Massive effort to remove Navy flagship from shoal

All vessels of the military’s Western Command have been mobilized in the operation to remove Philippine Navy (PN) flagship BRP Gregorio del Pilar which ran aground in Hasa-Hasa (Half Moon) Shoal in Palawan Wednesday night. Col. Noel Detoyato, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman, said Friday the vessels of Western Command area have been ordered to sail to Hasa-Hasa to assist in retrieving the Gregorio del Pilar. Detoyato said the frigate ran aground in the shoal about 60 nautical miles off Rizal, Palawan, while on routine patrol in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).