Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. has warned that corruption in public infrastructure projects, including flood control programs, could further strain government resources and impact the military’s ongoing modernization efforts.

Speaking at a forum hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) over the weekend, Brawner said the AFP recognizes the government’s fiscal limitations, noting that budget constraints caused by inefficiencies and alleged misuse of funds in other sectors could reduce the available resources for national defense.

“Yeah, we recognize the fiscal limit of our country. For 2025, we only have P40 billion for our modernization program, and this is not enough,” Brawner said. “Our multi-year contracts already amount to P36 billion to P38 billion. It doesn’t allow us to buy new items.”

He lamented that corruption scandals in big-ticket infrastructure projects, such as the alleged overpricing in flood control programs, highlight how leakages in public spending can deprive critical sectors like defense of much-needed funds.

He stressed that every peso lost to corruption is a peso that could have gone to equipping the soldiers or improving their capabilities.

To ensure continuity of the modernization program despite limited allocations, Brawner said the Department of National Defense (DND) and the AFP are exploring alternative financing schemes.

“What the Secretary of National Defense [Gilberto Teodoro Jr.] did is to talk to the Secretary of Finance [Ralph Recto], local banks, and international financial institutions to allow us to borrow money or have extended financing for our modernization program,” Brawner said. “We will not rely too much on the General Appropriations Act anymore.”

He added that the AFP is also looking into developing idle military lands to generate funds.

“We’re looking at other possibilities, like the use of military lands that are idle and make them productive so that we will be able to raise enough funds to continue the modernization program,” he shared.

Beyond immediate funding, Brawner said the military is reviving its Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) program to reduce dependence on imports by rebuilding local defense industries.

“We’re trying to develop our defense industries so that we develop or manufacture defense items here in [the] country just like before. We used to manufacture our own rifles, ammunition, radios, and even some of our transport or mobility equipment. Those industries were lost along the way but hopefully we’re trying to revive them again,” he said.

However, Brawner noted that restrictive laws on foreign financing for defense and security projects currently limit these efforts. “We’re working with Congress to come up with laws that would allow us to pursue foreign financing,” he said.

Despite these challenges, the AFP chief emphasized that modernization remains a top priority.

“We’re helping the government raise funds and strengthen our defense industries. Our goal is to build a capable, modern, and self-reliant armed forces,” he said.