House Deputy Majority Leader Camarines Sur 2nd district Luigi Villafuerte has filed a measure that will help make unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or military-grade drones a typical facet of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Villafuerte filed House Bill (HB) No.1362, also known as the "National Defense Drone Act", which sought to establish the Philippine Unmanned Aerial Systems Program (PUASP) on the acquisition of military drones and training of drone operators and technicians.

The bill proposes an initial amount of P10 billion for the implementation of this Act, to be sourced from the national budget and/or defense modernization fund.

Villafuerte, in a statement Sunday, Sept. 14, said the acquisition of UAS will greatly enhance national defense. He says it not only has applications in anti-terrorism, anti-insurgency, and border patrol missions but also in environmental protection, disaster response and acquisition search-and-rescue operations.

The specifically tasked the Department of National Defense (DND) to establish the PUASP in coordination with the AFP and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

“It is imperative for our military and defense establishment to acquire, deploy and integrate military-grade AES involving UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), otherwise known as ‘drones,’ to strengthen the Philippines’ military defense, surveillance and disaster response, amongst others,” the Bicolano said in filing HB No.1362.

“Drones have become beneficial when these unmanned vehicles made their way into the daily operations of different sectors owing to their numerous functions, such as for photography and videography,” he said.

Before being tapped for commercial operations, drones were initially manufactured for military purposes and for performing tasks that were difficult and dangerous for mankind.

“Their use made military operations 10 times faster and more efficient in terms of surveillance and security, search and rescue, and monitoring climate change as human capacity and capabilities are limited,” added Villafuerte.

The proposed PUASP will oversee the acquisition of drones and their deployment across military branches, inter-agency usage protocols, data security compliance and training of drone operators and technicians.

Through the bill Villafuerte wants the military to acquire:

• Surveillance and reconnaissance drones for real-time monitoring of maritime, border and insurgency-wracked areas;

• Combat drones equipped with precision-guided munitions for defense or combat operations;

• Logistics and medical evacuation (medevac) drones for supply transport and medical emergency support in inaccessible areas; and

• Disaster response drones for rapid assessment, search-and-rescue and aid delivery during calamities.

UAVs are aircraft or drones that are operated remotely by a pilot from a well calculated distance to oversee a wide range of landscape, seascape, riverscape and cityscape, among others, for purposes of aerial photography and aerial videography, surveillance and security, search and rescue, delivery of goods and services, monitoring of climate change and other environmental changes, and military operations.

By way of the PUASP, Villafuerte likewise wants the military to pursue research and development (R&D) activities with local universities and colleges as well as tech start-ups to spur the local manufacture and maintenance of drones.

Also, Villafuerte sought though the bill the establishment of the Strategic Defense Technology Transfer Program, as a complement to the PUASP, to provide tax incentives to the private sector to engage in drone development, as away to encourage local innovation and reduce long-term costs for the militar’s drone acquisition program.

Additional allocations for the program shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).