# Malvar-class corvette

The Malvar class is a ship class of patrol corvettes of the Philippine Navy and are currently its oldest class of corvettes. These ships were formerly used by the US Navy as Admirable-class minesweepers, and PCE-842-class and PCE(R)-848 class patrol craft, which were both based on the Admirable-class hull. In the Philippine Navy, the vessels have undergone upgrades and modifications, and have been re-categorized as corvettes. One ship, the ex-USN USS Quest was converted into a non-combatant Presidential Yacht by the Philippine Navy in 1948 as RPS Pag-asa (APO-21) (later on renamed as RPS Santa Maria, and as RPS/BRP Mount Samat)
In 2021 December 10, the remaining two ships of the class were finally decommissioned, and so the remaining WW2-era vessels left during that time are the five armed transport-types (3 LCUs & 2 LSTs). That event was supposed to mark the end of the era of using WW2 combatants but supertyphoon Odette hit the Philippines just 6 days after their decommissioning, and so BRP Magat Salamat (PS-20) was forced again into service "with a volunteer force composed mainly of its last crew" to serve as a temporary command post for the duration of the relief operations in the severely affected Dinagat Islands.
But to begin with, the replacements for all the WW2-era vessels was originally planned for the 2000s under the 1995-2010 Philippine Military Modernization Law, however this law was largely ignored for various reasons, including overdependence on the US via their 1951 MDT and 1998 VFA, among others. Some Filipinos blamed the 1997 Asian financial crisis as the core reason but in actuality the Philippine economy grew by 5.2% in 1997, only contracted -0.6% in 1998, and then quickly rebounded 3.1% in 1999, and onwards; it even weathered the 2007–2008 financial crisis where, by 2009, most countries were on the negative while the Philippines managed at 1.1%, while 7.15% and 4.15% in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The modernization law expired in 2010 February 23 without even a single hint of reviving it during that time. The Philippines only thought of reviving it when the Scarborough Shoal standoff erupted in 2012 April 8.

## History

The PCE class of naval ships served with the United States Navy during the Second World War.
Out of the reserved US Navy units, six were transferred to the Philippines as part of the US Military Assistance Program (PS-28 to PS-33), while five were former South Vietnamese Navy units that escaped to the Philippines in 1975.
With 40 years of active duty with the Philippine Navy, ships of this class have been involved in local and international crisis, exercises, and incidents.

## Technical details

Originally the ship was armed with one 3" (76mm) L/50 dual-purpose gun, two to six Bofors 40 mm guns, 1 Hedgehog depth charge projector, four depth charge projectiles (K-guns) and two depth charge tracks.
The same configuration applied up until the late 1980s when the Philippine Navy removed most of its old anti-submarine weapons and systems, losing its already-limited ASW abilities, but installed three 20 mm Oerlikon guns and four 12.7 mm heavy machine guns, making them lighter and more suited for surface patrols.
The ship was originally powered by two Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, but these were replaced by two GM 12-567ATL diesel engines similar to her sister ships, with a combined rating of around 1,710 bhp (1,280 kW). These were then again replaced in the mid 1990s with two GM 12-278A diesels with a combined rating of around 2,200 bhp (1,600 kW) driving two propellers. The main engines can propel the 914-ton (full load) ship to a maximum speed of around 16 knots (30 km/h).

## Ships in class

| Ship name | Bow number | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Service | Status |
| BRP Datu Tupas | PS-18 | 14 November 1943 | 5 April 1976 | 1977 | Patrol Force | Used as parts hulk for sisterships. |
| BRP Miguel Malvar | PS-19 | 1 March 1944 | 7 February 1977 | 10 December 2021 | Offshore Combat Force | Decommissioned |
| BRP Magat Salamat | PS-20 | 19 March 1944 | 7 February 1977 | 10 December 2021 | Offshore Combat Force | Used as temporary command post in Dinagat Islands as reported in 2021 Dec 28 |
| BRP Sultan Kudarat | PS-22 | 18 May 1943 | 22 July 1976 | 5 July 2019 | Offshore Combat Force | Capsized at Sangley Point, Cavite |
| BRP Datu Marikudo | PS-23 | 18 March 1944 | 5 April 1976 | 9 December 2010 | Patrol Force | Sold for scrap; equipment stripped as spare parts |
| BRP Cebu | PS-28 | 10 November 1943 | 2 July 1948 | 1 October 2019 | Offshore Combat Force | Capsized at Sangley Point, Cavite. |
| BRP Negros Occidental | PS-29 | 24 February 1944 | 2 July 1948 | 9 December 2010 | Patrol Force | Sold for scrap; equipment stripped as spare parts |
| RPS Leyte | PS-30 | 20 June 1944 | 2 July 1948 | 1979 | Patrol Force | Grounded and lost in 1978. |
| BRP Pangasinan | PS-31 | 24 April 1943 | 2 July 1948 | 1 March 2021 | Offshore Combat Force | Sunk as target for SINKEX phase of Exercise Balikatan 2023 on 26 April 2023. |
| BRP Iloilo | PS-32 | 3 August 1943 | 2 July 1948 | September 2016 | Offshore Combat Force | Weapons, machinery & electronics stripped for spare parts; hull awaiting disposal |
| RPS Samar | PS-33 | 20 November 1943 | 24 May 1948 | 1960 | Patrol Force | After Decommissioning from Philippine Navy, she was transferred to the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1960.She was renamed RPS RESEARCH and served with BCGS until 1975 and eventually returned to the Philippine Navy and Probably Scrapped. Source: NAMRIA INFOMAPPER July 2001 issue and CDR Mark R Condeno |

## Gallery

* BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19)
* BRP Pangasinan (PS-31) at CARAT 2011-Philippines
* RPS Samar (M-33) flying Philippine colors but still wearing U.S. Navy hull number circa 1948.