“We definitely need to modernize the Armed Forces to respond to heightened tensions from China’s incursions and aggressive actions against our Coast Guard and Navy”
WILL the proposal of retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio for the members of Congress to forgo their pork barrel allocations for the next 25 years to bankroll sustained military modernization even be considered seriously by our lawmakers?
We really doubt it, to be honest, given the proclivity of current and future lawmakers to think first and foremost of the next election instead of the future of our country. And that means amassing funds from the national treasury through pork barrel allocations or similar schemes so they can remain in power for as long as they can.
Asking our lawmakers to sacrifice their immediate need to fatten their bank accounts for the purpose of winning the next election is like asking the tiger to shed its stripes.
We need to devote a greater share of the national budget to boost economic development and improve the quality of lives of those living in in the margins of society.
The government and the private sector should provide them jobs and livelihood opportunities so they meet their basic needs.
Having said that, we definitely need to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines to respond to heightened tensions from China’s incursions and aggressive actions against our Coast Guard and Navy.
We also need to protect our fisherfolk when they ply their trade in traditional fishing grounds in the West Philippine Sea, where we have our 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Military modernization is undoubtedly important at this time. That’s why we welcome the decision of Washington to exempt the Philippines from the security aid freeze ordered by US President Donald Trump.
Malacaang has described this development as “good news” and expressed gratitude for US support for our military modernization.
For Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the unfreezing of US security assistance to the Philippines will allow their programs and projects already mapped out for this year and in the years to push through.
These will include activities on sea, air, and land, even support systems in cyberspace and other areas. AFP public affairs office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad noted that this development reflects our longstanding security relationship with the US.
News reports indicate the Trump administration has released $5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, primarily for security and counternarcotics programs.
Among the security exemptions were the $336 million for modernizing Philippine security forces, and $870 million for military programs in Taiwan, our next-door-neighbor in the north that China wants to retake, by force if necessary.
The US aid freeze order issued on January 20 halted virtually all foreign aid, except for emergency food programs and military assistance to several countries.
Of course, the Philippines should not rely solely on the United States, our longstanding treaty partner, for our national security requirements.
Washington has repeatedly expressed its ironclad commitment to come to our aid should we be attacked by a third party under the terms of the Mutual Defense Treaty signed in 1951, or more than eight decades ago.
We have been forging deals with various countries, including Japan, Australia, New Zealand and France, among others, for joint military exercises where our military can learn from their foreign counterparts in protecting our borders, as well as procuring military equipment for our defence needs.
Our military modernization, which would include purchases of advanced jetfighters, warships, missile systems, will cost billions and even trillions of pesos in the coming years. But we should plan for all these in the national budget.
We should therefore intensify efforts to curb graft and corruption so that enough funds can be used for military upgrades.
Our Constitution provides that the AFP is the protector of the people and the State and its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory. Hence, it should be given all the resources it needs to perform its basic mission.
(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)