By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) Updated June 20, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The Aquino administration is willing to implement an ambitious P40-billion modernization project for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) over the next five years starting in 2012, so that the military could protect the country’s claims on the disputed Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad disclosed that starting next year, the government would be allocating P8 billion for the next five years for the AFP modernization program to protect the maritime resources and territorial integrity of the country.
He said this would help the country defend its territory, including those that are being claimed in the disputed Spratly Islands, and stop the bullying of other claimant-nations in the West Philippine Sea off Palawan.
In an interview in Calamba, Laguna where President Aquino led the 150th birthday celebration of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, AFP chief of staff Eduardo Oban Jr. said the new modernization fund would help the military improve its capability.
“We will have to face acquisition of equipment. Definitely, the P40 billion is just really for immediate requirements. We’ll be coming up with a list of priority acquisition, and this has to be driven by strategy,†he told reporters.
“It’s the baseline capability that the AFP really needs to improve on,†Oban asserted.
Out of the P330 billion that was earmarked for the 15-year AFP modernization program (1995-2010), only around P33 billion was actually released to the AFP, or 10 percent of the total amount that former President Ramos projected.
This covered the terms of former presidents Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo until June 2010.
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