BRP Antonio Luna, with minor damage, now back in PH
Guided-missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna is now back in the country after sustaining minor damage during its drills in Malaysia, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said on Friday, September 5, 2025. FILE PHOTO: Arnel Tacson, INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Guided-missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna has returned to the country after sustaining minor damage during its drills in Malaysia, the Philippine Navy said on Friday.
“Yes, we had the arrival ceremony yesterday (Thursday) in Subic [in Zambales],” said Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, in a San Juan City forum when asked if the warship is now back in the country.
BRP Antonio Luna was damaged on the port (left) side of its freeboard, or the distance between the waterline and the upper main deck of a ship, Navy spokesperson Capt. Marissa Arlene Martinez said on Tuesday.
Martinez said the incident happened on Aug. 27 at the Lumut Naval Base in Perak state during the Malphi-Laut Exercise 2025. The drills of Manila and Kuala Lumpur were held from Aug. 27 to 29.
Trinidad said the full assessment of its damage, including the cost of the damage and any effects on weapon systems, will be completed in “probably a week or two.”
“But I would say that it did not impede the operational performance of the ship,” Trinidad said.
“More importantly, what we will look at is the operational capability of our weapons systems,” he continued.
The official also pointed out that the initial repair of BRP Antonio Luna was already done by the crew while underway.
Commissioned in 2021, the BRP Antonio Luna is a South Korean-built frigate with a 2,600-ton gross displacement.
It is the second ship of the Jose Rizal class of guided missile frigates equipped with missiles, torpedoes, launchers, and weapon systems for anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine electronic warfare operations.
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BRP Antonio Luna has been routinely patrolling in the West Philippine Sea as part of the operations to assert the country’s exclusive economic zone rights amid continued Chinese presence.
READ: PH Navy tests anti-missile decoy in West Philippine Sea
While Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, a landmark international ruling rejected its expansive maritime claims and upheld Manila’s sovereign rights./coa/abc
