BRP Apolinario Mabini ( PS - 36 ) The BRP " Apolinario Mabini " ( PS - 36 ) is one of the three " Jacinto " class of corvette s , and are considered as one of the most modern ships in the Philippine Navy . She was originally called HMS " Plover " ( P240 ) during her service with the Royal Navy . Named after Apolinario Mabini , a hero of the Philippine revolution and a former Prime Minister , she is currently assigned with the Patrol Force of the Philippine Fleet . History . Launched as the second of five patrol vessels of the " Peacock " class , she was originally part of the Hong Kong Squadron of the Royal Navy . The ships were built by Hall , Russell & Company in the United Kingdom and were commissioned into Royal Navy service from 1983 to 1984 . The class was designed specifically for patrol duties in Hong Kong waters . As well as ‘ flying the flag ’ and providing a constant naval presence in region , they could undertake a number of different roles including Seamanship , Navigation and Gunnery training and Search - and - Rescue duties for which they had facilities to carry divers ( including a decompression chamber ) and equipment to recover vessels and aircraft . They also worked with the Marine Department of the Hong Kong Police and with Customs & Excise in order to prevent the constant flow of illegal immigrants , narcotics and electronic equipment into the Colony . Out of the five ships in its class , three of them , HMS " Peacock " ( P239 ) , HMS " Plover " ( P240 ) , and HMS " Starling " ( P241 ) , were left in Hong Kong until 1997 . They were sold to the Philippines as a sign of goodwill , and were officially turned over to the Philippine Navy on 1 August 1997 when Hong Kong was ceded back to China . Technical details . The ships under this class are characterized by a low freeboard , an Oto - Melara 76 mm gun turret located forward , large funnel amidships and a crane and rigid - hulled inflatable boat ( RHIB ) aft . The Oto Melara 76 mm Compact DP , the ships ' primary weapon , has a range of up to and can be used against ships , aircraft or off and on - shore ground targets . It is remotely controlled from within the Combat Information Center by the gunnery officer and has no crew within the gun itself . The gun can fire 80 rounds in 60 seconds without reloading its magazine . The ship has load capacity for up to 450 rounds . Its secondary weapon located at the stern , a MSI Defense System Seahawk mount for a M242 Bushmaster 25 mm cannon , is integrated with the 76 mm primary weapon via an Ultra Electronics Command and Control System and a Radamec 1500 Series 2500 Electro - Optical Tracking / Fire Control System . This new system was installed as part of Phase 1 of the Philippine Navy JCPV upgrade program . The Radamec 1500 Series 2500 replaced the older GSA7 Sea Archer Mk 1 electro - optical director with a GEC V3800 thermal imager added in 1987 . In addition to the abovementioned guns , these ships also carry two . 50 caliber heavy machine guns at the bridgewings , and two Oerlikon 20 mm cannon s at the midships . The ships are powered by two APE - Crossley SEMT - Pielstick diesels ( 14 , 188 bhp combined ) driving two three - bladed propellers . It has a drop down loiter engine with a shrouded prop of used to keep station and save fuel . The main engines can propel the 664 ton ( 712 tons full load ) ship at over , with a sustained speed of . Its range is at . These corvettes were specifically designed for Asian service , having air - conditioned crew spaces and have been designed to stay at sea during typhoons and other strong weather anomalies common to Asian seas . The ships were modified soon after entering Royal Navy service with deeper bilge keels to alleviate a propensity to roll during moderate and heavy seas . The ship also carries two Avon Searaider 5 . 4 m , 30 kt , 10 - man RHIB . Upgrades . Aside from the new M242 Bushmaster 25 mm cannon and upgrade of its Command and Control & Fire Control Systems as part of the ship ' s Phase 1 upgrade , the Philippine Navy also installed a new Raytheon Gyro Compass , Sperry Marine Naval BridgeMaster E Series Surface Search Radar , GPS , Anemometer , and EM logs . These were integrated with the ship ' s existing systems . The Phase 1 upgrade was completed in 2005 . The Phase 2 is the Marine Engineering Upgrade Program , which includes the repair and remediation of the hull , overhaul and improvement of the Main Propulsion including control and monitoring systems , electrical plant , auxiliary systems , outfitting and hull furnishings and training the navy crew in the operation and maintenance of the new plant . Phase 3 , which is still under bidding , is a Service Life Extension Program ( SLEP ) . Apart from the upgrades , additional refits were made to replace the four ( 4 ) 7 . 62mm machine guns with two ( 2 ) . 50 caliber heavy machine guns and two 20 mm Mk . 16 cannons . There are plans to add anti - ship missiles to the ships , but due to top - weight problems , it would have to be a lightweight system such as Sea Skua , although no missiles have been ordered to date .