Lorenzana says PH doesn’t need fighter planes for now
The Philippines needs medium-lift and attack helicopters more than fighter planes for now, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said following President Rodrigo Duterte’s rejection of F-16 fighter jets from the United States.
In an interview with reporters on Monday, the Defense chief said that the country needs aircraft that the military and civilians can both use such as medium-lift helicopters.
“Wala naman tayong kalaban dito eh. Hindi naman tayo siguro makikipag-dog fight or makikipag-labanan sa Tsina or any other countries. So kailangan natin yung dual e yung civilian at military use (We have no enemies here. We may not even do a dog fight or maybe fight with China or any other country. So we need aircraft for dual civilian and military use),” he said.
Because the Philippines is typhoon-prone, Lorenzana said the helicopters may be used for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief aside from using it against terrorists.
“Mas kailangan natin dahil napakarami nating calamities, mga disasters every year (We need it more because we are affected by natural calamities and disasters every year),” he said.
Yung attack helicopter din siguro kailangan natin para sa terorista. But mostly ang tingin ko ay pang civilian use, not fighter planes (We may need the attack helicopter to fight terrorists, but I think we need aircraft more for civilian use, not fighter planes),” he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier approved the shopping list for the second phase of the military’s modernization program for 2023 to 2028, which includes multi-role fighters like F-16s.
READ: Duterte OKs AFP modernization shopping list for Horizon 2
Citing an offer by US officials, the President dismissed the acquisition of the F-16s as “utterly useless” because the country needs aircraft to fight insurgents.
READ: Duterte to US: We need attack helicopters, not F-16s
Interestingly, while the President is highlighting insurgency problems, the military said it is eyeing to acquire submarines as part of the second horizon project. It was previously scheduled for the third phase of the program (2023 to 2028) but was moved earlier amid the rising security challenges in the region.
“If we have submarines, no country will bully us again. I think it is a high time that we have that capability,” Navy chief Vice Adm. Robert Empedrad said last week. /ee
