Chiz backs bigger
gov’t spending to acquire better, newer military hardware
By Office of Senator Chiz
Escudero
August 18, 2015
PASAY CITY – Senator
Chiz Escudero favors an increase in military spending to boost the
country’s defense capabilities amid concerns over China’s continuous
military buildup in the disputed West Philippine Sea, but warns the
government against buying old and dilapidated second-hand weapons and
equipment.
Escudero said that as much
as possible the government should purchase “brand new” military
hardware if it really wants to modernize the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP), which is widely regarded as one of the weakest
military forces in Southeast Asia.
“If we are going to pour in
billions of pesos to improve the AFP, we might as well give our
soldiers the best modern and sophisticated equipment we can get,”
Escudero pointed out.
The veteran lawmaker said it
is high time the Philippines invests in “reasonably priced” brand-new
military weapons and equipment, especially those that would improve
the country’s maritime defense capability.
“Huwag naman tayong bumili
ng sobrang luma na at kakarag-karag na mga sasakyan at depektibong
kagamitan na hindi na mapakikinabangan ng ating kasundaluhan. Huwag
naman po nating ipahamak ang ating mga sundalo,” Escudero said. (We
should discard the old practice of acquiring military equipment and
vehicles that are too old and defective, and no longer useful to our
armed forces. Let us not put the lives of our hardworking soldiers in
danger.)
He added: “The least the
government can do is to make sure that we provide our military forces
with better and serviceable aircraft, naval ships and other
equipment.”
Under the proposed P3.002
trillion national budget for 2016, the Department of National Defense
(DND) ranks third among the line agencies with the highest allocation,
next to the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of
Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The 2016 budget proposal of
the DND, which exercises supervision and control over the AFP, is P172
billion. It is P27.5 billion higher than its current budget of P144.5
billion.
On top of this, the
government has allocated P75 billion for the first five years of
implementation of the 15-year Revised AFP Modernization Act of 2012.
Escudero said the law
provides that the modernization program shall consist of “capability,
material and technology development with the acquisition of new
equipment and weapons system and phase out of uneconomical and
obsolete major equipment and weapons system in the AFP inventory.”
Even as he lauded the
current administration for making long-needed investments in the
military in recent years, Escudero said more needs to be done before
improvements within the AFP can be felt.
Escudero said while the
Department of Budget and Management reported that a total of P68
billion has already been spent to modernize the AFP since 1999, the
much-needed and long overdue upgrades to the country’s armed forces
remain elusive.
It is for this reason, he
said, why the Senate has initiated a probe on the implementation of
the modernization program aimed at upgrading the AFP, including the
alleged irregular acquisitions of military equipment and weapons
system.
The DND recently came under
fire for the purchase of 21 refurbished “Huey” helicopters worth P1.2
billion.
There were allegations that
the choppers, said to be older than the incumbent senior military
officers, cannot be used and have obsolete parts, and that the
purchase violated certain provisions of the country’s procurement law.
The big-ticket project was
also supposedly tailor-made for a particular supplier in exchange for
kickbacks.
Escudero said the helicopter
deal controversy exposed infirmities in the AFP procurement process,
which he branded as “too supplier-driven.”
The AFP Modernization Act,
also known as Republic Act (RA) No. 7898, became a law in 1995 under
the leadership of then President Fidel Ramos, who himself served as
AFP chief and DND secretary during the time of President Corazon
Aquino.
The law was meant to
modernize all branches of the AFP such as the Philippine Air Force,
the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Army. It was intended to last
for 15 years with an initial budget of P50 billion for the first five
years, but the funding was stopped due to the 1997 Asian financial
crisis.
After the financial crisis,
funding for the AFP modernization was halted and later neglected by
successive administrations until the law expired in 2010.
In 2012, RA 7898 was amended
by RA 10349, or the Revised AFP Modernization Act, which extended the
modernization program to another 15 years with an initial budget of
P75 billion for the first five years in order to continue upgrading
all military branches and boost the country’s defense system.