Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri on Monday, August 7 has called on lawmakers to review the current provisions in the procurement law to help the country’s armed forces develop a credible defense posturing necessary to defend the country from external aggressions, particulary in the West Philippine Sea.

Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri emphasized the urgent need to bolster the country's defense establishment to protect the state, its sovereignty, and its citizens during a hearing of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (Senate PRIB Photo)

Zubiri said he believes the government can afford to provide exemptions for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of National Defense (DND) under the AFP Modernization Act and the National Defense Act so they can enter a procurement deal where they can buy “modern” and “state of the art” defense equipment and not necessarily “brand new” ones.

“I was told there was an EU ally that’s willing to give up their two squadrons of F-16s because they are going to buy their F-35 fighter jets from the United States. These are slightly used, within 10 years old. With all the spare parts, all the training euqipment, including the simulators, for a fraction of the price of brand new ones,” Zubiri said at the public hearing of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security.

During the hearing senators tackled the latest water canon attack by the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) on a Philippine vessel last weekend.

“You can get a squadron of these slightly used kasi it’s government-to-government and we are all allies in terms of freedom and democracy. They were willing to give it,” he recalled.

“But the problem is they could not touch on that, because the undersecretary of defense of the US said our soldiers and air force officials could not entertain it because of the Government Procurement Act ii which they have to buy brand new,” he lamented.

“But we cannot afford brand new...So I’d like to make a motion to the committee to review the AFP Modernization Progam and the National Defense Act, that we put a certain provision where it says that instead of using the word ‘brand new’, you can put modern equipment,” he pointed out.

“In government procurement, it’s not necessarily ‘the cheapest is the best.’ We need to put there ‘state of the art’ so we won’t be left with the cheapest equipment,” Zubiri said.

The Senate leader, likewise, raised the need to push for the passage of Senate Bill No. 315 or the proposed Philippine Defense Industry Development Act of 2022.

Zubiri, author of the bill, said he has been strongly advocating for and supporting the government’s ongoing measures to build a credible and concrete defense program through the strengthening and revitalization of the self –reliant defense posture (SRDP) program.

The SRDP program was first implemented in 1974 as the government’s response to the Muslim secessionist movement in Mindanao.

“While we value our defense cooperation with foreign allies, we cannot afford to rely on them entirely. Over-reliance on our allies leaves us on the backfoot, always waiting and always dependent on what they will supply us with,” Zubiri said.

“Amid the growing national concern over our national sovereignty, it is very timely that we now consider the merits of revitalizing our self-reliant defense posture program and build a local defense industry to supply the needs of our armed forces,” Zubiri stressed.

“We must give priority to those who build their armaments—apples to apples ‘yan. When you build a rifle here in the Philippines, and we import a rifle from the United States or Israel or other countries, as long as these Philippine-made rifles pass the stringent tests and requirements, they should be given priority because they were made in the Philippines, and the access is much easier for our troops. And of course we will be supporting our economic agenda of the President,” the lawmaker stressed.

Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, also said the AFP modernization program should not be limited to the development of defense capabilities, but must also ensure that the military structure is adaptable to the changing times.

“Modernization should likewise include ensuring that the military structure is adaptable to the changing times. This was, likewise, the call of President Bongbong Marcos during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) when he recognized the need to amend the decades-old National Defense Act of 1935,” Dela Rosa pointed out.

The government, likewise, should be prepared for the sustainability of these procured assets.

“During the budget hearing last year, one of the issues raised was the lack of spare parts and insufficient budget to sustain and procure, which, among others, result in the non-operability of air assets,” Dela Rosa pointed out.

“Now, more than ever, is the time to strengthen our capabilities as a nation to defend our sovereignty. Our soldiers are already working very hard on the ground but the protection of our sovereignty is not only their responsibility, it is the responsibility of all of us,” he reiterated.

Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, chairman of the Senate defense panel, also insisted that a military upgrade is necessary step to deter any potential threats without resorting to conflict or inciting aggression.

“It is high time that we get our acts together, fortify our defense establishment – from the strengthening of the defense organization and make it responsive to the call of the times and enable them to fully and effectively perform their mandate as protector of the State, our sovereignty, and the people, up to the upgrading of our military assets, not to proceed to war nor provoke further aggression, but to stand up and be able to defend ourselves, and to deter all kinds of threats coming from all fronts,” Estrada said in his opening statement.

“We shall remain a friend to all, and enemy to none. Ayaw po natin ng away (We don’t want conflict). And we are a peace-loving nation. We renounce war as an instrument of national policy. Pero mahirap pong pag-usapan ang diplomasya at pakikipag-kaibigan kung patuloy po tayong ginigipit, hina-harass, at nalalagay sa panganib ang ating kapwa Pilipino (But it’s difficult to discuss diplomacy and friendship if we are continually harassed and provoked especially our fellow Filipinos),” he said.