President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has stressed that the Philippines needs to improve the Air Force's capabilities to effectively cover the country's territory.

Speaking at the turnover of the C295 medium lift aircraft in Pampanga, Marcos said the acquisition of modern aircraft by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) will ultimately improve the country’s defense systems.

He, however, recognized that the country needs to improve further in this aspect.

"Through the additional C295 aircraft, the AFP will be able to provide more responsive support to government agencies, especially in emergency situations and on humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations," Marcos said on Tuesday, March 7.

"While these equipment will boost the readiness of our Air Force to respond to any contingency, there is still a need to further improve our capabilities to effectively cover our territory," he added.

The President said it is also equally important to "ensure the airworthiness of Air Force assets and the corresponding training of crew and personnel to guarantee the safety of all."

He committed that the current administration will "remain steadfast in pursuing our modernization efforts."

Marcos also called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to "do more" as the country is challenged by various climate-related hazards that could potentially paralyze government and business operations.

"Our country’s archipelagic nature and geostrategic location is both a blessing and a challenge. As much as our maritime environment provides us with much needed resources, it also requires us to constantly adapt to become more mobile and agile," he said.

"To this end, our FA-50PH Fighter Jets shall improve our maritime patrol capability, aid our Air Force in monitoring the developments within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, and provide close air support to our combat troops," he added.

The C295 aircraft was acquired from Spain and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. It is the one of the three units acquired under the AFP modernization program.

The twin-turboprop transport aircraft is the newest generation of tactical airlifter in the light and medium segment that can be used for various missions such as medical evacuation, paradrop/airdrop, civic and humanitarian airlift mission, among others.