Lagging AFP modernization tackled

Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay (Lakas) received Armed Forces chief Gen. Benjamin Defensor at the Batasang Pambansan yesterday to discuss the military’s lagging modernization program.

In a joint statement, the two officials said the courtesy call centered on the need to speed up the Armed Forces’ modernization program by ensuring that Congress allocates enough funds for it.

Defensor also outlined to Pichay, chairman of the House defense committee, a proposal to rationalize the defense establishment’s equipment procurement program which, he said, has been a major reason in the modernization program’s delay.

The AFP Modernization Law sets a yearly allocation of P10 billion over five years, or a total of P50 billion. However, only P5.4 billion, derived from the sale of former military bases, has been remitted to the National Treasury for the program.

This year, the national budget earmarks some P5 billion more for AFP modernization, bringing to some P10 billion the total amount available for the program.

Defensor said some P1.3 billion of programmed expenditures will cover the Army’s needs, including communications equipment, upgrade of land transport and for Scorpion tanks and other fighting vehicles.

About P1.28 billion is allotted for modern equipment like Jacinto class or Peacock class vessels and another P1.23 billion for Air Force helicopters and C-130 planes. The remainder will be spent on AFP general headquarters’ needs.

Pichay said there is, indeed, a need to rationalize and streamline the AFP equipment procurement system which, he said, goes through at least 25 steps. The snarl of red tape was a direct cause for the absence of vital equipment in the field.

Defensor said it took equipment requests some three to four years to process, robbing the AFP of the flexibility and increased capability from new equipment.