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MANILA, Philippines -- An Indonesian aircraft manufacturer was the only firm to bid for a Department of Defense contract to supply the Philippine Air Force with two medium-lift transport planes worth more than P800 million.

This was first revealed by reliable military sources and later confirmed by Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo who, when asked, said in a text message that the “big is (still) being evaluated.”

He did not elaborate.

According to one source, three companies bought bid documents but only PT Dirgantara Indonesia/Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) and Sikorsky Aircraft submitted offers.

When the bids were opened at the DND in Camp Aguinaldo on Wednesday, only PT Dirgantara qualified as a bidder. It offered a price of P812,550,000.

Another source said Sikorsky had offered the C27 Skytruck while PT Dirgantara offered the NC21-200 Aviocar.

“Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez has given the (Air Force’s) technical working group seven days to evaluate (PT Dirgantara’s) bid,” he said.

The Indonesian firm describes the NC-212-200 in its website as “a light transport that was designed to operate in areas lacking in infrastructure and unpaved runways. It has a high-wing configuration and fixed landing gear, is fitted with twin turboprop engines, and has excellent Short Take Off and Landing capability.”

The firm was established in 1976 and bills itself as “one of the indigenous aerospace company in Asia with core competence in aircraft design, development and manufacturing of civilian and military regional commuter aircraft.”