SINCE the Philippines gained independence from the United States (US) on July 4, 1946, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has been plagued with internal security problems, particularly with the armed insurgency led by the Communist Party of the Philippines and the Muslim secessionist movement in Mindanao.

For external threats, the Philippines relied heavily on the protection of the US, which had military facilities or bases in the country. This reliance has made the AFP inferior to its Southeast Asian counterparts, as it failed to catch up with major strategic developments in the region.

But this changed after Washington closed its military bases in the country in 1991. As a result, the AFP had to take full responsibility to face any potential external threat.

Suddenly, the government realized how ill-prepared, ill-equipped and poorly funded the Armed Forces were to face such threats.

To remedy this, the AFP needed an extensive and expensive arms modernization program, one that would take the government years to implement.

From internal to external

On Feb. 23, 1995, then-president Fidel Ramos — former AFP chief of staff and defense secretary in the administration of his predecessor Corazon Aquino — signed Republic Act 7898, which aimed to modernize all branches of the Armed Forces: Philippine Air Force (PAF), Philippine Navy and Philippine Army.

The law was intended to last for 15 years with an initial budget of P50 billion for the first five. But the 1997 Asian financial crisis halted funding for the program that RA 7898 created.

After that crisis, funding was scrapped and later neglected by successive administrations until the law expired in 2010.

On Dec. 11, 2012, under the leadership of then-president Benigno Aquino 3rd, RA 7898 was amended by RA 10349, or the Revised AFP Modernization Act, which extended the modernization program for another 15 years.

The new law aimed to strengthen the AFP’s capability to address terrorism and assess external threats. This was the time when the Philippines was locked in a territorial dispute with China over the Spratly Islands along with Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The revised modernization program was divided into three “horizons:” Horizon 1 was implemented from 2013 to 2017; Horizon 2 from 2018 to 2022; and Horizon 3 from 2023 to 2028.

On June 20, 2018, then-president Rodrigo Duterte approved the AFP modernization program’s shopping list for Horizon 2.

In the last 7 months of Duterte’s term, the Department of National Defense (DND) signed P109 billion in acquisition contracts for various aircraft and vessels. These included P28 billion for two anti-ship, anti-submarine and antiaircraft corvettes from South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. for the Philippine Navy; P18.9 billion for three shore-based supersonic ramjet missile batteries from India’s BrahMos Aerospace; P32 billion for 32 Black Hawk choppers from Poland’s PZL Mielec; and P30 billion for six long-range offshore patrol vessels also from Hyundai.

Modernization continues

The revised program entered its third and final stage this year under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Marcos said the Philippines would continue to modernize the AFP since this was of “crucial” importance to make the military “ready for all eventualities” amid current geopolitical tensions.

The President stressed that “in this crucial transition,” full support for the AFP “must be guaranteed.”

He pointed out that considering the “changing tides of our national security;” and the significant gains the government has made in terms of internal security, the AFP was working to recalibrate its focus more toward defending our borders.

But because of the coronavirus pandemic, the timetable for the program’s implementation has been pushed back.

Data from the AFP showed that out of the 150 projects lined up to develop and modernize the capability of the military, only 54 have been completed so far. This translated to a completion rate of only 34 percent.

Marcos hopes the program “will catch up and in a year — maybe two — we will already be back to where we were supposed to be at that time before the pandemic.”

The President said he had ordered AFP officials to make sure the program was on schedule, especially in procuring equipment and supplies and, most importantly, training military personnel.

Items on the shopping list for the Philippine Navy included corvettes, submarines, amphibious assault vehicles, anti-submarine helicopters, attack crafts, medium lift helicopters and multirole vessels. They would also acquire additional frigates on top of the two missile-capable frigates it had earlier purchased.

For the PAF, the needed items were multirole fighters, radar systems, light and medium lift aircraft, heavy lift helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters (attack and combat utility), special mission and long-range patrol aircraft.

Towed and self-propelled howitzers, multiple launch rocket systems, armored recovery vehicles, five support vehicles, tactical radios, ground mobility equipment (light, medium, heavy), individual weapons, crew-served weapons and night-fighting equipment are also expected for the Philippine Army.

Marcos also said the country had a plan to acquire a submarine but noted that this was a “very large” commitment, as it involved training, equipment and “quite significant” operational requirements.

Also part of the acquisition list were High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (Himars) and Indian BrahMos anti-ship cruise missiles, which would develop the AFP’s ability to defend the country from foreign aggression.

This year, Congress earmarked P45 billion for the modernization of the military, a P6-billion increase from P39 billion in 2022. Of the P45 billion, P27.5 billion was in programmed appropriations and P17.5 billion was unprogrammed.

Programmed appropriations had ready funding sources while unprogrammed ones provided standby authority for the DND to sign additional contracts for modernization projects, depending on available government funds, including borrowed money.

Foreign allies

For the President, part of modernizing the military was strengthening defense cooperation with allies in light of new security challenges that “do not recognize borders.”

“New security challenges do not recognize borders, and we must continue to work with our neighbors, our allies, partners and friends to address mutual security concerns,” he said.

The Commander-in-Chief also cited the Armed Forces’ existing defense and security engagements as well as its efforts to explore new areas for cooperation with their foreign counterparts. Through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, an agreement between the US and the Philippines intended to bolster their ability to respond to external threats, the US has supported the AFP’s goals of force readiness, military modernization, infrastructure improvements and interoperability.

The government continued to further believe that increasing American military presence in the country could provide a balancing force for the Philippines in developing, at the very least, a “minimum credible defense” posture.