MODERNIZATION President Marcos speaks with a Philippine Navy officer in front of a drone that would be used by the military. The Philippines is racing to modernize its Armed Forces amid belligerent moves by China in the West Philippine Sea. —PPA POOL PHOTO
Senators have assured the country’s defense establishment of their support in restoring the P10-billion allotment that the House of Representatives had slashed from the military’s modernization plan next year, a move that could stymie efforts to beef up the country’s maritime defense amid China’s belligerent actions in the West Philippine Sea.
At Thursday’s Senate plenary budget deliberations, Sen. JV Ejercito lamented that the reduction in the yearly appropriation for the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ acquisition of new defense equipment had hampered moves to improve the country’s external and internal security systems.
He pointed out that under Republic Act No. 10349, or the Revised AFP Modernization Program of 2012, the military was mandated to receive P75 billion annually to upgrade its defense capabilities.
129 unfinished projects
“We are not aiming to match an aggressor’s military might,” Ejercito said, referring to China.
“What we are aiming for is at least to have the minimum credible defense posture and fully mission-capable territorial defense for the country,” he said in his interpellation of the proposed P266-billion budget for the Department of National Defense (DND) for 2025.
“But how can we realize this if the budget for the (AFP) modernization program is being reduced every year?” he pointed out.
Ejercito reiterated that allocating taxpayer money for national security “is an investment to our future, our sovereignty and most importantly, to our men in uniform.”
According to him, the funding shortfall had left a total of 129 unfinished projects in the AFP’s modernization plan — 17 under Horizon 1, 75 under Horizon 2, and 37 under Horizon 3.
Speaking through Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who sponsored the DND’s planned outlay, Defense Secretary Giberto Teodoro Jr. echoed Ejercito’s observations, saying the budget cut would affect seven projects of the AFP.
Teodoro had earlier said that the DND had originally set aside P245 billion for the program, but Malacañang only approved P75 billion under the National Expenditure Program.
Responding to queries from Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, Dela Rosa said a total of P50 billion was earmarked under programmed allotments while the remaining amount was placed under unprogrammed appropriations.
Dela Rosa concerned
Under the House-approved General Appropriations Bill, the proposed outlay for the modernization program was further lowered to P40 billion.
Dela Rosa said the cut would affect the planned acquisition of new aircraft, joint tactical combat vehicles and equipment for cyber systems, forward-support equipment, aviation-engineering equipment, and radar-basing support systems.
“These are the projects that will be impacted by the reduction in our modernization fund by P10 billion,” he said.
The senator also clarified that all projects under Horizon 1 were almost complete. “For Horizon 2, we are already 23 percent complete. It will be 56 percent complete by 2029,” he said.
Benchmarking
Sen. Risa Hontiveros noted that the AFP modernization fund next year was smaller than the pension fund for retired soldiers, which was P84.31 billion.
“I hate to put these numbers side-by-side, but have we also benchmarked our allocation for military modernization against those spent by other countries in the region for this purpose?” she asked.
In response, Dela Rosa said the country’s annual funding to modernize the military was a measly 0.17 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
“Our defense-to-GDP spending is one of the lowest in the region,” Dela Rosa said.
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri underscored the importance of increasing the government’s yearly allocation to buy new military technology and hardware amid China’s illegal incursions into the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“We need to support our troops in all services,” Zubiri said.
Like his colleagues, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go supported the AFP’s modernization program “to revitalize and strengthen our military.”
Missile launchers
“We must provide them with the necessary equipment, infrastructure, and support to enable them to perform their duties,” he said.
One of the defense capability upgrades being eyed by the military is the acquisition of intermediate-range missile launchers from the United States despite China’s warning that it would be a “provocative” and “dangerous” move, according to Teodoro.
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Speaking to reporters at the Philippine Navy headquarters on Friday, the defense chief disclosed the government’s plan to buy missile systems but said that it was not going to be limited to the US-made Typhon missiles “because there must be consent to sell.”
“However, we are planning to have such kinds of capabilities. I’m not saying the Typhon, I’m saying such kinds of capabilities,” he said.
China warnings dismissed
China has opposed such move, saying it would further increase tensions in the region.
Teodoro dismissed Beijing’s warnings, saying that “the whole world knows who is on the right path and who is on the wrong path.”
“Definitely we cannot take advice from people who distort the truth, and nobody believes them anyway,” he said, adding that it would be “a waste of airtime to broadcast the claims of China” because “only their leadership believes in what they say anyway.”
“We have the force of international law on our side, not merely Philippine law. China does not have the force of law on its side,” Teodoro said, referring to the 2016 arbitral award in favor of the Philippines against China’s sweeping claims to nearly the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, waters within the country’s EEZ.
“It does not have right on its side, that’s why they are leftists,” he added.
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The US midrange missile system called Typhon, which was brought into the country in April and was used in recent “Balikatan” war games between Filipino and American troops, is still in the Philippines.
The Typhon’s arrival in the country angered Beijing. China’s Defense Minister Qu Qian said the United States and the Philippines “brought huge risks of war into the region.”
Teodoro earlier responded to this, saying: “It’s none of China’s business.”
“What happens within our territory is for our defense. We follow international law. What’s the fuss?” he said.
Defense and military officials said the Typhon will remain in the Philippines until further notice. —WITH A REPORT FROM NESTOR CORRALES