Leaders of the House of Representatives on Saturday expressed full support to a joint resolution urging Congress to allocate a budget for defense spending that would be equivalent to two percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
EPA / MANILA BULLETIN
Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon and Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. rallied behind the House Joint Resolution No. 23, authored by Magdalo Para sa Pilipino partylist Rep. Manuel Cabochan III.
“I am in agreement with the concept of a higher budget appropriation for the defense of the country, particularly in external defense. With the internal security issues being managed with current resources, the focus on leveling up our defense capability to ideal levels covering our air and maritime territory extended out to our exclusive economic zones can only be achieved with increased allocation in funding,” Biazon, senior vice chairman of the House Committee on National Defense and Security, said in an interview.
Under HJR 23, Cabochan urged the Senate and House of Representatives to make the country’s defense spending at par with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional standards.
“Matching our defense spending with neighboring states in terms of percentage to GDP is logical, although we should consider this with prudence, taking into account the need to fit the country’s development needs within the limited resources,” Biazon said.
He expressed concern that legislating a specific percentage to GDP might deprive the government the elbow room to be flexible in its GDP spending.
Amid such concern, the House leader said the urgent deliberation of the joint resolution should be considered by the House leadership.
“It would be best for this resolution to be taken up and discussed to thresh out the various issues and concerns in order to come up with the best outcome,” he said.
For his part, Barzaga, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, said: “I personally support the biggger defense. It is the constitutional mandate to secure our sovereignty and the integrity of our national territory.”
“The government even has the constitutional power to call the people to defend the state. These constitutional prescriptions would be illusory and meaningless without adequate funding for the defense of the state,” he added.
Cabochan said that, compared to our ASEAN neighbors, Philippine defense spending as percentage of GDP was low by regional standards.
“The average defense spending as a percentage of GDP was 2.2 percent in ASEAN, while the Philippines is way below that average with 1.1 percent,” he said.
He said the defense spending of the Philippines was only 5.4 percent of the total government spending which was below the 8.6 average among member-countries of the ASEAN.
Cabochan batted for a bigger defense spending as a expression of support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as the protector of the people and the State.
He lamented that the AFP still remained among the least capable militaries in the region.
“Despite the enactment of Republic Act No. 7898 in 1995 or the “AFP Modernization Act” and the passage of Republic Act No. 10349 or the “Revised AFP Modernization Act” in 2012, the procurement of crucial defense materials were insignificant,” he said.
“RA 7898 sought the modernization of the Armed Forces for 15 years and would provide the AFP an amount of P331 billion with an initial budget of P50 billion for the first five years,” Cabochan said.
In 2012, former President Benigno S. Aquino III signed into law RA 10349 or the Revised AFP Modernization Act which extended the military modernization program anew for 15 years to boost the AFP’s capacity as it shifts from internal security operations to external defense, he noted.
“While there have been increases in defense spending in the previous years, the increases have been marginal, starting from low levels, and insufficient vis-a-vis range of security threats that the Philippines is facing, including terrorism, ” he said.
“In view of the passage of two modernization laws for the AFP and the multitude of problems that our Armed Forcea needs to contend with, there is a need to modernize the AFP and increase the defense spending of our country in order for the AFP to fulfill their mandate as protector of the people and the State, ” the neophyte lawmaker said.
He observed that after the United States Military Bases Agreement was repealed in 1992, the Philippines was left with an armed forces that has very limited capabilities.
“As representatives of the people and as an expression of our gratitude and support to the AFP, the country’s defense spending should be increased to at least two percent of our GDP to make it at par with the ASEAN regional standards, ” Cabochan stressed.
“I am in agreement with the concept of a higher budget appropriation for the defense of the country, particularly in external defense. With the internal security issues being managed with current resources, the focus on leveling up our defense capability to ideal levels covering our air and maritime territory extended out to our exclusive economic zones can only be achieved with increased allocation in funding,” Biazon, senior vice chairman of the House Committee on National Defense and Security, said in an interview.
Under HJR 23, Cabochan urged the Senate and House of Representatives to make the country’s defense spending at par with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional standards.
“Matching our defense spending with neighboring states in terms of percentage to GDP is logical, although we should consider this with prudence, taking into account the need to fit the country’s development needs within the limited resources,” Biazon said.
He expressed concern that legislating a specific percentage to GDP might deprive the government the elbow room to be flexible in its GDP spending.
Amid such concern, the House leader said the urgent deliberation of the joint resolution should be considered by the House leadership.
“It would be best for this resolution to be taken up and discussed to thresh out the various issues and concerns in order to come up with the best outcome,” he said.
For his part, Barzaga, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, said: “I personally support the biggger defense. It is the constitutional mandate to secure our sovereignty and the integrity of our national territory.”
“The government even has the constitutional power to call the people to defend the state. These constitutional prescriptions would be illusory and meaningless without adequate funding for the defense of the state,” he added.
Cabochan said that, compared to our ASEAN neighbors, Philippine defense spending as percentage of GDP was low by regional standards.
“The average defense spending as a percentage of GDP was 2.2 percent in ASEAN, while the Philippines is way below that average with 1.1 percent,” he said.
He said the defense spending of the Philippines was only 5.4 percent of the total government spending which was below the 8.6 average among member-countries of the ASEAN.
Cabochan batted for a bigger defense spending as a expression of support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as the protector of the people and the State.
He lamented that the AFP still remained among the least capable militaries in the region.
“Despite the enactment of Republic Act No. 7898 in 1995 or the “AFP Modernization Act” and the passage of Republic Act No. 10349 or the “Revised AFP Modernization Act” in 2012, the procurement of crucial defense materials were insignificant,” he said.
“RA 7898 sought the modernization of the Armed Forces for 15 years and would provide the AFP an amount of P331 billion with an initial budget of P50 billion for the first five years,” Cabochan said.
In 2012, former President Benigno S. Aquino III signed into law RA 10349 or the Revised AFP Modernization Act which extended the military modernization program anew for 15 years to boost the AFP’s capacity as it shifts from internal security operations to external defense, he noted.
“While there have been increases in defense spending in the previous years, the increases have been marginal, starting from low levels, and insufficient vis-a-vis range of security threats that the Philippines is facing, including terrorism, ” he said.
“In view of the passage of two modernization laws for the AFP and the multitude of problems that our Armed Forcea needs to contend with, there is a need to modernize the AFP and increase the defense spending of our country in order for the AFP to fulfill their mandate as protector of the people and the State, ” the neophyte lawmaker said.
He observed that after the United States Military Bases Agreement was repealed in 1992, the Philippines was left with an armed forces that has very limited capabilities.
“As representatives of the people and as an expression of our gratitude and support to the AFP, the country’s defense spending should be increased to at least two percent of our GDP to make it at par with the ASEAN regional standards, ” Cabochan stressed.
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