaits the yacht, it was reportedly last thoroughly refitted between 1998 and 2000. And, according to CNN, the Philippine Navy has 32 million Philippine pesos (about $685,704) budgeted for her maintenance and repair this year.
Leave a Reply