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Congress increases funding for AFP modernization by P6-B.

The budget for the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (AFPMP) has been increased by PHP6 billion by Congress this year, bringing the total new appropriations to PHP45 billion.

Rep. Johnny Pimentel of Surigao del Sur stated in a press release on Sunday that the AFPMP will get a total of PHP45 billion in the 2023 national budget, including PHP27.5 billion in planned appropriations and PHP17.5 billion in unprogrammed appropriations.

In comparison to the PHP39 billion in planned and unplanned allocations for the AFPMP in 2022, he said that PHP45 billion is PHP6 billion greater.

According to Pimentel, the Department of Budget and Management’s initial request for scheduled and unprogrammed funding for the AFPMP this year was only PHP40 billion.

We are optimistic that the government will come up with the funds required to pay for this year’s AFPMP unprogrammed appropriations, he added.

Unprogrammed appropriations give the Department of National Defense (DND) the standby authority to sign further contracts for modernization projects depending on the availability of government finances, including borrowed money. Programmed appropriations have funding sources.

In addition to doing so, because the law compels it, Pimentel said, “We are firmly assisting the AFPMP in order to resist the continual swarm of Chinese warships around Pag-Asa Island.”

The largest Philippine-occupied landmass is Pag-asa, which is located in the contested Spratly archipelago’s northeastern region.

The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States was strongly supported by Pimentel, a former chair of the House strategic intelligence committee.

Additionally, he wrote House Bill (HB) No. 1782, which requests PHP5 billion to build new naval forward operating bases to secure the gas and oil deposits in the West Philippine Sea “for the delight of future generations of Filipinos.”

In order to stimulate the construction of new Philippine structures on the 37.2-hectare island, Pimentel also submitted HB No. 6228 last month. This bill seeks to designate Pag-asa as a leisure fishing tourism location.

The DND signed acquisition contracts totaling PHP109 billion for the AFPMP between December 2021 and June 2022 or in the final seven months of President Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency. These contracts included:

โ€”PHP28 billion for two Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. anti-ship, anti-submarine, and anti-aircraft corvettes; โ€”PHP18.9 billion for three BrahMos Aerospace shore-based supersonic ramjet missile batteries; โ€”PHP32 billion for 32 PZL Mielec Black Hawk helicopters; and โ€”PHP30 billion for six Hyundai long-range offshore patrol vessels.

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