Department of National Defense (DND) Officer in Charge Jose Faustino Jr. has directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to create a “realistic” priority list for their modernization program after the United States pledged a $100 million or more than P50 billion in military assistance.
Faustino said they were currently reviewing the projects that have yet to be completed under the Horizons 1 and 2 of the AFP’s revised modernization program to determine which must be completed immediately and which are to be set aside and included in the “recalibrated” Horizon 3 in 2023.
“We are now trying to come up with through the AFP. We will include the AFP modernization here. I have already instructed the Armed Forces of the Philippines as well as the Air Force, Navy, and Army to come up with a priority list where we can use the $100 million,” Faustino told reporters in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
The Defense OIC said they will consider different factors in the new priority list such as the financial capability of the government to buy sophisticated equipment like multi-role air assets and ships as the Covid-19 pandemic devastated the economy.
“We are considering the economic situation just to make the list realistic, ‘yung talagang affordable na makakaya naman ng ating gobyerno (one which is affordable and can be achieved by the government),” Faustino said.
US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson previously announced that their government will provide a $100 million in military assistance to the AFP to offset the P12.797-billion heavy-lift helicopter deal with Russia that the previous Duterte administration cancelled.
Faustino said the DND is open to receive new offers from aircraft manufacturers to provide heavy-lift helicopters to the Philippine Air Force despite President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. saying that he prefers a manufacturer from the US.
“The project itself, which is the heavy lift helicopters, buhay yung project na ‘yun (that project is still active). We would like to continue with the project because we really needed heavy lift helicopters. As I said this will have multi-role functions. We are talking about HADR and full support to military operations and transport of our troops,” Faustino said.
“Right now, we are not talking to anybody yet. The important thing is we can start negotiations again with whoever proponent we would like to,” he added.