Senate sponsors passage of AFP Modernization Bill

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate has calendared for the deliberations the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Bill to pave the way for a more prepared and well equipped military.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, sponsor of the AFP Modernization Bill, said the first AFP modernization program that started in December 1996 “fell short of the target.”

“What was then envisioned as a modernization program turned out to be only a capability upgrade for the AFP. But even at this level, the program still fell short of its target. The basic requirements of move, shoot and communicate of the AFP are substandard and outdated, if not totally lacking,” Lacson told the plenary Tuesday.

“The revised modernization program takes into account the pitfalls of the previous model and incorporates provisions that will ensure a more efficient and cost-effective implementation of the program,” he said.

Lacson sponsored the bill at the plenary while acknowledging the presence of Vice President Jejomar Binay at the session hall.

“I am of course honored to sponsor this bill in the presence of the most probable incoming commander-in-chief, Vice President Jejomar Binay,” Lacson said in the opening line of his sponsorship speech for the bill.

Binay, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), was at the Senate awaiting the sponsorship of a bill regarding housing.

Binay, who is also reservist Marine colonel, however was not available to comment on Lacson’s opening remarks.

Binay was the first to declare his intention to run for president in 2016, a move that several sectors argued could work against him because this would make him a natural target by his potential opponents.

However, if recent developments would be used as a gauge, the early announcement did not seem to have any effect on Binay’s chances.

Binay, as chairman of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), has forged an alliance with the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) of former President Joseph Estrada for the 2013 mid-term elections.

The two political party leaders have formed the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) to challenge the ruling Liberal Party of President Aquino.