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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider AFP welcomes push to fast-track modernization program

AFP welcomes push to fast-track modernization program

Published Aug 27, 2025 12:01 pm  |  Updated Aug 27, 2025 02:10 pm
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel execute Combined and Joint Forcible Entry Operations (CJFEO) during Exercise ALON 2025 in San Vicente, Palawan on Aug. 24, 2025. (Photo: AFP)
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel execute Combined and Joint Forcible Entry Operations (CJFEO) during Exercise ALON 2025 in San Vicente, Palawan on Aug. 24, 2025. (Photo: AFP)
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) welcomed the call of Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. to speed up the implementation of the military’s modernization program due to evolving security challenges and rapid technological changes.
“We fully support the statement of the Secretary of National Defense,” AFP spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said.
According to Trinidad, the horizon planning for the modernization has been ongoing since 1992.
“There are changes already in technology, in the operating environment, hence the need to fast-track our projects,” he stated.
Teodoro earlier disclosed that he was inclined to lobby for the amendment of the AFP modernization law, saying it has been “too impracticable.”
“We cannot work with 15-year horizons. It’s too long and too impracticable,” he said.
The defense chief cited the situation in Ukraine, besieged by Russia, which compels its government to retool and re-equip its armaments and capabilities every three months due to the emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones.
The AFP modernization program, initiated under Republic Act 7898 in 1995 and updated by Republic Act 10349 in 2012, is structured into three horizons covering 2013 to 2028.
Horizon 3, the last phase of the program which began in 2023, was recalibrated by President Marcos Jr. to “Re-horizon 3” with a budget of P2 trillion to be implemented over the next 10 years.
It is focused on acquiring advanced capabilities such as multi-role fighters, missile systems, and improved command and control assets to strengthen the country’s defense posture amid growing regional security concerns.
In the proposed 2026 national budget, the modernization program of the AFP was allocated P40 billion, marking a P5-billion increase in assured funds compared to the guaranteed P35-billion fund allocated in 2025.
“We would like to note now in terms of the modernization, the AFP is a very resilient organization. With the advent of contemporary modern challenges and [the] advent of technological advances at this stage, our modernization normally takes around 10 years to complete and it’s done by phases,” AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla noted.
“With this pronouncement of our DND, we really welcome that to fast-track the recalibrated [Re]-horizon 3 to address the modern challenges that we're facing,” she added.

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