ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider AFP's acquisition of military assets not targeting any country, Palace insists

AFP's acquisition of military assets not targeting any country, Palace insists

Published Apr 7, 2025 05:10 am

At A Glance

  • In a press briefing on Monday, April 7, the Palace Press Officer said the acquisition was part of the ongoing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization and not driven by any single nation's actions.

The Philippine government's plans to modernize its military and acquire additional assets are not intended to target any specific country, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said.

Claire Castro (RTVM)
Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro (RTMV)

Castro said this after Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez linked the Philippines' purchase of fighter jets from the United States to China's actions in the West Philippine Sea.

In a press briefing on Monday, April 7, the Palace Press Officer said the acquisition was part of the ongoing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization and not driven by any single nation's actions.

"Ang AFP modernization naman po ay noon pa po, wala pa naman po issue sa anumang bansa (The AFP modernization has been ongoing for a while, and there were no issues with any country before)," she said.

"Nagkataon lamang po at hindi naman po talaga nagtatarget ng anumang bansa (It's just a coincidence and we are not really targeting any country)," she added.

According to Castro, the AFP Modernization Program was already in motion before any tensions with other countries arose.

"Ang AFP modernization naman po ay noon pa po, wala pa naman po issue sa anumang bansa (The AFP modernization has been ongoing for a while, even before the issues surfaced)," she said.

"At ang pagmo-modernize po natin ng ating militar ay naaayon lamang po (And the modernization of our military is simply in accordance with the law)," she added.

Regarding Ambassador Romualdez' comments, Castro said these were just the envoy's opinion and did not reflect official policy.

Commitment to AFP modernization

Meanwhile, Castro said the Marcos administration remains committed to modernizing the AFP. She particularly cited AFP's Horizon 3 program, which includes missile systems and warships.

"Gusto po talaga natin na hangga't maaari ay mabili po natin ang kinakailangan natin for the AFP modernization (We really want to acquire what is necessary for the AFP modernization as much as possible," she said.

"'Yan po ang naisin ng Pangulo. 'Yan po ang naisin ng lahat. At gagawin po lahat ng paraan, pagkakataon, lahat ng kakayanin kung may mga budget po tayong kakailanganin. 'Yan po ay gagawin ng ating Pangulo (That's what the President wants. That's what we all want. We will do everything)," she added.

Related Tags

claire castro babe romualdez AFP Modernization
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.