MANILA, Philippines — Aside from procuring state-of-the-art equipment, the government will continue to prioritize the retooling and retraining of the military to improve its readiness in the modern battlefield, President Marcos said.
Marcos renewed his commitment to the Armed Forces in his speech at the graduation rites of the Philippine Army Officer Candidate Course “Gaigmat” Class 58-2023 at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City on July 7.
“Be assured, the government’s dedication to your advancement and welfare goes beyond providing modern equipment alone. We continue to prioritize retooling and retraining to arm you with intellectual fortitude, with tactical prowess, and strategic acumen to thrive in the modern battlefield,” the commander-in-chief said.
“I invite you to join me and this administration in building a better, safer, and more secure nation for all Filipinos in the years to come,” he said.
The Gaigmat Class 58-2023 is composed of 106 graduates.
The Officer Candidate School provides officer candidates with one full year of training in soldiery and leadership. Upon completion, the officer candidates will be commissioned as Second Lieutenants.
In an interview after the graduation rites, Marcos expressed hope the Armed Forces’ modernization program would be back on track as the country recovers from the pandemic.
Modernization program
The spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Col. Medel Aguilar said that the AFP Modernization program has so far achieved 36 percent rollout of the 150 projects planned out to modernize the armed forces to have decent capability to defend the country’s territory from external threats.
Aguilar, in a virtual interview on ANC News on July 8, said that further progress on implementing the modernization is still dependent on the budget to be allocated by Congress.
Having a timeline of 15 years to undertake the modernization, Aguilar said, “now we are on the third horizon and out of the 150 projects, 54 were already completed. That makes it 36 percent accomplishment.”
“On the part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we are ready with the list, or the plan on what to acquire so that we will be able to develop our capabilities,” Aguilar said.
“Of course, it could be equipment that we want to acquire. We already have acquired some air assets like the heavy lift helicopters, combat capability helicopters, tactical radios, amphibious assault vehicles, including equipment that supports our civil engineering activities. We also want to develop more howitzers, I think the Philippine Army is preparing a plan to acquire the high MARS (mobility artillery rocket system) and the (Indian developed and made) Bhramos (supersonic cruise missiles) which will actually develop our capability to defend our country from external aggression,” he said.
“We are a maritime country and therefore the first line of defense would be our Navy followed by the Air Force. We understand, that there will be more allocations given to the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force, since we have to defend the country from the outside. I think that is already included in the plan,” Aguilar said.
He also said that the progressing modernization is serving to inspire the men and women of the AFP, leading to the rising number of applicants in the armed forces.
“There is a recent increase in the number of applicants. Because of the modernization that’s happening right now, the trust and confidence that is given to us by the people which is really inspiring to all of us. All of these contribute now to more applicants who want to join the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he added. — Rainier Allan Ronda