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Maximizing modernization program: Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, during Thursday’s budget deliberation November 7, 2024, said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program should take into account changes in technology in the procurement of materiel.

Escudero asked the AFP to consider the rapid change of technology, citing as an example the use of drones in warfare. He urged the AFP to study newer technological armaments that might be cheaper and more efficient.

“Every time there is a new Chief of Staff, the components of modernization change…so, every administration comes in with a new plan. That is why modernization cannot be planned by just one administration because after five or six years, new technology might come out. I hope the committee would consider that when it decides on adding and how it will spend the additional and original budget of P40 billion,” Escudero said in Filipino.

He said the Senate should ensure that the 2025 budget allocation for the AFP modernization program is maximized for the intended upgrade of military armaments. “I agree with the points raised by Sen. Bato Dela Rosa but with a caveat: We cannot look at and give funding to AFP modernization with closed eyes because the track record of the Department of National Defense (DND) and the AFP in the past has not always been maintained,” Escudero said.

For instance, the Senate President said, the AFP purchased P8 billion worth of missiles from India three years ago that are still stockpiled in a warehouse today because it failed to allocate funding for the storage of the missiles in a base in Zambales. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)