Jordan donates 2 attack helicopters

The Philippines has accepted Jordan’s donation of two refurbished Cobra attack helicopters, President Rodrigo Duterte said.

The President, in a speech during the 120th anniversary of the Philippine Navy on Tuesday, said National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who is now in the Jordanian capital, Amman, personally worked on the donation.

The Philippines will spend for the refurbishing of the multimillion-dollar, single-engined Cobras, according to the popular defense website MaxDefense.

The President also confirmed that it was Esperon who had persuaded him not to speak out against Zeid bin Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who had slammed the his administration for its actions against UN special rapporteurs.

Al-Hussein is a cousin of Jordan’s King Abdullah.

The President said the government could not afford the high-tech, US-made helicopters. —Christine O. Avendaño