President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. confirmed that the country's $38-million military helicopter contract with Russia will no longer push through and that the Philippines has already found a new supplier -- the United States of America (USA).

Marcos said this after Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Marat Pavlov asked the Philippine government to honor the deal first made and canceled by the previous administration.

Pavlov said the Duterte administration terminated the contract to buy 16 military helicopters due to fear of US sanctions. He added that Russia did not receive a formal notice of cancellation.

In an interview with reporters at the Manila Hotel, Marcos confirmed that the deal would no longer push through as his predecessor canceled it.

"I think it has already been determined. It was already determined by the previous administration that that deal will not carry through-- will not go on," he said on Thursday, October 20.

"The deal, as it stood, maybe at the beginning or in the middle of last year, has already been canceled," he added.

According to Marcos, the Philippine government had already found an alternative supply for the needed helicopters -- the US.

"The deal with Russia was for some heavy-lift helicopters, and now we have secured an alternative supply from the United States through the manufacturer Poland," he said.

The President added that the Philippines is trying to get back a percentage of the downpayment.

"Unfortunately, we made a downpayment that we are hoping to negotiate to get at least a percentage of that back," he said.

According to Pavlov, the Russian contractor, Sovtechnoexport, continues to manufacture the 16 helicopters because the downpayment was already made. The purchase agreement was signed in November last year.

"The downpayment was made for the start of the assembly operation, so we continue to assemble. Because we received the amount of the money, therefore, fulfilling all the contractual obligation," he said.

The first fully assembled helicopter would have been delivered to the Philippines last June and was supposed to be provided free of charge as a side bonus of the deal, but Pavlov said the Philippine government rejected it.

The Russian envoy added that the Filipino pilots tasked to operate the aircraft have also completed their training.