With the help of the United States, the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) defense readiness posture will be at the optimal level by the end of President Marcos’ term, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said on Sunday, April 28.
 

Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez 

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, the envoy underscored the “rebooting” of the Philippines’ and the US relationship under Marcos.
 

The envoy also said that the two countries are at its “best relationship.”
 

“Ang talagang tinitignan natin diyan siguro before the end of term ni President Marcos, medyo ‘yung ating Armed Forces handang handa na for our defense posture and strategy na ginagawa natin ngayon with the United States (What we are looking for there right now is maybe before the end of term of President Marcos, our Armed Forces' readiness level will be optimal in terms of the defense posture and strategy build-up that we are now working on with the United States),” he added.
 

The military’s readiness to face threats will be possible through the support of the US Congress, which recently passed a bipartisan bill to provide the Philippines with $2.5 billion foreign military financing to fortify its military presence.
 

The bill, introduced by Republican Congressman Bill Hagerty and Democrat Congressman Tim Kaine, aims to provide the Philippines $500 million a year until 2029.
 

Romualdez said this is what he and Department of National Defense (DND) Gilberto Teodoro Jr. are working on.
 

“Yan ang tinatrabaho namin ngayon. At namin si Secretary Teodoro at binigyan kami ng list na kailangan ng ating Armed Forces. ‘Yan ang hinahabol natin (That’s what we are working on. Me and Secretary Teodoro, we were given a list of what the Armed Forces needs. That’s what we’re running after),” he added.
 

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to get that. With our friends in the US Congress, malaking tulong ‘yan sa atin sa (that’s a big help to our) Armed Forces.”
 

“Alam nila matindi ang ating challenges diyan sa West Philippine Sea (They know that we have tough challenges there in the West Philippine Sea),” he stressed.
 

The proposed defense modernization funds would need to be focused on the country’s maritime forces, particularly the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
 

The Philippine Air Force (PAF), he added, would also be prioritized with more fighter aircraft.
 

“Unti unti ‘yan darating, pero you’ll see these in the next three to five years, talagang makikita mo na ‘yan (That’s come slowly, but you’ll see these in the next three to five years, you will see that),” Romualdez said.
 

Romualdez’s remarks came after the Philippines and the United States officially opened the 39th iteration of the Balikatan exercises, an annual joint military exercise between the two countries.
 

This year, the French Navy participated in the Balikatan.