AFP modernization program gets P50-B budget next year amid continuing maritime dispute

Flags of the Philippines, China (Unsplash)

The Marcos administration has increased to P50 billion the allocation for the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (AFPMP) in backdrop of the continued maritime dispute between Manila and Beijing. 

“The AFPMP is set to receive another P50 billion in fresh funding in the 2024 national budget,” Surigao del Sur 2nd district Rep. Johnny Pimentel said in a statement on Monday, Aug. 7. 

“The P50 billion in programmed new appropriations is all for capital outlay, and shall be used exclusively to bankroll the funding requirements of the AFPMP,” Pimentel, a staunch backer of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between Manila and Washington, said. 

According to Pimentel, the Philippines is "the most exposed to threats coming from the sea, so we definitely favor larger modernization projects for the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Marine Corps in the years ahead". 

The veteran legislator's remarks came shortly after a China Coast Guard vessel used its water cannon to prevent a supply boat from delivering food and other provisions to the Philippine Marine outpost on the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. 

Last week, the Department of Budget and Management's (DBM) submitted the P5.768-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) to the House of Representatives. 

Pimentel is author of a bill that seeks to declare and develop the 37.2-hectare Pag-asa Island – the largest Philippine-occupied landmass at the northeastern section of the disputed Spratly archipelago – as a recreational fishing tourism destination. 

Like Ayungin Shoal, Pag-asa forms part of the Kalayaan Island Group, which also includes the islets of Likas, Parola, Lawak, Kota, Patag and Panata, Balagtas Reef, and Rizal Shoal. 

Pimentel is also author of a separate bill that seeks to appropriate P5 billion for the installation of new naval forward operating bases to secure the West Philippine Sea’s gas and oil deposits “for the enjoyment of future generations of Filipinos.” 

The AFPMP currently has P27.5 billion in programmed new appropriations plus P17.5 billion in unprog