GMA: EVAT to boost AFP funding

FORT MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija — The additional revenues from the two-percent increase in expanded value-added tax (EVAT) rate taking effect today will further boost funding for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), President Arroyo said here yesterday.

The President visited this camp, which houses the Army’s 7th Infantry Division and two other tenant units, and emphasized that with the EVAT, the government would be able to fund various modernization efforts of the AFP under the Philippine Defense Reform Program.

The President said she is hoping that additional revenues from the new tax scheme would be able to provide soldiers with the necessary equipment and training for combating internal and external national security threats.

Mrs. Arroyo told reporters that the AFP should be able to deliver the "knockout punch" against enemy forces that threaten us as a nation. "In the fight against terrorism, there should be no second rounds," she said.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and Maj. Benito Ramos briefed the President on modern warfare equipment being used by elite fighting units of the Army, including a US-made M4 5.56 Carbine rifles, night vision goggles and life support equipment.

Three elite fighting units of the Army — the Special Forces, Scout Rangers and Light Reaction Battalion — also mounted displays for the President to showcase their capabilities in dealing with enemies of the state.

Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, chief of the Army’s 7th ID, presented more than 100 firearms recovered by his men in encounters with communist rebels in Central Luzon. The President was also greeted by more than 30 rebel returnees before joining officials in a private conference at the division headquarters here.

Esperon, however, clarified that the President’s visit was not a loyalty check on soldiers amid rumors of a coup plot to overthrow the Arroyo administration.

"Walang loyalty check. Ipinakita lang natin kung paano tayo mag-deal sa mga kalaban ng ating seguridad (There is no loyalty check. We just showed Mrs. Arroyo how we deal with the enemies of the state)," Esperon said after a counterterrorism drill mounted by the Light Reaction Battalion.