THE Department of National Defense (DND) has created a body to negotiate with a Russian company the return of the P1.9-billion down payment for the scuttled deal to acquire 16 units of Mi-17 helicopters.

DND spokesman and Director Arsenio Andolong said the Contract Termination and Review Committee (CTRC) has been tasked to talk with Sovtechnoexport LLC officials for possible reimbursement.

Andolong said the decision to cancel the deal was made due to the “changes in priorities necessitated by global political developments.”

The 16 units of Mi-17 heavy-lift helicopters were intended for the Philippine Air Force.

“We have reconstituted the DND Contract Termination and Review Committee (CTRC) that will undertake the appropriate processes and exercise due diligence in formalizing the termination of the project’s contract. We are also preparing to initiate a diplomatic dialogue with the Russian side regarding matters arising from the project’s cancellation,” he added.

The purchase agreement was made in the previous administration.

“The Department of National Defense is formalizing the termination of the contract with the Russian Federation for the procurement of 16 units of Mi-17 heavylift helicopters for the Philippine Air Force,” Andolong said.

“The CTRC will undertake the appropriate processes in the contract termination and will exercise due diligence in the bilateral dialogue that will be conducted in connection with the cancellation of the project.

This includes the issue on the down payment. Down payment was P1.9 billion,” he added.

Then Defense secretary and now head of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority Delfin Lorenzana signed the deal to buy 16 Mi-17 helicopters from Russia.

However, it was scrapped before the end of the Duterte administration over fears of economic sanctions from the United States.

The first batch of the choppers was supposed to be delivered next year.