The Philippine Online Chronicles

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire Gazmin admitted Saturday that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Act expired December last year “with little progress.”

During the Philippine Military Academy alumni homecoming, Gazmin said that the law signed in 1996 “ran the full length of its implementing period and expired [in December 2011] without any significant progress being made in its agenda,” the Inquirer reports.

“Of the P331 billion meant to be allotted for the program, only P35 billion was released to the AFP after 15 years. And this amount was used for the capability upgrade program of the AFP for internal operations,” the defense chief said.

Gazmin, however, added that the Aquino administration had allocated more than P16 billion for the purpose of modernizing the AFP.

In a Philippine Star article, the defense chief said that “it won't take until 2016” before the Filipino people can be proud of its military. He added that at least 138 defense contracts would be approved by the end of July this year.

The defense department recently inked a five-year agreement with Italy to expidate the procurement of defense materials for the AFP. Manila Bulletin also reported that the DND is looking at South Korea, Spain and France as possible suppliers of military equipment.

Business Mirror meanwhile reported that Canada had already expressed interest in assisting the AFP in its modernization program.

The DND plans to buy attack and utility helicopters, patrol vessels, radars and fighter jets and combat and patrol aircrafts.