Senate holds hearing on FY 2027 budget of Department of National Defense — Oct. 19, 2026

[24:41] on the proposed fiscal year 2027 national expenditure program of the department of [24:46] national defense the armed forces of the philippines and its attached agency hereby call to order [24:51] i'd like to acknowledge the presence of center panfila laxon who's with us today [24:55] at this juncture let me direct the committee secretary to acknowledge our resource persons [25:00] present for today thank you mr chair good afternoon good afternoon senator laxon [25:04] and senator erwin dulfo for the briefing on the proposed fy 2027 budget of the department of [25:10] national defense or dnd and attached agencies namely the government arsenal the national defense [25:16] college of the philippines the office of civil defense the philippine veterans affairs office [25:21] the veterans memorial medical center the philippine army the philippine air force the philippine navy [25:27] and the general headquarters afp and afp wide service support units including the revised afp [25:34] modernization program would like to acknowledge our resource persons from dnd we have secretary [25:39] gilberto chodoro jr together with undersecretary pablo lorenzo undersecretary ignacio madriaga [25:46] undersecretary rene diaz undersecretary gavin edhawan undersecretary emmanuel anthony ramos [25:52] assistant secretary romeo de la cruz assistant secretary rene raul romel honasan assistant secretary [26:00] catherine catherine lena assistant secretary augusto gaite assistant secretary dick jolola and assistant [26:07] secretary arsenio and for the government arsenal we have director florante amano from ndcp we have [26:14] captain george ibarra from ocd we have undersecretary harold cabreros from pvao we have undersecretary [26:22] rey reynaldo mapago from vmmc we have director peter paul rio ben galvez from the philippine army [26:29] we have lieutenant general donald gumiran from the philippine air force we have lieutenant general [26:34] arthur cordura from the philippine navy we have rear admiral edwin nera and brigadier general bob apostol [26:43] the commandant of the philippine marine corps from the afp wss us we have lieutenant general romell [26:50] Mel Roldan, and Brigadier General Kim Eric Alexander Agatep of the GHQ. [26:56] We have also invited representatives from BBM and COA. [26:59] From BBM, we have OIC Director Mary Rose Aguilar, Mr. Rainier Adrian Barida, [27:04] Ms. Mary Daniel Moholy, Ms. Maricel Dizon, and Ms. Chloe John Guerlain. [27:09] From COA, we have Ms. Rosana Alconcel, Mr. Mark Joseph Francisco, [27:14] Mr. John John Espiritu, Ms. Christine Anne Marie Nicolás, Ms. Mirasol Flores, [27:21] Ms. Jessaline Adoremos, Ms. Norisa Rose Yao, Mr. Christopher James Poreza, [27:26] Ms. Maryzel Rojero, Mr. Angel Carillo Jr., Ms. Robby Jane Bernabe, [27:32] Mr. Carlo Apostol, Ms. Frances Faye Lim, Ms. Vanessa Collado, Mr. Jared Guillang, [27:38] Mr. Roland Ramsey-Comia, Ms. Melissa Ferrer-Balinia, and Mr. Miel Alan Gabriel. [27:44] Thank you, Mr. Chair. [27:46] Thank you, our committee secretary. [27:48] The chair also would like to acknowledge the presence of Senator Irwin Tulfo. [27:53] The chair would like first to give this opening statement, then after which our colleagues, [27:58] if there is any, and then they will have the presentation of the Department of National [28:02] Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. [28:05] Good afternoon, dear colleagues, Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Chudoro [28:09] and other officials and heads of agencies of the Department of National Defense [28:12] and its attached agencies. [28:14] Earlier this morning, we had the opportunity to visit the AFP Southern Luzon Commanded Quarters [28:18] in Camp Guillermo General Nacar in Lucena City. [28:22] Malaga po sa atin na bago natin talakayin ang mga numero uno at dato sa binabalangkas [28:28] nating pambansang budget na makita at marinig mismo ang kalagayan ng ating mga sundalo. [28:34] Ang kalimang karanasan sa field ay dapat makarating sa ating madeliberasyon at ang ating [28:39] madesisyon dito sa Senado ay dapat tumugon sa tunay nilang pangangailangan. [28:43] As we deliberate on the budget of the Department of National Defense, the Armed Forces of the [28:48] Philippines, and other agencies in our national defense sector, allow me to state for the record, [28:53] Bilang Senador ng Republika, deturing ko po na bahagi ng aking sinupaang tungkulin sa ating [29:00] konstitusyon sa bayan at sa lahat ng Pilipino, ang tiyakinang patuloy na suporta ng inyong Senado [29:06] sa kagawaran ng tanggulap ang bansa at sa sandatang lakas ng Pilipinas upang patuloy na [29:13] maipagtanggol ang ating soberanya, pangalagaan ng ating teritoryo at itaguyod ang ating dignidad [29:19] bilang isang malayang bansa. Nung nakarang taon, katawang natin ang mga kasamahan sa Senado [29:28] at sa Panguno ni Den Finance Chair at ngayon ay Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, sinuporta [29:34] natin ang paglalaan ng karagdagang pondo para sa AFP modernization. Sa ilalim ng inyong [29:40] kasalukoyin budget para sa 2026, umabot sa 90 billion ang pinagsamang alokasyon para sa [29:45] revised AFP modernization program, 40 billion sa program appropriations at 50 billion sa [29:51] unprogram appropriations. Nais po nating malaman kung gaano nakalaki sa pondong [29:56] ito ang aktual na nailabas, na obliga at nagastos at kung ano ang katumbas nitong [30:02] progreso sa ating mga proyekto na pang modernization. Alin sa mga inaasang kagamitan at [30:09] sistema ang naihatid na at nagagamit ng ating masundalo? Anong mga hadlang sa [30:14] pagpapatupad? At alin ang mga pangangailangan ang dapat nating unahin sa [30:20] kapalangkas ng budget para sa fiscal year 2027. I share the senate committee on finance [30:26] and as I have done so for many years, I reaffirm our commitment to sustaining the AFP's [30:31] modernization with our fiscal constraints. Kapag hinahamak ang ating bandila at [30:37] kinigipit ang ating mga kababayan sa sarili nating mga karagatan. Dapat malinaw ang ating [30:44] prinsipyo at matatag ang ating tugon. Sa gitna ng maraming mga hamon at kinakaharap [30:49] ng ating bansa, kailangan buo ang ating loob at nagkakaisang ating pagtindig na [30:56] mapagtatanggol ng pambansang interes. Ito ang diwa ng pangakong ating binibigas sa tuwing [31:03] inaawit ang lupang hinirang na sa harap ang sino mang manlulupig kailanman ay hindi tayo [31:08] pasisihil. I remain steadfast in my belief that defending our nation's honor and sovereignty [31:14] to the attainment of a credible defense posture must transcend partisan loyalties, political [31:21] considerations, and personal interest. The defense of our nation must always rise above politics [31:27] and remain firmly anchored in our shared commitment to national security, sovereignty, and the [31:33] Filipino people. Maraming salamat po. At this juncture, also, the Chair would like [31:37] to acknowledge the presence of our Senate President, Senator Irwin Gatchalian. So, I'd [31:43] like to ask my colleagues if they have any opening statement or let me start with our [31:47] Senate President. [31:50] Magandang hapon, Mr. Chairman. Magandang hapon, Secretary Teodoro, sa lahat po ng ating [31:54] kasamaan sa Armed Forces of the Philippines. Talaga pong mabilis pong nagbabago ang [32:01] geopolitical situation dito sa ating region at sa buong mundo na rin. Nakikita po natin [32:07] yung iba't ibang mga conflict na nangyari sa Middle East, sa Eastern Europe, at sa iba pang [32:15] parte ng buong mundo. At sa ganitong punto, importante po na maging handa tayo at patuloy po natin [32:24] minamodernize at pinapalakas po ang ating Armed Forces. Kasama na rin po dito yung pagdating [32:29] po sa Cyber Warfare. Marami rin po akong pabalitaan at napapanood po sa balita na ang [32:37] Cyber Warfare ay isa po sa mga bagay na nagiging realidad na sa mga ganito pong sitwasyon. [32:46] Alam ko, komplikado po itong cyberspace pero ganun paman, importante na nakakabilihit po tayo ng [33:00] mga kagamitan na makakatulong po tayo sa pagpaprepera sa mga ganitong conflicts at warfare. At sa kabilang [33:13] punto, ang Armed Forces of the Philippines ay hindi lang taga-defend ng ating bansa kung hindi [33:20] rumoresponde rin ito sa mga kalamidad na nangyari po sa ating bansa. At isa rin po sa mga bagay na [33:29] dapat ho natin tignan, yung multi-role capability ng ating Armed Forces, lalo na pag tumatama sa ating [33:37] malaking bagyo o mayroong mga malalaking kalamidad na nararanasan ho natin. So kami po ay sumusuporta [33:45] sa pagbibigay ng dagdag kapasidad ng ating Armed Forces. At importante rin po na tuloy-tuloy yung [33:54] suporta, sustainable yung pagsusuporta ho natin hanggat umabot ho tayo sa kakayahan na gusto [33:59] ho natin makita. So maraming salamat, Mr. Chairman. [34:03] Thank you, our Senate President. Maraming salamat din sa suporta mo nung isang taon sa ating [34:07] Armed Forces, no? The biggest ever, probably, budget for the AAP modernization. Our colleague, [34:14] Senator Panfiller-Laxon. None from this representation. I'll just listen to the [34:19] presentation and seek clarification if I need to. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Laxon, [34:24] Senator Tulfo. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Magandang aro po sa ating lahat. Today, as we deliberate the [34:32] proposed 2027 budget of the Department of National Defense, let us be guided by our commitment [34:40] to protect our sovereignty, uphold our territorial integrity, and ensure the safety and security [34:47] of every Filipinos. But how can we do that if the budget of the National Defense is cut [34:54] down? Found that was taken about 43.01%. [34:59] Papano po natin mapoprotektahan ang ating soberenya pagtatanggol po ang ating teritoryo [35:08] at masiguro ang siguridad kapakanan ng bawat Pilipino kung binawasan po ng budget. [35:16] Ang budget na ito hindi lamang tungkol sa numbers and allocations that represents our investment [35:20] and is stronger, more capable, and more modern armed forces of the Philippines. [35:25] Ang bawat piso nga nililaan sa pambansang depensa ay dapat magsilbi sa kapakanan na [35:30] sambayan ng Pilipino. [35:32] Every allocation must translate into tangible improvements in our country's defense, [35:37] posture, operational readiness, and ability to respond to both traditional emerging security [35:43] challenges. [35:46] Nabawasan nga po ang external threat, ang ating internal threat. Tumaas naman po ang external [35:54] threat, meaning kalaban galing sa labas. [35:56] How do we address that kung mas malit po na budget? [36:00] We also recognize that national defense goes beyond preparedness. [36:05] It encompasses our commitment to our soldiers and their families, our support for communities [36:10] affected by conflict and disasters, and our contribution to its peaceful, secure, and [36:15] resilient Philippines. [36:16] We look forward to a constructive discussion of D&D's 2027 proposed budget to ensure that [36:22] every peso strategically allocated, responsibly spent, and aligned with our [36:27] national defense priorities. [36:29] Maraming salamat po, Ginoon Chairman. [36:33] Thank you, Senator Tulfo. [36:34] Before we ask the Department of National Defense and the AFP for the presentation, I seek [36:42] the indulgence of our colleagues to allow the department and the Dutch agency to conclude [36:45] their presentation before asking questions. [36:49] Each center will be allowed later with about 10 minutes for questions. [36:53] In keeping tradition, of course, we will give priority to the officials of the Senate, [36:58] followed by the centers according to the order of the arrival. [37:00] So, at this point, let me disjuncture. [37:03] I would like now to call to our Secretary of National Defense, Gilbert Tudoro Jr., to deliver [37:09] his opening statement and the presentation of the department and its attached agencies thereafter. [37:14] Thank you. [37:15] Secretary Tudoro, you now have the floor. [37:18] Thank you very much, Mr. Chairperson. [37:19] And to our Senate president and our sponsor last year, to Senator Laxon, the vice chairman, [37:27] and Senator Tulfo, vice chairman, likewise. [37:30] It is indeed an honor to present our budget request once again to this honorable chamber. [37:37] And might I just give a short preface and then, with the indulgence of the senators, [37:50] go straight to page 15 of the presentation, which is the highlights of the proposed budget [37:58] per NEP. [37:59] Firstly, the armed forces of the Philippines, at the forefront, together with the Department [38:10] of National Defense, in cooperation with other agencies, have been at the forefront of external [38:16] defense operations in order to deter further aggression in the West Philippine Sea and other [38:24] areas now not traditionally encompassed. [38:28] Secondly, there still is robust presence to preserve the gains of internal security in areas [38:41] which have been cleared of the CPP, NPA, NBF threat. [38:46] Nonetheless, we estimate that robust presence of the armed forces of the Philippines, considering [38:55] that the coverage of the armed forces of the Philippines, not only for operational purposes, but also for [39:03] administrative and logistical purposes, is not as robust within the 7,600 islands as we want. [39:13] For this reason, the Philippine Army has been tasked to scope its areas of operations and also to determine [39:23] for logistical and staging purposes and support purposes for our strategic basing, which we have [39:31] proposed, is necessary to establish a new presence, whether this be brigades or divisions. [39:41] Secondly, these areas will serve as nodes for our critical infrastructure, which has to be, as we determined, [39:49] as we are in standalone. [39:50] For this reason, we have to be a critical system of our systems. [39:52] We do have capabilities. [39:58] However, these rely on the, shall we say, sterile nature of critical basic infrastructure, which we have had to remediate and deal with. [40:18] deal with. As you know, in terms of IT, you start with IT and then you progress to cyber [40:26] because your IT foundation is the basis of your resilience and stability. And one compromise [40:35] in any area can lead to systemic compromises in others. This we had to continue to remediate. [40:43] And as we construct our new infrastructure, we will incorporate the resilience necessary in these [40:53] areas. For our Navy, the major thrust, once again, is not only for the new platforms to complement [41:05] with the Coast Guard our presence in the 360-degree area, but we have a big gap, [41:13] which we are starting to fill hopefully by the end of this year in our dockyards and our [41:23] birthing facilities. Our naval bases per design, except for a few, very few, are not deep nor big [41:38] enough to support the type of operations that we will need. Thirdly, our Philippine Air Force [41:45] continues. It's the sustainment of the systems already ordered and the upgrade of those systems [41:59] because we have to upgrade these systems while we try to segue or to not segue, to complement this [42:12] with platforms that we can afford in the meantime, which provide a sufficient deterrence for us. [42:23] The Philippine Marine Corps, we have a new commandant here, Major Brigadier General Apostol, who was tasked to [42:36] scope the areas which need marine operations, knowing very well that the Philippine Marine Corps is a [42:46] manoeuvre corps. It is not a territorial corps. And with three infantry brigades and one support brigade for 7,600 islands, [43:04] I think the math, just the math alone shows that it is too small. Secondly, the Air Force or the Navy or them [43:13] must ensure their mobility and must ensure their firepower because in a fixed marine unit is not a marine unit. [43:24] Its essence is its deployability and mobility. So Brigadier General Apostol, once he is confirmed, [43:38] your honours, hopefully soon, will devote his time to the growth plan of the Philippine Marine Corps. [43:52] That includes equipment. We have talked about the internal security dimension, but a lot of operations [44:02] right now have seen the connection between territorial defense and internal security that is in the front of [44:13] illegal, FIMI and other illegal activities by undesirable state adversaries that have been proliferating, [44:25] as the Senate President, as the Senate President knows, in our space, which served to weaken economic [44:36] resilience, connectivity, and basic infrastructure, and perhaps other forms of malign activity, [44:48] which we continued in coordination with the law enforcement agencies to disrupt and to discover. [45:02] I think that is a major issue right now on internal security of which we devote a lot of cooperative time [45:14] with the lead agencies, namely the NBI. In HADR, of course, it is a constant threat. However, we have refined [45:29] our deliverables now to a coordinated response as quick as possible. And we concentrate on that in the OCD so that [45:42] we do not lose focus on what people need immediately, because feeling that need alone for those who may be displaced is already a very, [45:56] very tall task. And to exceed that will eat into the competence of the other agencies, which should be doing resilience and other [46:08] other foundational efforts. So, we try to balance the need to focus, the need to coordinate with the ability also to [46:28] coordinate international cooperation for collective resilience. On the veteran side, we continue to innovate services to our veterans, [46:46] which not only will be in terms of payment, but in terms of giving them wellness and dignity, so that they can continue their lives after they [47:04] have served in a manner which fits their service. The Veterans Memorial Medical Center, as we said, your honors, now has what we call the [47:19] Valor clinics to disaggregate basic medical services throughout the country so that the veterans do not need to come to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center. [47:37] They have scope that before the spread of the veteran services through the Valor clinics, only 6% of the veterans were able to avail of medical treatment. And we have reported to the president that the structure itself of the medical center is a cause for high infection rates because of its age and because of its design. [48:05] So, it has to be designed. So, it has to be torn down and rebuilt because it was made right after liberation, your honors. And it was a dormitory type of hospital just like the Quezon Institute before. [48:22] And with today's day and age, with the strength of viruses and bacteria that have mutated over time, we cannot tolerate a structure of that kind. [48:40] Therefore, I believe the president has approved phase one where we will be constructing an annex where we transfer the patients while the major reconstruction work is done. [48:56] And there will be a big outpatient service to co-locate with the subway exit that is being constructed for the convenience of veterans. [49:07] And the end goal is for it to become a specialized hospital where the outreach clinics cannot handle anymore. [49:18] Likewise, to be a specialized hospital for cases where the AFP Medical Center cannot handle the case anymore. [49:30] For the part of the part of the government arsenal, we have instructed them to refocus their efforts on higher technological munitions and other implements. [49:50] For so long, the government arsenal has not operated as an arsenal, but as a factory. And we cannot have it continue that way because at the end of the day, higher technological transfer will only happen on a government-to-government secret basis with our preferred like-minded partners. [50:24] And the government arsenal will be the foundation for these venues of joint cooperation on highly potentially highly, highly confidential platforms and mechanisms and the evolution of the same. [50:47] So their concentration on small arms, ammunition, ammunition shall shift to indirect fired weapons, cruiser weaponry, which are in demand throughout the world. [51:04] And as a forum for government-to-government cooperation with our like-minded and shall we say comprehensive strategic partner countries. [51:22] I gave a brief backdrop, Your Honor, of the operations of the agency. [51:34] Of course, as the Senate very well knows, we're also very busy in building up our like-minded alliances and we thank the Senate for recently ratifying our status of visiting forces agreement with France. [51:48] And I believe there are two more under negotiation to this day with like-minded partners and we await the culmination of those processes so we can have a greater synergy with them as soon as possible. [52:07] With that, Your Honors, I will move to the highlights of the proposed budget per the national expenditure plan. [52:19] We have a regular fund allocation, Your Honors, of 324.6 billion pesos. [52:28] It's 10% growth and 10% year-on-year growth. [52:39] But that's year-on-year, Your Honor, not from last year. [52:42] So, the annual growth will come on the later slides but year-on-year is based on fiscal year 2021, that is the base year. [53:08] So, it's 10% year-on-year from 2021. [53:11] Next slide, it shows the percentage share of the OSEC, which is the whole department proper. [53:21] The AFP, civilian bureaus from the regular agency funds, Your Honor. [53:28] See, now... [53:30] Graduating... [53:31] . [53:36] ... [53:37] Previous slide, please. [53:43] Sir... [53:44] elle-in-applicium stadium... [53:45] emission... [53:47] In this past year, it's all over time and night again. [53:48] But you guys should really be analysis on how Podolo? [53:49] It's all over time and again. [53:52] It's all over time and again. [53:53] Very serious, Your Honor. [53:54] Anyway, here goes over time and-and-and-and-and-and-and-and-and-and ... [54:01] Okay. So, okay na yan. Habulin na lang natin. Sige. Umabul ka na. Okay na yan. [54:06] All right. The office of the secretary has, which is the whole DND, has 0.49 share percent, and it was reduced by 31 percent from year 2021, which means to say we have to work more and higher, less, for less. [54:31] To date, your honor, the DND proper has filled up of only 268 warm bodies, to include myself, and we have to handle all of these systems. [54:48] So, it is unsustainable in the long run, and we have already pending in the House DND organization bill, which, I mean, for 260 fill up, 324 approved plantilla personnel, that's way, way too small for the amount of work that we do. [55:10] Hence, my shiny forehead, which progresses, your honor. [55:17] For the armed forces of the Philippines, it has 312 billion, your honor, 313, which is 96 percent of the budget. [55:31] For the civilian bureaus, your honor, it has a 3 percent share in the national expenditure plan. [55:42] Next slide, please. [55:49] The breakdown, your honor, shows that the DND proper received a decrease, the government arsenal decreased, NDCP decreased, OCD decreased, and PIBOW decreased, your honor. [56:11] I believe this also requires some examination. [56:16] Excuse me, Secretary Gibok. [56:17] Yes, Your Honor. [56:19] I ask permission to interject. [56:21] Opo. [56:22] Kasi wala ba kayong updated na briefing? [56:25] Kasi I understand, the House has already augmented. [56:29] Hindi na ito 324. [56:31] Yung House version, it's already at 329. [56:34] We have not received, sir, a… [56:36] Ah, wala pa kayong kopya ng guard. [56:38] Wala pa po kaming official sa House. [56:44] Manghingi kayo sa Chairman, meron na kami. [56:45] Ah, opo. [56:47] Opo. [56:48] Para mapasalamatan din ho namin. [56:50] Yeah, para na ma-update kasi out of date na rin yung 324. [56:54] Yes, sir. [56:54] Na figure. [56:55] Thank you. [56:55] Sorry for interjecting. [56:57] Kasi po, sir, pag hindi na, hindi ba, we cannot present the House version hanggat hindi nyo maaproobahan kasi… [57:04] Yes, sir. [57:04] Ano eh. [57:08] Pero that's good news, sir. [57:09] Thank you very much for the good news. [57:15] So, sir, may I proceed to the next slide already? [57:23] Next slide already. [57:24] The automatic appropriations, the regular funds, sir, is 324.63. [57:33] The automatic appropriations for personnel is 4.1 billion. [57:40] And the special purpose fund, which is composed of the pensions, is 132 billion. [57:57] The modernization program is included here with 50 billion. [58:00] On the next slide, personal services, we have a slight increase of 179 in line with our goal to increase our footprint. [58:32] On MOO, sir, which is quite important for us because of the tempo of operations right now. [58:40] I can say, your honours, that our tempo now is beyond 100%, meaning to say it's beyond design because of the number of personnel we have to sustain the number of activities we do. [59:00] That takes into account internal security, HADR, and for joint exercises, retraining. [59:10] What suffers here is the amount of rest and retraining time that our men and women have. [59:21] Right now, we do not have enough forces, both on the operational side, to have adequate R&R for them. [59:34] And secondly, we lack personnel on the support side. [59:40] The ratio of operating to support personnel is 80-20, more or less, which is unsustainable because logistics, intelligence, planning, we need a robust infrastructure in order to sustain the operations. [1:00:00] So the MOO increase is much, much welcome, particularly your honours with the cost of fuel right now. [1:00:15] Last year, it is good that we were able to hedge the cost of fuel and assume that they would rise. [1:00:23] So this year, the increase is relevant. [1:00:31] With capital outlay, this is where our biggest gap is. [1:00:39] We need a lot of infrastructure like right now, particularly your honours on the eastern seaboard, where we do not have naval presence. [1:00:49] We do not have substantial infrastructure also in Palawan, not for the naval purposes, but for the army purposes, [1:01:02] which will serve as hubs for supporting our strategic bases. [1:01:08] Mindoro, our presence, too, in Mindoro is only one brigade. [1:01:16] And with the size of Mindoro, your honours, that is not sufficient. [1:01:23] In northern Luzon, we have only one division. [1:01:26] For how many provinces, and we only have one naval force in that area, which spans the South China Sea to the Pacific Ocean. [1:01:40] So we really need to refocus our strategic positioning in these areas, your honours. [1:01:48] And we cannot do that until, sustainably, until the army solidifies its footprint in the Philippines. [1:01:57] So capital outlay, your honours, is extremely important, also for building critical infrastructure facilities for security of our platforms and security of our operations. [1:02:15] I believe the capital outlay gap has been one of the major gaps that we have found out right now we have to catch up badly with. [1:02:29] And it includes also access to our bases in terms of the durability of the infrastructure. [1:02:40] For example, the roads and bridges that will link our bases. [1:02:44] We have found that normal roads and bridges will not be able to support some of the platforms that we have currently because of the weight. [1:02:53] So our mobility is a sacrifice that we cannot really bridge the whole of the Philippines. [1:03:04] But the best that we can do is to provide hubs, as many hubs as possible, which will support sustained operations. [1:03:16] Secondly, your honours, just like any other entity in the world right now, it's not a matter of just in time, but a matter of reserves and stores. [1:03:28] And that we are busy building up our reserve and stores, not only in terms of munitions, but we need it also in terms of petroleum, oil and lubricants. [1:03:41] We have big notional amounts of petroleum ready, but if we do not have physical custody of this, we will be relying on private gas stations to serve our needs, [1:03:54] which is a vulnerability of our operating troops. [1:04:04] And it poses difficulties for the troops rather than have them serviced in a durable basis, perhaps up to the battalion level. [1:04:22] Next slide, please. [1:04:23] The breakdown of the breakdown of regular fund versus the 2026 and 2027 comparatives, Your Honour. [1:04:41] So we have a slight increase of 6.13% versus last year of 18 billion. [1:04:54] But I believe the increase is reflected more in MOOE than any other item. [1:05:08] Next slide, please. [1:05:17] Modernization, Your Honour, 2026 was 90 with the program of 40 and unprogrammed of 50. [1:05:28] This year, 50-50. [1:05:31] Pensions have increased by 13.15% total. [1:05:47] Next slide. [1:05:51] For proposals, Your Honour, our proposals are based on our approximation of threats and costs and sustainability of activities as we plan them based on threats. [1:06:14] It's lower by 248 billion compared to the original proposal we made. [1:06:28] But this does not include one-time enhancements of equipment and capabilities, which will balloon the figure to very, very high amounts. [1:06:41] So we just included our basic requirements, Your Honour. [1:06:53] Next slide, please. [1:06:57] Our breakdown shows as follows, Your Honour. [1:07:02] Of course, from the office of the secretary, it's less 16% from what was asked. [1:07:09] From the Army, it's less by 23%, Air Force, 24%, Navy, 30%, and GHQ, 82%. [1:07:22] And why GHQ? [1:07:25] GHQ, Your Honour, includes the area commands, which are the principal operating commands. [1:07:31] There are five area commands. [1:07:34] And the budget of the area commands come from the GHQ. [1:07:39] Our intelligence command, our sustainment command, and importantly, our strategic command, from which our deterrent capabilities will flow, are sourced from the GHQ budget. [1:07:54] So this does not mean to say that it is GHQ itself, but the budgets of NOLCOM, SOLCOM, WESCOM, BISCOM, EastMINCOM, and WestMINCOM. [1:08:14] These are the operating budgets that come out of the GHQ budget. [1:08:19] So the reduction in GHQ will result in a gap of operations by the area commands, which are the principal operating commands. [1:08:36] And therefore, if that is the case, then we will have to concentrate the budget on the areas where there is a biggest threat possible. [1:08:46] And that will open us to gaps in the other areas. [1:08:54] In the government arsenal, there is a reduction of 11%. [1:09:01] NDCP, 6%. [1:09:05] Office of Civil Defense, 53%. [1:09:08] Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, 23%. [1:09:13] And Veterans Memorial, it's 61%. [1:09:17] But this does not reflect the infrastructure that is going to be sourced from the Office of the President. [1:09:30] And for these agencies, they have one-time items for 2025, which increase their budgets, thus the reductions, Your Honor. [1:09:43] And with the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, they have trust receipts from the DOTR because of the subway. [1:09:58] The AFP modernization, Your Honor, the proposal was 133 based on the re-horizon 3 of the modernization program, [1:10:14] which has already, it's in the process of being revised again, because of increased threats and increased costs. [1:10:26] So we once again will appeal, and I think it's pending on the House, to already abolish the modernization law, [1:10:35] because we cannot work on 15-year horizons, Your Honor, which the modernization law provides. [1:10:42] It is not a sustainable way of planning your modernization anymore. [1:10:53] In a more, for lack of a better term, but to use an economic term, an opportunistic defense market and environment. [1:11:08] We proposed, Your Honor, 134 billion, but only 50 billion was included. [1:11:14] I think the 50 billion, Your Honor, there is a sort of attachment to the 50 billion amount for the past how many years already? [1:11:30] And it was also due to the alignment, perhaps, of the revised AFP modernization to the basis conversion law and dividends from that. [1:11:45] But we know that the basis conversion, BCDA has only remitted a total of 26 billion pesos to the AFP for the past, [1:12:00] no, I'm sorry, 45 billion for the past 26 years. [1:12:05] So it is not a sustainable way of going forward. [1:12:09] And yet it has taken away from us assets which cannot be replicated because of their strategic location and strategic makeup. [1:12:20] So I believe that the situation cannot be allowed to continue, [1:12:28] that more military reservations which have to be devoted to national defense are thought of as commercial endeavors. [1:12:46] Because at the end of the day, it will not fund your modernization in any significant way at all, as history has proven. [1:12:56] So there are relatively few changes, Your Honor, for the rest of the items. [1:13:11] Next slide. [1:13:13] For the physical accomplishments, Your Honor, we accomplished 100 percent. [1:13:22] Next slide, please. [1:13:24] Your Honor, please. [1:13:59] and the cabinet your honor next slide please for uh the afp 81 percent of the tactical units [1:14:15] provided force employers for the philippine army philippine air force 100 and for the [1:14:26] philippine navy 100 your honor however i would like to point out that in the case of the air [1:14:34] force and the navy the 100 is not a figure that of course for this year and last year we should be [1:14:45] very proud of but we should be worried if it continues in the future because a hundred percent [1:14:51] is unsustainable that means to say we are already at max capacity if not less so that means to say [1:15:01] that the capacity of the agencies are not enough to sustain the needs of uh of the environment [1:15:12] your honor that we work in continue please uh next slide please on the joint force planning program [1:15:29] uh your honor we uh 234 plans and programs were were accomplished and for the first semester of this [1:15:39] year there were 117 already uh accomplished most of these your honor are for joint uh and combined [1:15:48] uh anti-anticipative actions training exercises scenario building and scoping manual uh exercises [1:15:59] on operations uh your honor the joint force operations program uh for operations uh 159 [1:16:08] uh were complied with uh last year out of 182 and most of these plans were not uh the the unfulfilled [1:16:22] portion was due to uh natural calamities that would uh of course uh necessitate the diversion of the [1:16:36] resources to humanitarian assistance and disaster response this year your honor we have already [1:16:46] completed 54 of our targets as of the first semester however at the end of the year we expect to complete [1:16:54] 100 percent uh security operations of course your honor in connection with and in cooperation with [1:17:04] our civilian uh law enforcement agencies there are about 5 900 activities that were uh covered last year [1:17:12] and this year 3000 the most important of which are the aSEAN series of uh engagements for capability [1:17:22] programs your honor uh uh the patients treated uh by the afp medical center and other station hospitals [1:17:34] were 12 000 accomplishment was 11 000 uh as of uh uh 2025 uh with 12 000 targets uh while uh this year [1:17:48] year year honor uh since there was a gap last year we reduced the the target level to 10 000 uh we have [1:18:00] already uh have already uh had an accomplishment of more than 50 percent 10 signed afp modernization projects [1:18:09] uh uh uh uh being implemented so we have 60 percent six have already been accomplished for this year [1:18:19] last year uh there were uh 10 targets your honor we accomplished 17 uh because of uh the previous years uh [1:18:30] uh uh uh unfulfilled targets uh uh uh unfulfilled targets next uh uh uh slide please [1:18:59] for the government arsenal your honor 98 is the target this year uh last year we accomplished only 63 [1:19:12] percent of the target because of the unavailability of propellants the shortage of propellants and other [1:19:20] critical components in the international market the situation you're honoring the international [1:19:26] market now it is a seller's market and even though you have fixed contracts they will willingly pay [1:19:34] the uh liquidated damages and other punitive uh amounts because of the uh amounts being offered by [1:19:47] other users given the several conflicts that are occurring now both in the middle east and in ukraine [1:19:57] defense and security leaders capacity your honor we 100 of our research papers [1:20:05] have been accepted uh the same target this year uh 33 percent of uh 53 uh senior leaders [1:20:18] uh from uh the dnd and afp and may i correct this too it's not only senior leaders well we can say senior [1:20:28] leaders too because we opened up the mnsa program to enlisted personnel on the nco level because their [1:20:36] leaders leadership and their critical skills and critical knowledge is just as important as our officer [1:20:45] core uh and your honor the there is a growth challenge with the ndcp now because uh we are on the process of [1:21:04] reshaping the curriculum knowing fully well that the national security is multi-dimensional so a fixed [1:21:14] paradigm of national security as an academic endeavor will not help uh therefore we uh continue with faculty [1:21:25] development advancing coordination and cooperation with other high level research agencies security [1:21:33] agencies uh probably the national security paradigm before work in an internal security environment but [1:21:42] nowadays with the uh different dimensions of conflict to include cyber conflict and cognitive warfare and [1:21:52] who knows what will happen in the future it is not anticipative enough uh the pro the the uh [1:22:01] academic output of the ndcp the teacher to student ratio is still one is to ten but i'm still want to know [1:22:12] the research output of the institution and that is what i keep on pushing them to be doing because if they do not [1:22:21] publish they do not produce uh uh peer-reviewed publications then we are not passing our our job we we we we we we don't pass the test [1:22:41] so uh next slide on ocd your honor as uh we we we said that uh 65 percent of the uh we we we are are [1:22:59] concentrating right now on response and uh we also had to change the view of the minimum required standards [1:23:12] for local governments i uh for example the gawad kalinga awards they were even awarding before awards for [1:23:23] more than compliant but how can you say you're more than compliant when disaster risk reduction is a [1:23:31] continuing endeavor and actually how can you be more compliant with an for example an earthquake scenario [1:23:40] which nobody knows the outcome so a more than compliant rating to me is impossible so we we we we [1:23:50] we abolished that uh that standard and ask them to refocus on the ability to coordinate to exercise [1:24:01] leadership in coordination with the different departments and the local government units [1:24:09] so even the training for uh first responders your honor it should be on a clustered basis we we as we see [1:24:19] the disasters now because the paradigm of first responder coming from the affected community it does not [1:24:30] hold water right now because how can they respond when two or three municipalities are subject to stress [1:24:40] at the same time so it needs a different approach and i give an example for the ligtas pinoy app where each [1:24:50] town should have an evacuation center uh i we had a very difficult time and right now identifying if that is [1:24:58] feasible or not each town should have an evacuation center but in an area perhaps even outside the [1:25:09] physical boundaries of that town which can support the evacuees so we we we had the first list of approved [1:25:20] areas for the ligtas pinoy centers but it will be a continuing challenge for us to identify [1:25:29] suitable areas that can accept the quantity of evacuees should a disaster affect one area an example would be in [1:25:44] the negros ash fall your honor about four or five municipalities were affected but the only safe [1:25:54] evacuation center would be in another distant municipality the same area the same situation with bicole when [1:26:04] you have a six kilometer exclusion zone so that that is a dimension which we are working with and we will [1:26:13] also report the results to congress to refine whatever modifications are needed your honor the rest of [1:26:26] the accomplishments your honor we we met 100 of the targets uh next slide for piva your honor on the veterans [1:26:41] welfare and benefits yeah uh 100 percent uh of the target uh was uh accomplished because these are regular [1:26:53] pensions uh pensions uh and it is only in the efficiency of the payment on uh [1:27:11] on the veterans affairs management uh programs uh still it is a question your honor of uh getting the [1:27:22] number of bona fide accredited veterans and their or their dependents so uh 57 percent of the target [1:27:34] are are are uh was accomplished this is of particular importance your honor because of a recent uh phenomenon [1:27:43] uh that uh we worked with with the u.s government the u.s government recently gave a grant to the veterans [1:27:53] memorial medical center because of the uh prevalence yet of uh no the presence not prevalence uh the presence [1:28:06] of tuberculosis among our veterans uh we are able only to track 600 uh six uh how many [1:28:20] there is a gap of uh 2 000 i believe that we need to track and this will only happen your honor if the [1:28:32] piva is adequately tracking our veterans so this piva rather than have uh recognition ceremonies which are [1:28:46] also important they need to go out in the field right now to scope the number of veterans and to bring [1:28:53] them within the vmmc environment so we can adequately track their wellness and their health care and they [1:29:03] have also been tasked to work with the vmmc to build hospices your honor where our veterans can retire [1:29:13] with dignity a lot of them as senator laxon knows uh have been uh constrained to have an extended period of [1:29:27] stay in the hospitals although they do not need medical care but they need uh uh aged uh uh [1:29:39] geriatric care why because they have no families and nobody to take care of them and it will be heartless [1:29:47] for the doctors in the vmmc to discharge them uh so the piva was tasked to make this a priority we have [1:30:01] also seen and i have witnessed personally uh officer retired officers who because of the detachment [1:30:13] from military life have lost their social circle and a lot of them who have been afflicted by [1:30:24] age-related diseases withdraw and become you know uh are affected and afflicted with self-pity loss of [1:30:38] moral so they also need uh their social environment to be able to mingle and to keep their mental wellness [1:30:49] intact so this in connection with the hospices so that we can also support them that in the most vulnerable [1:31:02] period of their time when they need us most we can preserve their dignity your honor just like they [1:31:09] do in korea for that matter uh next slide so for veterans your honor uh the accomplishment as you see [1:31:24] is nine thousand patients treated but this is only six percent because it is in manila and the design now [1:31:33] there is a veterans health service that's being uh before it was solely the veterans memorial medical center [1:31:42] as the sole sole focus of medical care for veterans that situation is untenable because rather than [1:31:54] prioritizing veterans wellness you prioritize a physical a hospital so it does not serve the purpose [1:32:03] your honor so we we refocus the programs and plans to have the welfare of the veteran first and how [1:32:14] we can service that need rather than to maintain a hospital alone which was the focus of the vmmc [1:32:24] so these targets we hope to increase with the number your honor of outpatients [1:32:29] veterans treated and with the uh establishment of new clinics where we can diagnose and treat our [1:32:43] veterans throughout the philippines there are three already in existence now uh so that they do not need to [1:32:53] come to manila anymore or to go to private medical centers of which the government has to reimburse if the [1:33:03] the public hospitals cannot take care of them we have three and the reason for three alone your honor [1:33:11] it is hard to find people to staff the centers uh so we continue the recruitment drive and to establish them [1:33:22] where we can in collocated with our station hospitals and uh we want to build an ecosystem on that also for the [1:33:32] hospice somewhere else and then the social homes for our veterans 85 percent your 83 percent are the target [1:33:42] your honor of discharges once again your honor have to point out that the last time i reviewed the average [1:33:50] hospitalization was 16 days because of the fact that there are extended pay a stay extended stay veterans who [1:34:02] do not do not have anywhere else to go financial accomplishments next slide next slide for 2025 your honor the [1:34:29] appropriations were 448 allotment was 443 414 was obligated 330 were disbursed 29 uh was [1:34:45] unobligated unobligated and 83 unpaid so uh obligation versus allotment was 93 percent and payment versus [1:34:57] obligation was 79 percent next slide for 2026 uh the first semester uh semester your honor uh the appropriation [1:35:15] obligation for for for this year uh for this year uh was 489 uh was 489 allotment 406 obligated is 191 [1:35:23] billion disbursements 163 for the first semester unobligated was 214 and unpaid was 28 so uh obligation [1:35:38] versus allotment 47 percent for the first semester and disbursement versus obligation or 85 percent from last [1:35:46] year 70. next slide please for comparatives your honor which is the source also of the year-on-year which [1:36:01] probably does not reflect uh current needs uh what is important here is is we will see your honor that [1:36:12] there is an increasing trend of uh both obligations uh and uh allotments uh our challenge during the [1:36:25] the start your honor was the low approved budget ceilings for uh uh items that we needed to acquire [1:36:40] and with this with the inflation catching up particularly for defense material uh we could not [1:36:49] obligate the amounts and it would have been a waste of taxpayers money to do so and uh i i discourage [1:36:59] the practice of rushing to obligate the practice of rushing to obligate just to fill uh to to satisfy [1:37:06] the 100 percent obligation rate i felt that you know let let's let's just give a good reason why it was [1:37:15] not obligated and we refuse to obligate i particularly refuse to obligate if we're just going to end up with [1:37:25] something that is uh something not uh optimal for us but it has uh uh particularly for the 2024 and 2025 [1:37:46] when there have been very major changes in the nature of uh the equipment that we need and we had [1:37:56] significant lessons learned for the supportability and integration and interoperability of platforms [1:38:08] so we required full sustainment to come with acquisitions and most importantly guaranteed supply chains [1:38:20] and guaranteed interoperability and upgrades plus we required a reserve of at least 30 days [1:38:29] of munitions with every platform that we notionally will acquire we also had the experience or honor of [1:38:43] purchasing bear platforms and the weaponry to follow i do not think that is a proper way to go which [1:38:52] was why we stopped the practice however this results in increased acquisition costs beforehand because as we [1:39:03] know prices just keep on going up so you might as well lock it in uh at one time and get the whole package [1:39:13] guaranteed uh this also has resulted in the abc's being and uh being too low for us so it is a continuing [1:39:30] challenge your honor with the uh with the uh with the greater costs of uh the essential platforms we need of course we have also been investing in [1:39:42] mitigation hybrids and you know evolutionary uh platforms however this is part and parcel of a [1:39:53] mix that you will need to have once again i reiterate our gaps are infrastructure basic platforms [1:40:04] and uh logistics uh facilities and support facilities that we will need on a resilient basis next slide [1:40:19] issues and concerns your honor uh next slide [1:40:24] we submitted 21 lines uh the uh 21 line items which we submitted just to complete programs only three have [1:40:34] been approved but this is reflective your honor of the uh consideration of infrastructure that we need to [1:40:54] underscore given the fact that uh we were deprived of uh infrastructure that were designed really for [1:41:07] uh military use that have been converted so we we uh there so the unfunded [1:41:22] your honor comes out to about 87 but i do not know after the house your honor would have submitted to the [1:41:30] senate their version how much of this would have been answered for next slide [1:41:37] for the modernization your honor minimum of 70 just for horizon uh rehorizon three but we we should see there is still horizon [1:41:55] two projects that need to be completed but we also scrapped repurposed some of them because [1:42:04] a lot of horizon two projects are already obsolete but this does not include uh we have not yet come [1:42:14] out your honor with uh the uh recalibration of horizon three which we need to submit to the senate for [1:42:22] uh the uh the president for uh the uh the uh program of 50 billion your honor if we uh obligate [1:42:44] and contract out all of this we will need 80 billion we need 20 billion more from the current 50 billion [1:42:54] that is being proposed just to pay for the continuing uh multi-year continuing uh obligational authority [1:43:04] which is why also our obligation rate is low because if we obligate for that year our payments would [1:43:13] balloon and it will be beyond the modernization uh with the indulgence of the committee i will move [1:43:50] to the next slide your honors this one your honor we already included it last year uh in in uh in the [1:44:10] absence of the amendatory law for the presidential decree your honor limiting uh foreign borrowings for [1:44:18] defense to uh 300 million u.s dollars we have a uh bill already pending your honor to take that limitation [1:44:32] out it allows uh contracting for foreign loans grants and other credit facilities however under the control [1:44:46] of the secretary of finance your honor uh we fully understand that uh this has to be subject to fiscal [1:44:54] space limitations and uh we we we uh fully accept the seniority and the uh primacy of the secretary of [1:45:05] finance in these matters so it has been enacted last year we did not avail of it your honor because of the [1:45:14] mechanism with the mechanism with the secretary of finance so we we we uh appeal for the same flexibility [1:45:24] to be uh enacted this year uh in anticipation also your honor of the repeal of the uh 300 million dollar [1:45:37] limitation it is a continuing provision your honor and uh we have not availed of it because [1:45:49] uh knowing uh knowing fiscal space limitations and next slide please oh this is the last slide [1:46:00] your honor we shall be open to questions from uh your honors thank you secretary tedoro but uh [1:46:11] no i would i will ask my colleagues not to go uh propound questions first but before them [1:46:16] meron lang ano may patanong lang yung ano naghahabol kasi mga di media natin deadline no um [1:46:22] um sikitang ako ng dalawa asek gibo ah habang nagpre-presend kayo ng budget kanina lumabas sa [1:46:28] balita lami to quote the statement of the dfa secretary the department of foreign affairs [1:46:33] summoned chinese ambassador jing kuan on october 19 to convey the philippine serious concern and strong [1:46:38] objection to his october 15 public statement which conveyed the threat to use of force so ano [1:46:44] ba ang treatment ng dnd sa mga ganitong statement ng isang foreign diplomat i know that both of us are [1:46:52] subject to ano now no being attacked by uh don't know kung ito mga ito mga [1:46:58] mga tools to or ano but we are both uh we just want to make uh we just want to make it clear but but [1:47:05] that both of us me and myself and my secretary is a good we both studied in savior school both studied chinese [1:47:12] and i'm sure that he we love our chinese uh school mates and classmates so it is not the chinese [1:47:19] people just to be straight at the to set the record straight it's the expansionist um um [1:47:32] stack of uh si jinping's government so probably um just quickly secretary how does the dnd [1:47:38] treat this kind of public statement that convey a threat of uh use of force from uh the chinese [1:47:45] ambassador your honor uh consistent with our earlier pronouncements uh number one we refute all [1:47:54] allegations made by the ambassador that we are troublemakers and are provoking uh we reiterate [1:48:01] nulit namin your honor ang aming uh pag uh supporta at pag uh pag uh pag uh taguyod [1:48:11] sa unclosed and the un charter ah pangalawa ah pinahihwating na po natin ang ating ah ah [1:48:23] pag object sa kanyang pananalita kasi hindi lang naman isang beses sinabi niyang you lose [1:48:28] lose yung pinoportray po ngayon ay yung ah we can use force if we want but we may win [1:48:38] easily meron pong isa na sinabi siya na okay you cut military communications but you lose [1:48:46] uh so uh so ibig po sabihin eh ah may pagbabantana po doon dalawang beses po niyang [1:48:57] ah sinabi po yan eh ngayon po ipinatawag na po siya ng dfa ah we have to wait your honor for [1:49:07] uh developments uh which uh of course uh the president or the dfa will message to the public [1:49:19] at an appropriate time pero maliwanag po ang ating pagtutol hindi lang dito sa statement niya kung [1:49:27] hindi the more important thing yung kanilang false narrative na may nine dash line may ah meron silang [1:49:36] ah jurisdiction ah pangatlo yung kanila pong latest narrative na ambatanes eh part ng china kasi meron na [1:49:47] daw silang karapatan na mag operate sa ah mga karagatan na nagpapalibot sa batanes [1:49:55] yan po ay matinding tinututulan at aming pong ah sinusubukan na editor yung ganyang klaseng mga behavior [1:50:04] salamat po thank you ah secretary you know much has been said over the weekend no and i think this is an [1:50:12] opportunity to clarify where we stand and we believe in diplomacy but we also believe in developing good [1:50:18] relations with our neighbors pero syempre dapat may respeto sa isa isa no medyo hindi na maganda ang kanyang [1:50:27] ah kanyang ah mga aksyon at mga pananalita no na ano na may halong ano na to pananakot no uh very hostile [1:50:38] and very undiplomatic no and uh we would like to support our uh secretary also knowing your stand also [1:50:47] when you were in uh singapore and like to commend you for that for being firm and uh stand fast in uh in [1:50:54] saying that uh we will protect and we are just protecting our sovereignty and and our territory [1:50:59] integrity so thank you secretary today for that um probably our center our center president would [1:51:06] like to ask questions mr president i i was uh watching the hearing um i was waiting actually in [1:51:15] my room and i saw senator luxon was waiting here way way advanced than both of us so i will yield to [1:51:22] uh senator laxon who came in uh first before we uh both came in yes senator laxon now will now uh [1:51:30] uh propound uh his questions and concerns yeah thank you mr president and mr chairman [1:51:35] yung isang item dito yung unused appropriations of course when we speak of unused appropriations [1:51:42] it is the total of unobligated at saka unreleased ano for 2024 uh pag pinagsama yung dalawa nasa [1:51:50] mga 32 this is 32 billion 32 million 32 million yeah 32 billion no 2024 wala na ito kasi under the [1:52:02] continuing appropriations two years lang eh in 2025 nasa mga 31 billion again unobligated and unreleased so [1:52:13] what uh what uh would uh would account for the uh i i think this is huge uh uh numbers 31 billion [1:52:23] in a news appropriations for 2025 uh what would account sir are the uh inflationary pressures dun sa mga [1:52:33] kinakailangan po natin i acquire at dun naman po sa limited na capital outlay dahil po sa costings [1:52:43] ng ng ng materials umaakyat po yung halaga kaya po kung uh uh pangantlo po yung pag ginamit yung [1:52:54] ibang items po dun sa unobligated pag in obligate po tataas pa po yung mica [1:53:02] natin sa amount ng modernization so yung fiscal constraints po and yung ah pag costing po [1:53:11] ng mga horizons gumagapang po yung presyo halos araw-araw so pag may nakit unang-una po baka dun po sa [1:53:23] approved bid ceiling kasi doon po sa mga reglamento natin ah hindi na po ayon sa presyo na gusto [1:53:33] natin ano ah ah pangalawa po yung ah ating pong ah patakaran na kailangan po yung platforms are [1:53:45] fully weaponized and provided with reserves kasi yung po ang nakikita actually very very conservative [1:53:53] yung reserves natin na 30 days na munitions per platform pero alam po natin na humahaba po yung [1:53:59] panahon na kailangan po natin na reserva yun po ang primary ah reason po from 2024 [1:54:09] because i remember yeah at the end of 2023 po dun pumasok ang rehorizon 3 kasi nagrevisa [1:54:16] ho kami ng kinakailangan kaya nagbago po ito so the next uh and the next relevant question would be [1:54:24] how do we resolve this uh issue kasi year in year out ito lagi yung nagiging problem we're we're [1:54:31] trying to catch up what we it seems that we are not catching up sir there should really be a determination [1:54:38] to have continuous uh defense spending uh increases which will impact the total fiscal picture of the [1:54:48] government uh i will give an example your honor ah ang singapore from day one ng panganak niya in 1965 [1:54:59] or 66 6 percent ng gdp ang at the minimum ang ginagastos po nila tayo po ay sa core uh defense [1:55:09] spending wala pa po sa dos nasasakal na po yung budget natin uh i think ang it should be a [1:55:19] determination your honor na we raise the amount through financing because if we make a determination [1:55:28] nagagastusin lang talaga ito on the future generations mabuti pa ah umpisahan na natin [1:55:35] ng tama sa ngayon kesa sa pamahal ng pamahal o pasikip ng pasikip ito so i think it is a macro [1:55:43] economic uh problem that has to be solved macro economically pangalawa naman po [1:55:50] ah ah ah nile leverage din po natin ang alliances natin katulad ng official security assistance [1:55:57] ng japan na 200 million kada taon na us dollars at fmf ah financing sa us at sa iba pa pong ah [1:56:07] partners sa australia at sa canada in the future pero hindi ito ah substitute ho talaga and i i see your [1:56:16] point your honor i think it will go beyond my mandate uh to view uh a solution to this problem [1:56:29] the uh acquisition the avenues of uh getting the funds we can probably remediate but the repayment [1:56:40] is the uh problem which transcends the dnd uh we we are really reflecting the realities of uh the [1:56:54] costs that we need at the end of the day it's a political decision whether you fund this versus [1:57:00] something else because it's really a zero-sum game uh there's no denying it uh uh that's as best as i [1:57:11] can answer uh our vice chairperson thank you mr chairman before i move on to another topic i'd like [1:57:19] to find out from coa are there major uh procurement issues that uh should merit our attention regarding [1:57:28] the dnd uh uh for the dnd osec sir uh in which i am the the establishment uh may i call on the other [1:57:45] supervising auditor sir please for the armed forces of the philippines uh general headquarter [1:57:54] mika kailangan concern kasi so many years ago same uh budget deliberation sa dnd meron kaming nakitang [1:58:07] koa ah issue no na 10 years na hindi pa na deliver laging ah in transit so tanong ni senator [1:58:17] and really non ang tagal na mamagdeliver yan 10 years pa every year recurring yung ah issue [1:58:24] being raised by koa so hindi na na deliver sa inducer so these are the ah issues that i [1:58:31] i'm talking about ano kung meron mga parallel or similar issues na dapat i-attend or maybe pwede [1:58:40] nang burahin sa libro nyo kasi 10 years hindi pa dumarating eh good afternoon everyone your honor [1:58:49] um regarding po dun sa deliveries um wala naman po tayong question about po dun sa actual delivery [1:58:57] but more on documentation and um ongoing naman po yung retrieval ng mga documents [1:59:03] yun nga po nandung po tayo sa 10 years but however yung ongoing coordination naman po is currently [1:59:11] conducted pa any other specific issues that you can share with us with the committee [1:59:15] ah nan pa so totoo yan ah yes pa okay thank you do some malign ah foreign influence and [1:59:26] ah ah interference ano yung security sector meron ba tayong ah data and substantiated ah reports [1:59:34] ah of ah actual malign interference by foreign jurisdictions against our country considering [1:59:42] na hindi pa natin ipasa yung amendment ng ah decades old anti-spionage law so how do we ah confront [1:59:52] this ah kind of a situation ah sir we can only confront it now if there is a predicate crime that has been [1:59:59] ah has been ah committed or is in the process of being committed and ah what we have seen so far is on the [2:00:12] the economic sabotage uh aspect like uh money laundering human trafficking aspect also uh your honor [2:00:21] and uh environmental standards uh plus uh fake citizenships however on the activities actually sir that [2:00:37] uh will uh will uh be malign we have uh will uh be malign we have uh information however uh substantiated [2:00:48] information is quite difficult given the constraints that we have uh particularly for uh the [2:00:57] uh connections between influence influencer and influence political influence no political sir and others [2:01:08] that's part of the malign interference yes sir yung covert operations na influencing uh you know even [2:01:16] uh uh the uh mga gen c hindi ba yes sir through social media and all now what has happened to the [2:01:23] uh arrests conducted by i think the nbi you know uh by uh foreign [2:01:32] uh agents uh uh agents conducting surveillance operations uh near camp aguinaldo and then also [2:01:37] so comelec we asked this during the first uh committee hearing of the anti-espinage law yung bill yes [2:01:45] sir so walang walang feedback eh uh sir on the uh recent uh uh disruption operation it was a pogo uh operation [2:01:56] uh uh we are still exploiting uh we are still exploiting the recovery but the important thing is that the [2:02:05] hub was closed down and uh uh about uh more or less a hundred were uh taken by the bi so uh the the uh [2:02:19] the uh the they are awaiting deportation proceedings sir i think uh deportation proceedings now are the most [2:02:26] effective way of dealing with uh effective way of dealing with uh the persons apprehended unless [2:02:34] they are principals uh because if they are subjected to judicial processes uh somehow sometimes they're [2:02:46] able to continue the activities uh it's better that they are they are gone unless they are principals [2:02:54] for example your honor alisgo which was cut and dried case uh insofar as we're concerned it had [2:03:02] nothing to do with the malign interference or espinage operations we are still in the process sir of uh [2:03:08] uh hindi pa na-validate hindi pa so far pogo yung nakita niyong so far pogo sir pero ang location [2:03:15] niya nakakapagtaka katulad natin sa parang yung pogo na na-disrupt sa likod ng dfa noong 2003 uh 2023 [2:03:25] or 2024 uh may analysis na doon sa equipment sorbenas equipment that uh were confiscated [2:03:32] ginagawa pa sa kasuluku yan sir matagal na yun ah ah last week lang yata sir no no recent i think this [2:03:39] was uh the other day one or two years ago i was referring to the uh arrests made by i think nba yata [2:03:47] or pnp uh i'm not sure about that your honor i think close coordination should be made with the [2:03:54] armed forces intelligence because yes your honor this should this could involve national security [2:04:00] however your honor one constraint assuming that uh there is sometimes what we we i have encountered [2:04:08] in cases that uh we want to follow up is that the to disrupt to to exploit a a a computer or a [2:04:21] device would need a data warrant another uh another legal proceeding so i i will find out your honor [2:04:30] uh about the status kasi marami na po eh ang interest ring po namin ay tumigil yung operation [2:04:37] katulad po nung imang mga na disrupt natin hindi naman lang yung fake na or substandard [2:04:46] na ginagawa kung hindi may pirho ito eh na labas pasok ang matigil lang po yun ah initially [2:04:55] ay one half of the problem solved kasi hindi na pwedeng gamitin lugar na labas pasok ang ang [2:05:02] ang kung sino now the device says your honor uh we i i will find out your honor those arrests that [2:05:11] i was referring to nangyari last year eh near comelec and in the vicinity of campaginaldo and that [2:05:18] should tell us a lot ano kasi kung campaginaldo and these are uh supposed to be foreign agents then [2:05:26] that should be a major concern threat sa national security and find out your honor yeah please and [2:05:33] uh please do something about it because baka mamaya uh may mga sleeper may mga reports [2:05:38] tin tayo may mga sleeper na di ba yes sir in the country and this could be tied uh to the uh reports of [2:05:47] late registration of birth yes sir ang last count yata nasa mga three thousand five thousand [2:05:53] sir i'm not sure of the amount identified yeah yes yes sir identified the uh personalities [2:06:01] na late registration i don't know what's the status now kung ano na ginawa ng uh PSA [2:06:07] tinanong rin naman sa PSA to during the budget deliberation and they're trying to uh find some [2:06:12] remedial uh measures but you know masyado malalim na pagka ganyang marami ganyang karami malalim [2:06:19] na po talaga sir at yung iba second generation na eh ah ang pasok dito nung magulang ay talagang ano [2:06:27] ano yung anak naman ang pinag late registration ah di umano si alisgo ay ganun din pero ah meron [2:06:37] din nagsasabi na hindi nga ganun ang nangyari sa kanya ah bagong pasok bagong register anyway [2:06:49] can you look uh into it uh mr secretary we'll do sir and we'll we'll report to you i i will [2:06:55] leave the floor to the uh to senator tulpa or the senate president uh mr chairman our senate president [2:07:03] thank you thank you uh mr chairman um i'll start off uh mr chairman with uh some budgets uh some of the [2:07:13] items in the 2026 budget uh nadiscuss any secretary to kanina yung yung uh saloon no and i would like [2:07:23] to understand um uh how come the special provision wasn't triggered i think it was uh uh uh nalagay natin [2:07:33] tong special provision in foreign and domestic financing arrangements uh this is an offshoot from an [2:07:39] information from the coast guard uh ang coast guard uh nakasecure sila ng oda uh to buy uh coast guard [2:07:48] ships so uh last year nang we had a discussion sabi natin bakit hindi natin gawin the same for the [2:07:55] defense no whether oda or other forms of loans and hence pinagay natin tong provision but i want to [2:08:01] understand secretary how come hindi siya nagamit is it too tight is it not uh kulang pa sa language uh [2:08:10] maybe understand uh kung ano naging uh result nito no it's an innovation actually uh proposed by the [2:08:17] secretary and uh sabi ko nga this is a good way of uh multiplying the financial capacity of the armed [2:08:26] forces or the dnd uh there are basically two reasons your honor that uh there's a tight fiscal [2:08:34] space for what we need hence the provision would not be triggered and secondly we were not able in so [2:08:42] far as the proposal sent to us to get the financing in the rate that we want it was too expensive your [2:08:52] honor for for us to trigger hence we did not trigger your honor pero merong sanong opportunity [2:08:59] meron pero mataas ang financing cost hindi lang mataas yung cost pero pati financing cost mataas [2:09:08] it's a timing issue na rin timing issue triggering issue your honor and do you uh propose to uh [2:09:15] include it include natin ito ulit sa 2027 budget it will provide us with the flexibility your [2:09:22] honor until the presidential decree limiting the amount of foreign borrowings that we can do [2:09:31] for defense to 300 million pesos a year is repealed okay so we would request it very humbly request [2:09:38] it again your honor with the assurance that we will not trigger your honor unless uh the department [2:09:44] of finance is comfortable with it and we are comfortable also with the with the item that is [2:09:51] being acquired with the terms of uh the financing yes sure admittedly the uh because of the because [2:09:59] of government bonds everything is expensive right now even in india your honor they increase the yield [2:10:04] to 5.13 percent in government bonds so because to defend the uh the uh the indian currency so it's [2:10:14] it's a worldwide uh yes yes correct that's actually a reason why peso is weakening because of um foreign [2:10:21] interest rates and with critical infrastructure that we need financing to uh we understand the mix your [2:10:27] honor but if we find a need that we can fill with the terms that our are we we feel your honor will not [2:10:36] be replicated any time then we will not hesitate to ask the secretary of finance to trigger how about [2:10:44] secretary odas because odas are more competitive but i'm not very sure whether that's available for [2:10:50] defense equipment i know they're available for pcg which is a civilian type of operation no enforcement [2:10:58] type of operation but for defense i'm not very sure kung available maganyan sa defense no your honor [2:11:03] they're not available they're not available normally uh with japan as uh as a matter of fact there's the [2:11:09] official security assistance uh which is a grant of 200 million for the past three years we were the [2:11:15] recipients uh but uh normal oda financing which has to conform to uh oecd and other [2:11:27] requirements still uh defense uh there are some countries that accept it and some none [2:11:33] um so the financing for defense are special purpose credit agencies normally tied to exports [2:11:42] of the uh providing country your honor thank you for that information we'll propose to the chairman to [2:11:50] re-include the special provision for financing and uh for foreign and domestic financing thank you your [2:11:59] honor in the same way that we did not trigger this your honor we did not uh obligate the full amount [2:12:06] of the 50 billion uh modernization because it will result in a payable of more than the 50 billion this [2:12:15] year to about 80 so you're also very conservative in triggering that your honor thank you thank you [2:12:21] secretary and i'm sure you being a finance guy before kabisado niyo mga ganitong uh impact to our uh balance [2:12:29] sheet yeah um i'll go to uh a related item this is on uh modernization uh secretary and this has been a [2:12:40] really challenging um uh activity of uh appropriation because uh malaking amount [2:12:51] um um in last year uh there was an allocation uh in the unprogrammed funds uh of um 50 billion [2:13:05] and uh it not triggered by tong unprogrammed funds i just want to understand whether it has been [2:13:13] triggered normally and nasa dulo na third fourth quarter but i'm not the the rationale there is [2:13:20] uh lower down the line items in the unprogrammed uh lower down the line items in the unprogrammed [2:13:25] para ma-prioritize ka agad ni modernization and matrigger at mabigay ka agad sa afp yung ano but i want [2:13:31] to get an update whether not trigger ho siya o hindi your honor in the same manner as uh we did not [2:13:37] trigger the other items but because it would balloon the modernization payables alone for this year we did [2:13:45] not trigger the unprogrammed and we could not trigger it because uh the total of the amount both [2:13:51] programmed and unprogrammed uh probably would be the full amount of regular uh modernization infra just [2:13:59] to pay um uh the obligations okay so in in other words it's it's available but not uh not the timing is [2:14:10] not uh favorable yes your honor uh we we obligated 84 the 12 trigger would cause us to exceed the 50 [2:14:21] billion threshold actually our payable for mica this year would be about 70 right uh 50 but if we [2:14:30] trigger the 12 it will be about 70 that is the constraint your honor okay that's why we're not [2:14:36] triggering the 12 and because what you said earlier it's a seller's market yes your honor so mahal [2:14:42] ang equipment ngayon mahal po ang equipment at pamahal pa ng pamahal because even the raw material [2:14:50] inputs sa equipment ay umaakyat po critical minerals uh semiconductors electronics bakal uh copper [2:15:03] other inputs home lumalaki so with what's happening around the world right now yung mga conflicts [2:15:09] ang impact niyan is yung presyo ng equipment tumataas siya o po at saka yung demand po mataas [2:15:16] so yung presyo po umaakyat kasi uh uh dun lang po sa uh munitions no which is not an item [2:15:26] of modernization for 105 and 155 no 155 mm ammunition bumibili pa ho sa secondary market kung may countries [2:15:38] na pwede magbenta na pwede magbenta ng stock nila para mas supply lang doon sa ukraine or other [2:15:43] countries no sa sa or sa israel actually uh bumibili nung araw po so complicated itong situation [2:15:54] natin when it comes to uh defense equipment kasi po uh interrelated itong mga conflicts [2:15:59] to us historically po after uh after the fall of the uh berlin wall in scale down po yung tooling [2:16:11] of production for defense equipment worldwide lalo na po sa europe so ngayon humahabol pa po sila [2:16:19] sa capacity just to supply uh ukraine in so far as the eu is concerned so wala pa po sila sa full [2:16:28] capacity actually po ang uh ang uh germany po ay uh if i'm not mistaken 500 billion euro ang kanyang [2:16:40] modernization hindi pa niya na uubos po kasi wala pong capacity to produce pa ang kanyang bansa so it is [2:16:50] also a question po of availability because of limited lines of production because of the scale down of [2:17:01] defense equipment the only country your honor uh in our uh uh environment in our like-minded [2:17:12] environment that is equipped but not totally equipped to supply a hundred percent of uh its clients demands [2:17:23] is korea which is why we have a comprehensive strategic partner with uh partnership with them [2:17:31] and joint development with them they were the only ones your honor never to slow down their uh production [2:17:40] and industrial base for producing defense equipment yeah ngayon kasi ano talaga i mean you can see it in the [2:17:47] news na um uh parang parang buong mundo there something's happening in different parts of the region and [2:17:58] and definitely uh a lot of countries now are stocking up uh modernizing uh increasing their capability and of [2:18:05] course for us who are um also modernizing it's um with very very limited uh resources impacted tayo with [2:18:16] those uh conflicts uh your honor may i point out also in asia for example indonesia has ordered 47 new fighters uh [2:18:26] uh uh uh the uh top of the line uh rafales from from france malaysia is continuing to expand its uh [2:18:37] uh capabilities actually they had the missile defense contract which was cancelled by i believe [2:18:44] uh finland because they needed to recommit it somewhere else i'm not sure no it's norway i think [2:18:52] uh even brunei is buying uh what we heard is that they are acquiring their first fa50s [2:19:01] so everybody within the region is really building up its own capabilities of course the outlier there [2:19:09] is singapore because it has always done so from day one of its uh creation your honor secretary is this a [2:19:18] from a policy point of view is this a signal that the world the entire world right now is changing in [2:19:25] terms of their mindset on defense because it's becoming more volatile in our region definitely [2:19:34] our regions becoming more volatile as we nakikita naman natin so west philippine sea but in the other [2:19:39] parts of the world is also doing the same i think your honor it's not only a question of volatility [2:19:46] which you will need to deter and to address but a question also of long-term resilience [2:19:52] uh many countries do not want to be faced with a situation where they will not be able to deter [2:20:01] with the basic capability and wait or or rely totally on uh an organization or a conglomeration of [2:20:13] countries to come to your aid if at all it comes to that you will still have to wait for some period of [2:20:22] time before help comes that's why you have to build up that basic amount of resilience to to survive in the [2:20:30] meantime but most importantly your honor it is also a reality that a more robust defense uh [2:20:41] defense setup deters aggressive actions against and it is a deterrent to aggressive actions and to [2:20:50] conflict more importantly than the need to use it it is a warning to make a a a a an aggressor [2:21:03] have a second thought before it even attempts to do so parang union sinasabi ni trump [2:21:11] peace through strength yeah yes your honor it's just like you know building a high [2:21:16] fence in your house it deters uh people from coming in it's the same way thank you mr secretary i'll go to [2:21:25] uh [2:21:35] yes uh [2:21:36] uh [2:21:37] uh [2:21:37] with the intelligence of course of our senate president [2:21:39] uh [2:21:40] sarap po ng mga pahayag uh lately po ng uh ambasador po ng china [2:21:47] uh at ito patuloy po na tensyon sa west philippines sea ano po ang uh konkretong paghanda po or [2:21:55] pwedeng ihanda ng armed forces of the philippines para maprotectahan po ating teritoryo [2:22:00] mga sundalo at mga mamayan sa kabila po ng mindset na naitatag ng mga dating opisyal na isang [2:22:11] nuclear lang sasabog na tayo na lulusubin tayo dudurugin tayo pagamat wala naman po tayong [2:22:18] ginagawa diba na pag umalma tayo so yung mga tao naman kagad sinasabi wag [2:22:26] gagawa natin bubombahin tayo gagyarahin because of these pronouncements before mga [2:22:32] officials natin na parang tumatak na sa isipan ng mga kababayan natin huwag na lang [2:22:37] ho tayo magsalita at nakakatakot kawawa tayo ako e tapos itong recently pa na pailan [2:22:45] daw sila ng persona ng grata then yung mga official natin eh hindi nila tatanggapin [2:22:52] kung yung mga official naman siguro na ito i'm sure wala naman silang interest [2:22:56] din na pumuntaan doon sa lugar na yun pero what kind of preparations are you doing now to [2:23:01] counter this yung to allay the fears of the public na bubombahin tayo nuclear [2:23:08] dodo rogin etc etc mr secretary unanguna po talagang uh we're trying our best really to work [2:23:17] not only singly pero uh with our other allies to deter any more aggressive physical actions [2:23:27] on a military sense by china and it is not only a threat to us but it is also a threat to vietnam [2:23:36] to malaysia and to uh brunei and a threat to japan where their actions are equally uh aggressive not to [2:23:48] the extent that we are facing because of the proximity of uh uh 800 kilometers away from china [2:23:58] to uh to uh the uh shores of palawan in the west uh philippine sea and south china sea area [2:24:07] pero sa haba po ng ating uh uh boundary sa pacific ocean so ang kanila pong behavior [2:24:15] hindi lang po sa atin kahit po sa india may inaakuna naman sila na lubain so pati po ang india [2:24:23] uh at meron na silang karanasan na nagka border conflict na ilang beses nagiging mas agresivo po sila so it [2:24:36] stands to reason na although may individual response tayo na dependent actually more than response po ang ating [2:24:46] dapat gawin is to build deterrence magdalawang isip muna kahit sino kahit sino bago tayo guluhin kasi maari [2:24:57] nating pasakitin ang ulo nila at it's not worth it at the end of the day pero ah habang ginagawa po natin yan [2:25:06] a collective uh deterrence is necessary po ah even with russia po na napakalakas eh hindi niya kinaya [2:25:18] yung ukraine kung walang tulong ang north korea at saka china sa kanya so ano pa kaya tayo na mas maliit [2:25:26] kaya nga po ang mga alyansa natin ay ah ah pinagtitibay natin na mabilis at yan ay ayaw ng china kasi siya ang [2:25:37] outlier dito eh ang outlier po kasi siyang nag reclaim ng walang ibang nag reclaim sa buong mundo yung nine dash line [2:25:45] po niya at hindi lang po yan eh kung pumayag tayo ng nine dash line ngayon eto na nga pati batanes po sinasama na po nila yan baka hanggang [2:25:58] hanggang kusaan lupalop na umabot ang mga claims nila so ah we we are trying our best given ah fiscal constraints at nakikita [2:26:10] naman po natin ah ah senator na 100% ang accomplishment ng ah territorial defense pero sinasabi ko na na hindi [2:26:21] sustainable to kasi yung 100% accomplishment lagi dapat may gap yan for reserves eh kung sagad sagad po [2:26:29] maubusan po ng gasolina yan you know figuratively ah one day so we have to build that space on on the [2:26:39] dimensional size and notional size of our operations i get the point ho that the public is also uh worried [2:26:48] as to the ability of the armed forces to defend and protect them that is why all our actions ho are [2:26:55] calibrated in a manner which we can sustain and not to go beyond the sense an unsustainable uh manner [2:27:04] or an irresponsible man probably grew po ng mga trolls could that be the reason kaya lumalakas ang loob po ng [2:27:32] chinese ambassador uh mr secretary maari pong isa nasa rason yan kasi the best way to uh weaken your enemy is to [2:27:42] foment internal dissension in a in a in an area which you want to uh compromise or to [2:27:51] co-op maari pong malakas na dahilan yan at uh actually uh the uh gas lighting is one of the worst uh things that uh [2:28:04] uh we can uh we can uh we can experience at this time uh lalo lalo na po sa in the face of a [2:28:12] blatant statement by the chinese ambassador pag may nagtatanggul pa dyan eh talagang halatang halatana [2:28:19] naman ho na ah hindi ah hindi po makatwiran ang kanilang posisyon pero meron po talaga we cannot deny it [2:28:30] yes uh before uh uh center uh i think center luxon would like to uh uh with this permission [2:28:39] mr chairman there seems to be a glaring disparity you know on our defense spending compared to our [2:28:45] regional peers particularly china kasi yung kanilang the defense expenditure is 52 times [2:28:54] ng pilipinas sa kanila 335 billion us dollars or roughly 2.1 trillion pesos so how do we compensate [2:29:05] how do we do a david against a goliath in this regard kasi wala naman tayo magagawa except mag improvise [2:29:11] hindi ba so meron ba tayong plano man lang sir uh the best way is to make ourselves an uninviting target [2:29:20] uh the the hard part there is that an uninviting target would mean uh only our land domain which is only 20 [2:29:33] percent of our uh total territory 20 to 30 percent however for the land domain to be resilient we need [2:29:43] full uh exploitation and exploration of the 80 percent maritime domain so yun ho ang nagpapakomplicate [2:29:53] ng situation pero i believe ho that uh with the x billion reported by china this is even understated [2:30:04] because a lot of it a lot of the budget does not go to the pla but to the maritime militia [2:30:10] the coast guard which are basically under the pla uh but not officially reported so there is no substitute [2:30:21] hope uh but to build a level of resilience which will make it very unattractive for them there are ways [2:30:30] so and we can we can also uh in executive sessions share some thoughts on it your honors can it see how [2:30:39] we can match china for example do sa mga warships missiles wala tayo capable wala tayong varwidal [2:30:46] let's uh accept the fact so kailan mag improvise tayo like what uh ukraine is doing against russia no uh for [2:30:53] lack of a better analogy baka we should also embark on a similar program [2:31:00] uh less costly but effective and we can match aside from of course our alliances [2:31:07] mutual defense treaties yung ating sofa and sabi nyo nga kanina yung kapapasalamang na [2:31:14] treaty with the france ano so aside from that but we cannot solely rely on our allies kasi they have their own [2:31:23] national interests to contend with in the first place in france medyo magulo [2:31:28] so kailan may mag improvise tayo and i hope uh we are on the same page on this you know we [2:31:35] cannot just divulge yukono yung ongoing programs then but i was told that there is such uh a program [2:31:41] meron sir [2:31:42] ongoing [2:31:43] meron po at kaya po uh nirefocus na natin si [2:31:47] director amano sa higher uh uh capabilities na uh pwede natin gamitin based on ukraine [2:31:59] uh ang maganda din pong halimbawa dito ay yung vietnamese experience no na uh talagang matatag din ang tayo nila sa [2:32:10] uh sa sa china no uh at ginera na sila nung araw hindi umubra yun nga lang iba talaga yung [2:32:20] makeup ng vietnamese uh society kesa sa atin sanay naman talaga sila sa [2:32:29] uh yun ang balakid po sa atin kaya kailangan ho uh it's deterrence rather than retaliation [2:32:36] and that's why in our alliances we are focusing on the non-retaliatory features of our defense [2:32:45] alliances but focusing on the uh deterrence portion po uh we will never match china in terms of pound [2:32:56] for pound capability but we will make the decision calculus as unfavorable to it as possible that is [2:33:03] the goal your honor thank you well my last question uh mr secretary uh last year or just this year [2:33:09] po when i was the chairman of the foreign relations i was able to talk to two or three ambassadors foreign [2:33:15] nations i believe is a po nakausap nyo na yun si ukraine they are uh willing to put up a factory here [2:33:21] maintenance etc matter of fact they're interested po dyan sa may uh kavite um to to help us with uh [2:33:31] the drones uh have you also spoken to those uh diplomats uh then to other european countries very [2:33:40] interested and willing to to come here to invest actually provided that we purchase their uh equipments [2:33:47] yung mga drones uh sea and air marami na po uh your honor and uh we are uh actually uh some of [2:33:55] those are in the final stages of uh scoping the engagement uh once again all of these engagements [2:34:04] your honor will uh number one place is uh access securely and location and supply chains your honor [2:34:13] uh we we we are pursuing your honor uh to the best of our ability on a secure basis [2:34:21] tama po kasi kung titusin sir hindi po natin kayang bumili ng mga frigates and uh aircraft carriers [2:34:28] submarines then may options po tayo na mga ikanga mga drones sir one last question was just wondering [2:34:34] may mga donations po tayo ng mga drones uh sa america other countries whatever happened to [2:34:39] these drones nagagamit po ba natin limited po to sa lahat po nang dinownload nila nagagamit [2:34:45] ang iba pong hindi nagagamit yung nabili nung araw na hindi po nag fit fit sa ating bagong [2:34:57] c4 uh command and control secure communication structures so mag mula nun nag umpisa po tayong kumuha [2:35:06] ng drones ay he uh ang environment nun ay purely tactical so sa ngayon po nagiging strategic [2:35:16] yung environment kaya kailangan po enhance ang interoperability po nito so uh that is where we are [2:35:25] proceeding right now there are uses ho tactically for for drones and they are being used uh however for [2:35:33] the bigger picture ho we need more multi-purpose drones and we need the facility for quality raw materials [2:35:41] for this and actually precision tooling for this and actually precision tooling for it it's the [2:35:47] precision ho na kailangan eh and uh when we learn from the korean experience ho ang kanilang modernization [2:35:56] started in 1976 when uh the united states said hindi na nila susuportahan but the defense [2:36:07] uh industry was only an offshoot of basic industry your honor because uh they had basic industry [2:36:19] already which uh would support the ecosystem for sustainability in the defense industry still [2:36:29] uh electronics and other capabilities if we do not also remediate basic industry your honor for [2:36:40] example the raw materials secondly power we will be constrained to being an assembly uh location [2:36:51] also reliant on importation for our outputs so we we have to really structure it properly here on [2:37:03] thank you secretary mr chair thank you thank you our senate president thank you uh [2:37:09] senator erwin for those interventions uh pagpapatuloy ko yung secretary yung points [2:37:15] in center erwin at the center ping uh another way is forging alliances with like-minded countries [2:37:22] and this uh last few months na approvan dito sa senado yung treaty for uh sova in state of visiting [2:37:31] forces agreement with new zealand and also with uh france so dalawa po yung na approve um and canada pala and [2:37:40] canada no tatlo are we looking at uh more of these arrangements in the next coming weeks kasi ano [2:37:47] ito eh kung hindi natin kung kung challenge sa atin ni modernization at least in training and interoperability [2:37:57] i enhance with other nations and this is also a signal or a message that these nations agree with [2:38:04] our position in uh defense and also geopolitics your honor there are two more in the pipeline i hope this [2:38:12] can be concluded as soon as possible uh and uh uh in the other countries where we have visiting forces with [2:38:23] for purposes of scoping we also now that's why we need the moe participate in exercises outside the [2:38:33] philippines for example your honor i give a example the philippine navy the philippine army uh participates [2:38:42] in exercise i forgot i cannot pronounce the name in australia karubaru which is an army exercise [2:38:54] the navy participated in the u.s rimpak exercise for the first time together with the coast guard [2:39:02] and the air force participated in exercise pitch black in australia your honor which actually because [2:39:13] of the enhancement to the fa 50 that we made the philippine air force was able to interoperate [2:39:26] with 21 other countries and for the first time lead a strike package and that needs a different level of [2:39:35] qualification so two of our fa 50 pilots are strike package leaders and more importantly your honor which is [2:39:48] why uh the ecosystem is important uh everything was controlled from the ground no voice anymore it was all [2:39:58] keyboard so we have graduated and certified our first set of battle managers that are qualified to [2:40:07] orchestrate uh international air operations and the we will continue to deploy them because we cannot [2:40:16] allow them to lose that proficiency it is a constant exercise so that that is another dimension your honor our [2:40:26] participation in foreign shores which builds us the confidence also of operating in an extended environment [2:40:37] stretching also our logistics capabilities for example your honor in australia [2:40:42] uh the the the we had to deploy about 200 personnel uh and uh support them uh and uh we uh continue to gain [2:40:57] confidence and experience uh and knowledge also in these exercises so when we operate outside even non-vfa partners we get [2:41:12] to scope also the fit for a future vfa for us the philippine marine corps also uh participates also in uh exercises abroad and i've been [2:41:26] encouraging them to uh to participate elsewhere with like environments so that they can understand also better uh [2:41:40] uh the operating environment in even the equipment your honor because we cannot hope to replicate our bigger [2:41:48] country partners also in terms of deployment for example one marine expeditionary unit [2:41:55] of the united states for an exercise here the uh pre-deployments already almost a billion dollars [2:42:01] and we we can never hope to approximate that but nonetheless there are partner uh the doctrine of [2:42:10] uh they they they they deploy in force they will never deploy uh with uh in a force package that is [2:42:18] less than their doctrine and that goes for the u.s air force and the u.s navy uh that's why a carrier [2:42:25] for example your honor is always a carrier group which has its own air group its own uh its own uh [2:42:33] small country so uh the it's also a question right now of scoping the best fit wherever in the world right [2:42:43] now secretary and you mentioned there are three more coming in are you at liberty to uh share with us [2:42:51] uh negotiations are going on now your honor with the uk uh with germany i think we're going to have one but [2:43:00] there is another country your honor where we sent a first draft and they would rather i not disclose [2:43:06] publicly until uh the process but that third country is extremely important to us will bring us to how [2:43:15] many uh uh sova treaties uh so five plus three eight eight eight now all right thank you uh secretary um [2:43:25] secretary i'll go to some items in the 2026 budget so we'll understand um if we will continue this [2:43:33] concept in the 2027 budget in 2026 uh for locally funded infrastructure uh meron 6.9 billion pesos [2:43:45] and uh if you remember last year this was from the phd transfer namin to [2:43:50] um to um to dnd uh amounting to 5.4 billion pesos because nakita natin maraming mga projects [2:43:59] doon uh hindi alam nung mga mga end users or nadi delay or kulang yung pondo uh hindi nako coordinate mabuti so we [2:44:09] transferred it to um uh to um the dnd um how is that experience uh that because that is a uh again [2:44:21] a a a a reform that we instituted in 2026 uh of course uh with with coordination with the dnd is but [2:44:31] is that more efficient in terms of finishing the projects i believe it is more efficient your honor [2:44:39] in finishing the projects but if we will revisit the whole episode it is also the lack of an infrastructure [2:44:49] plan of the armed forces of the philippines and because of the fact your honor that capital outlay [2:44:56] allocations have not been funded to the extent we require so what happened were different units your [2:45:05] your honor had to uh had to uh had to uh request for their own peculiar infrastructure needs [2:45:17] so the the ticas experience are small projects that are asked for by units with uh with the [2:45:28] uh uh the dpwh and the uh the budget at that time but now your honor i think the actual remediation [2:45:39] is an infrastructure program and plan so that we have standards qualities and actually well thought of [2:45:49] uh areas up to the battalion level at least your honor uh we we we had this perennial problem really of uh an [2:46:04] offshoot of uh uh a question of uh tenure of the areas uh which is why also we are busy titling all the [2:46:19] lands so we can uh uh uh uh spend properly for quality infrastructure in areas that we need and [2:46:30] i believe uh a lot of the uh ticas projects were offshoots of this but now we have a more disciplined [2:46:40] infrastructure program your honor that we have minimum standards and locations and areas and moving [2:46:48] forward your honor i think that is the greater managerial remedy to the phenomenon uh some were really [2:46:59] needed your honor uh for example uh uh which is uh uh in in uh camps that uh uh have uh significant [2:47:11] presence i i think the phenomenon is also uh not confined to the armed forces but also [2:47:21] to the police force for example we a lot of camps uh of the police force are still afp pnp uh joint [2:47:32] camps and that is still an issue which we have to resolve with the pnp also now nonetheless your honor [2:47:39] for example i have already instructed also the afp our solcom headquarters in lucena it's quite small [2:47:49] for what we need even the tactical operations group there is so tight uh that we need to look for [2:47:58] adequate locations in areas that will really address uh the requirements so actually it is infrastructure [2:48:05] discipline and project execution your honor the project execution gap and execution gaps have been the [2:48:13] number one of the number one bane of the armed forces which we are trying to remedy managerially already your [2:48:19] honor it's painful but we need to do it your honor secretary the reason why i asked kasi for 2027 [2:48:28] uh nakita nami sa dpwh budget meron pang meron pang 494 million um pesos related to um the dnd or afp [2:48:41] uh of which uh of which 452 million uh of which 452 million is for the psrg barracks in manila [2:48:50] no so the point i'm trying to make is um going by what we did in 2026 no uh we're also thinking of doing the [2:49:00] same in 2027 so that um the uh dnd and the afp will have uh more cohesive coordination uh with the end users [2:49:14] kasi yun yung isa sa mga nakita natin hindi alam biro mo yung yung yung yung end user hindi alam yung may [2:49:22] ginagawa doong infrastructure kung natapos man hindi proper turnover minsan kulang so we saw another [2:49:29] item in uh the in the dpwh budget may isa malaking item no yung barracks which is uh psrg barracks which [2:49:37] is uh 452 million so i want to ask the department if uh is is that going to be um the same uh will you [2:49:48] advise to do the same uh from what we did in 2026 your honor uh in consultation with the uh uh former [2:49:59] jayton uh we we can share with the committee our experience with it and make the appropriate [2:50:05] recommendation uh to the committee in writing your honor uh right off uh i think there's a problem with [2:50:15] the acceptance of the uh uh uh projects uh so uh we will make the appropriate recommendation your honor [2:50:24] in writing there so there we were looking at uh yung yung nep anong meaning ng psr psrg that's the [2:50:35] presidential security command your honor ah okay okay reaction okay okay so um so just let us know um [2:50:47] if we will uh apply the same concept sorry uh your honor it's a facility in the psg uh area your honor i [2:50:57] can disclose it later okay thank you okay so we'll we'll wait for that official communication uh if we [2:51:06] will do the same um again ang ang ang ang direction is to have a much more cohesive coordination between the [2:51:15] the implementor and the end user uh kasi in the past nakita natin maraming unfinished projects or [2:51:22] projects na hindi na ko coordinate mabuti sa dnd and uh itong amount na 494 [2:51:29] um ando pa siya sa sa ano siya nasa dpwh and your honor there will also be a problem with costings in the future [2:51:39] because our infrastructure will cost necessarily higher than normal infrastructure because of the [2:51:45] hardening we need to do and the security we need to build into the infrastructure so it's really better [2:51:52] your honor that it be downloaded to the dnd so that we can account for it more properly also however [2:51:59] your honor will make the uh recommendation for existing projects to the committee in writing [2:52:06] nabigyan nyo kami ng update eh on the 6.9 uh billion but uh we'll wait for the latest update on that no [2:52:16] yes your honor thank you mr chairman i'll uh yield to um the others who wants to ask i'll just go for the [2:52:29] second round thank you okay yes dr laxon ah siguro sa katargidor ay five may ano ano [2:52:37] malino po ang ating support na pagkapalakas ang ating pagbansang tanggulan we've been very [2:52:41] consistent here in the senate no pag binabawasan kayo sa house kami po ang nagre-restore madalas [2:52:47] dinadagdagan pa ho namin pero binang finance committee chair kailangan din natin matukoy kung [2:52:52] sa pinakamalaki at matutulong ng bawat piso ang ilalaan natin sa inyong regular budget [2:52:57] ng regular budget proposal na 576.922 billion um only 328.78 billion ang naisama sa [2:53:08] sanep na dinadagan ng 325 uh billion 186.044 from the house no so but only represents a 0.17 [2:53:21] percent increase but it's still significantly lower than your original proposal uh among the unfinded [2:53:28] items um just the as financier just like to ask what are the three most critical needs that the senate [2:53:35] should prioritize and how would our defense readiness be affected if these are not addressed [2:53:41] uh in 2027 siguro yung wishlist na lang because of our very um limited fiscal space secretary [2:53:48] ganun ang ginagawa nam sa mga departments no uh yung mga wishlist and then yung in in [2:53:55] in order of priority your honor we have submitted the same also to the house we will submit it [2:54:01] uh to the senate so that our needs uh will not be publicly uh publicly articulated and to preserve our [2:54:12] operational security your honor we'll give it to the committee your honor yes please please do so and [2:54:18] then we will try our best um i saw earlier in your presentation no no 50 billion lang yung na-approved [2:54:25] sa ating uh afp modernization budget for next year and uh during our first briefing last time um [2:54:35] um ang sabi ang sabi po eh kung mga 70 at least no that's the minimum uh budget that uh that you can [2:54:46] survive no kahit papano hindi masyadong maapektuhan itong ating afp modernization so do you confirm [2:54:55] mga secretary na ano yung 70 yan ang ating target na minimum at least minimum na ano [2:55:00] natin kung kakaya na ating taasan bakit hindi no we'll do our best yes your honor para [2:55:05] matrigger lang namin yung uh repayments ng uh kailangan namin uh i-trigger this year kasi [2:55:15] magkakaroon kami ng window of repayment comfort na hindi mapapahiya ang ating bansa kung mag-trigger po tayo ah [2:55:26] yes sa introduction magkano yung shortfall ng bcda sa remitan sa inyo ah ina account pa po namin sir eh [2:55:33] dahil ayaw nila mag disclose ng dokumento eh pero estimate wala pa po akong magawang estimate pero [2:55:39] ang sinasabi ko lang sir is yung 26 years na 45 billion vis-a-vis yung kinikita nila na sinasabi nila [2:55:48] at nire-remit nila sa gobyerno na kailangan sa amin mapunta yan eh maliit po ah wala pa po isang taon na pension yun [2:55:58] secondly po ah gumagawa po sila ng mga subsidiary corporations na nagkakaroon ng mga budget ito rather than [2:56:07] idulog po sa amin so ah matagal na po namin sisingilin namin pagdating ng budget ng bcda ay thank you po sir thank you [2:56:18] monitor nyo na lang kung paano sasabonin ni senate president ah number one po at saka number two po yung mga hindi pa nila na na na angkop na area kailangan na po natin yung mga area na yan para po sa operations natin lalo na po sa logistical ah [2:56:37] exercises natin thank you po sir i i think ah your help will be ah very very much appreciated [2:56:47] actually po nagtutol na kami sa extension of life ah nila ah kasi po dun sa draft bill sa extension ng life nila that they will own title to the properties and to be able to sell them eh kung ngayon lang po na ah beneficiary [2:57:09] of the amount of the amount of the fund is the armed forces medyo ah hindi po satisfied yung afp dun sa outcome and they are a trustee what more if they are allowed to sell so wala na po tayong hold sa strategic assets natin eh hindi ma hindi ma re replicate ito kahit kailan po [2:57:34] siguro continue secretary doon di ba you're asking for yung provision no that ah we are considering to add sa 2027 gabi yung foreign and domestic financing agreement probably this is ah this ah will allow you to enter into agreements no doon sa mga hindi natin kaya yung mga panaginip na lang [2:57:57] maaring ah maaring ah through this ah um agreement probably we can already explore and ah pursue yung mga things that are really needed for our deterrent ah para sa deterrent natin our minimum credible defense posture that we need no ah ah i know yung MRF natin matagal na natin mga multirole fighters no that are very expensive as we ah ah um discussed before na napakamahal kasi talaga ilang squadron may mga [2:58:27] tapos yung submarine no ito yung mga mahal talaga but this will ano eh ito yung medyo kahit papano mag iisip magdadalawang isip yung even a superpower like China if we if we have this in our arsenal with you know ah kahit papano eh magiging this will serve as a deterrent so will this foreign and domestic [2:58:47] financing agreement um allow you to be able to pursue all of these you know itong mga um programs or projects that have been very difficult to attain no ah because of ah our uh limited funding so itong foreign domestic [2:59:02] financing agreement uh we cannot say your honor that there's a one-to-one correlation but it will allow us the flexibility to get funds if and when we need it extremely and [2:59:16] let me also refer your honor yung domestic financing no the reason na nilagay natin ang domestic financing although normally dollar [2:59:26] denominated ang uh purchases because we uh we uh found out during initial uh our initial foray into the department that [2:59:40] there is liquidity in the banking system for defense loans may liquidity po kasi nga ah ah ah yung ah [2:59:50] after the pandemic ah yung ah loans ay ano at ito ah mababa ang risk ah of default kasi nga sobren borrowing to meron [3:00:03] hung appetite ang domestic ah banking institutions kung nararapat lang ang mga terms ng [3:00:10] repayment natin at hindi maka-apekto sa balance of payments po natin at saka sa revenue then also we [3:00:21] notice do na medyo tumasa mingit ko 7.2 billion ang repairs and maintenance budget of the AFP ah of course na malaga ito dahil [3:00:30] kailangan mamanatining maayos at manatining ang gamit ng barko na plano sa sakin other equipment so ano ang what are the [3:00:38] measurable improvement sa readiness na inaasaan natin kapalit ng dagdag ng pondo [3:00:44] malaki po dahil ang supply chain po po tayo po inauna ah nag nag nag enter into performance based logistics po tayo sa mga [3:00:54] manufacturer mismo na mga platforms na nangunguna po tayo sa supply chains sa kanila at sila po ang nag pro provide na may responsibilidad with use of local ah ah ah [3:01:03] na may responsibilidad with use of local labor in the future [3:01:13] at gagawa po tayo ng my MROs in the future with them. [3:01:18] Yun po ang improvement, ang reliability rate at yung quality ng maintenance po natin ay tumataas. [3:01:27] Kasi nakakakita din po tayo nung araw na maraming gaps sa maintenance dahil walang performance-based logistics sa manufacturer. [3:01:43] Marami pong natutumbok na mga instances na gano'n na hindi na dapat maulit [3:01:52] kasi nagkakaroon ng reliability, severe reliability gaps ang ating mga gagamitan. [3:02:03] Likewise, Secretary, I've heard in the news, likewise we had a chance to visit Japan last April with Senator Zubiri [3:02:14] and we also had a chance to meet the former Prime Minister, Fumio Koshida, [3:02:20] and likewise yung kaibigan niyo rin po, the very young and dynamic Defense Minister, si Koizumi, [3:02:31] in the census regards, and they said you have very good conversations. [3:02:38] Anyway, they mentioned, they are about to turn over about five or six yung ating destroyers. [3:02:46] Tanong ko lang kung yung maintenance na sinama niyo, are we going to factor in yung mga in case matuloy itong transfer [3:02:56] of the Abukuma-class destroyers? Of course, that would need, that would entail maintenance and other expenses [3:03:03] para sa pag ano na, did you include this already in the budget, Secretary? [3:03:10] For the training included pa ho, dahil nung prepare po yung budget, [3:03:14] hindi pa po na firm up yung agreement to transfer. [3:03:20] So, yung additional maintenance and operating expenditures, hindi pa po, kaya may habol po namin. [3:03:28] I'm hoping this push is true, no? Because I think this will definitely strengthen our assets now, no? [3:03:36] Kasi even if you have the money, it takes four to five years to build, to order a vessel. [3:03:42] Pero at least ito, kahit papano, nandiyan na, no? [3:03:45] Yes, sir. There's going to be an inspection at the end of November, [3:03:50] and we hope we can finalize it as soon as possible po. [3:03:53] That's good news, no? That will definitely at least be able to strengthen our capability, [3:04:01] especially the presence, nandiyan na, West Philippine Sea, kung five or six yan, no? [3:04:06] na Abukuma-class destroyers, no? [3:04:10] That we will hopefully receive from Japan. [3:04:14] Actually, po, the major issue with the Navy is not only the MOE, but the dockyard, [3:04:21] which the President has already given instructions for us to construct the dockyard [3:04:28] because we have to vacate sangli. [3:04:30] It's unusable already and unsustainable as a dockyard. [3:04:35] Masyadong mababaw na po yung sangli at maliit for the platforms that we have. [3:04:42] So, inaasahan po natin, by the end of the year, maumpisahan na po yung groundwork sana [3:04:51] sa dalawang strategic base, pati dockyard po na ating kailangan na, kailangan. [3:04:59] Kasi limang Abukuma at walong OPBs po yung darating. [3:05:03] So, wala po tayong ibabahay, pagbabahayan, pagre-reparan. [3:05:09] Likewise, as Secretary, kung nandiyan na rin lang tayo, [3:05:12] we are using right now yung sa former Hanjin, that's a temporary base, no? [3:05:19] And understand, we are paying so much na 1 billion a year ba, no? [3:05:25] So, and I had the chance to go there, para nakita ko parang warehouse lang, [3:05:31] and I don't think it's really suitable as a support base to our frigates and other vessels. [3:05:38] So, ano bang, ano, do you have any other plans to, ano, dub? [3:05:42] I think napurso natin yung Subic Bay, no? [3:05:44] Kasi it was really designed as a naval base, no? [3:05:47] As a forward operating base and on others. [3:05:50] So that, let us know so that we can already fund, also include it, [3:05:56] funding for, for, for these bases to be ready, no? [3:06:01] Lalo na sa pag-anticipate natin, sa pag-receive natin dito sa mga bagong vessels. [3:06:05] Wala pala tayong babahayan. [3:06:07] So, sige, re, sec. [3:06:08] Your Honor, I'm glad that you raised the question. [3:06:13] Two years ago, the President had already proclaimed certain areas of Subic [3:06:17] outside of Hanjin as a naval reservation, [3:06:22] together with Chiquita and Grande Island. [3:06:27] So, what we are waiting for is the initial funding for us. [3:06:31] And what we heard, Your Honor, [3:06:34] Hanjin is ready, willing, and able to take over the space [3:06:39] because of the additional production [3:06:44] to include one co-produced vessel initially for the Philippine Navy, [3:06:50] which will be a logistical supply ship that we will co-produce. [3:06:57] I requested that 50% of the rights belong to the Philippine government initially [3:07:05] so that any sales made abroad, we have a dividend for it. [3:07:10] In turn, they will take over the whole space. [3:07:16] I hope it comes to pass soon. [3:07:19] But they have to negotiate, of course, with the operator of the area, Your Honor. [3:07:28] Likewise, Japan now is our closest ally in the region. [3:07:34] And every time we go there, [3:07:35] that's it, it's more often talking about overseas development assistance trade. [3:07:41] But now, it's really, they are more concerned on the regional security. [3:07:45] And I'm sure you know about that. [3:07:47] Naano ko lang din, yung since the Abukuma class, [3:07:50] they will be, ano, sabi ko, probably, [3:07:53] since Japan has been very friendly to us compared to our other allies, [3:07:57] I opened it up dun sa ating briefing, [3:08:01] na halimbawa yung F-16s natin na target natin, [3:08:05] napakamahal ng MRF, lalo na yung both squadron and the support. [3:08:09] Sabi ko, baka yung F-2 na galing Japan, [3:08:12] since friendlier sila, baka might be worth exploring, no? [3:08:16] Yung F-2 fighter jets, which is Mitsubishi and Lockheed Martin, [3:08:22] joint venture, mukhang F-16 yun. [3:08:24] But it was produced in Japan. [3:08:26] And we mentioned that, actually, with the defense minister, [3:08:29] and they said they will remember and they will take, consider. [3:08:33] So, probably, we can also take that into consideration. [3:08:36] Baka mama, ibigay sa atin, ano, meron silang assistance, di ba? [3:08:39] Japan is extending yung OSA ba yun? [3:08:43] Security assistance. [3:08:45] Sige, sec. [3:08:45] Your Honor, we're exploring all avenues, yung particularly sa F-2. [3:08:52] That's also a licensed U.S. platform that they improved. [3:08:56] So, it has to be a tripartite negotiation. [3:09:00] They enhanced it for their own purposes. [3:09:04] Yes, and I think they have to complete the final legislation allowing it. [3:09:12] And there are other agreements we have to fulfill [3:09:14] in order for us to be a full recipient of technologically advanced equipment, [3:09:21] which is in the pipeline, Your Honor, from that. [3:09:24] They are a favored partner, just like Korea, [3:09:28] for deterrence capabilities, likewise, Your Honor. [3:09:31] And Australia and Canada, too. [3:09:34] Senator Laksud. [3:09:35] In addition to the D&D budget for 2027, [3:09:41] the department is projected to generate something like [3:09:44] 2.5 billion pesos in off-budget revenues. [3:09:48] Upon the other hand, [3:09:50] nagpo-project din kayo to incur 2.9 billion in parang expenditures. [3:10:00] So, what are the specific sources of the off-budget revenues? [3:10:06] Your Honor, those are trust receipts. [3:10:07] And the infrastructure where this is generated, Your Honor? [3:10:12] Maintenance? [3:10:12] The gap, the deficit na 401 million pesos, that's logi sa revenues versus maintenance? [3:10:25] I will find out, sir. [3:10:27] Kasi ano? [3:10:28] Pagka ganyan, saran na lang natin yung golf course? [3:10:44] Kung lugi pa tayo sa pandilig? [3:10:46] No, sir. [3:10:47] Trust liabilities pala for electricity costs and the like that are not constant. [3:10:54] So, it's a matching exercise, sir. [3:10:58] Palagay ko hindi naman po, sir, malulugi kung i-match lang properly yung nasa treasury function na nila yan. [3:11:06] Kasi kung tomasang meralco rates, tasan nyo rin yung fees. [3:11:10] Mahirap po, sir, gawin yun. [3:11:12] Kasi mga officers na naglalaro. [3:11:14] O, sir, magre-reklamuhan tayo kaagad, sir. [3:11:17] Pero kung you're operating at a loss, parang hindi, parang force ikanami naman niya tayo. [3:11:22] Yes, sir. [3:11:23] I agree 100%. [3:11:25] And I'm glad, sir, you made the issue to me. [3:11:32] And it is also a function of, no, sir, that before there was really a plan of making military basis tourism revenue destinations. [3:11:45] For example, golf course tourism. [3:11:47] But we are constrained to stop that practice now because of base security issues. [3:11:54] So, naka-apekto din po yung increase na higpit dito sa operations. [3:11:58] But we have to scale it appropriately for a more sustainable, at least zero outflow matching budget. [3:12:09] Karamihan magre-reklamo dyan, mga retired. [3:12:12] Numero uno po, pero they deserve to complain, sir, because they served. [3:12:18] Yeah, of course. [3:12:19] Yes, sir. [3:12:19] Anyway, I'm looking at the, yung budget ng government arsenal. [3:12:23] First, the Philippine Army, no? [3:12:26] Ang laki ng, from your 2027 proposal, tapos yung na-adapt lang sa net, yung naging gap kaagad, 46 billion. [3:12:36] The house, no? [3:12:37] Although may generosity, pero parang 190 plus lang yung nadagdag, na-recover. [3:12:44] So, ano yung na-sacrifice dito sa mga, in terms of PAPs ng Philippine Army? [3:12:49] By the way, ano na ba yung ratio ng, ano ngayon, internal versus external threat? [3:12:55] Sir, malaki. [3:12:55] Medyo nag-iba na, no? [3:12:57] Hindi, sir, kasi yung internal, although hindi lumalawak yung preserve the gains, sir, kailangan mo magbabad dun sa lugar. [3:13:06] For example, dun sa barm election, sir, malaki ang expenditure po dyan at saka HADR din po sa internal. [3:13:13] Sa external, bawas na-bawas na po at more confined, sir, sa regions, sa area ng 8th and 9th infantry division. [3:13:26] So, are we now at 50-50 ratio, external versus efforts, yung concentration of forces and all, logistics, etc.? [3:13:35] Sir, for the Army, I think it's still about 70-30, 70 internal pa rin. [3:13:43] While with the Air Force and the Navy, it's 50-50. [3:13:49] Okay, some specifics, ano, yung sa government arsenal, while yung inadapt sa NEP, nabawasan ng, nire-request niyo versus nire-request ng 278 million pesos. [3:14:03] Pero yung house managed to augment yung government arsenal with 285 million. [3:14:10] And meron ditong items, yung 60 million metallic link machine. [3:14:18] Pero, ano, no, 345 pa lang dinagdag ng house, ano. [3:14:22] Yung 285, ito yung water supply project. [3:14:26] Ano yung production process na nagdi-depende dito sa water supply project? [3:14:32] Boyet. [3:14:33] I will let Director Amano. [3:14:36] Sir, Your Honor, for the processing of the metallic products. [3:14:40] And you need stand-alone water supply? [3:14:46] It will be an additional 1 million capacity, 1 million gallon capacity for the water source, Your Honor. [3:14:55] Yeah. [3:14:56] Yung lack of water resources nyo, ito rin ba yung reason why short kayo sa production? [3:15:04] No, Mr. [3:15:04] You produced only 38.37 million rounds against a 60 million target in 2025. [3:15:16] Tapos 870,000 rounds in the first semester. [3:15:20] The deficit, Your Honor, is for the availability of raw material inputs, propellants, and chemicals for primer production, Your Honor. [3:15:35] Ang ginagawa ba ng government arsenal? Puro sa rounds of ammunition lang? [3:15:39] Yes, Your Honor. Small arms ammunition. [3:15:42] Walang ibang production dyan except ammunations? [3:15:46] Yes, Your Honor. [3:15:47] Sir, that's why I explained earlier, the government arsenal was confined to small arms ammunition. [3:16:05] At doon sa aming leveling this year, kung dito tayo koconcentrate, contrary ito sa experience ng conflict mula First World War hanggang Second World War, [3:16:22] lumiliit ang expenditure ng small arms vis-a-vis precision arms. [3:16:27] So, ang roadmap po ni… [3:16:32] I'm interested in the roadmap. [3:16:34] Yes, sir. [3:16:34] Way forward. [3:16:35] It is actually to work with our allies for increased technological capacity on indirect fire initially [3:16:44] and the hybrid weaponry that have a technological advantage. [3:16:52] Doon naman po sa kaniyang infrastructure program, actually more importantly, yung hindi pa napondohan, yung electrical system niya. [3:17:03] Kasi po, 1960 pa yung mga transformer doon na dinonate pa ng Japanese government. [3:17:10] Hanggang ngayon po gumagana, pero di electrical production… [3:17:13] Reparations pa yun? [3:17:15] Yes, sir. [3:17:15] Secondly po, nasunugan po siya ng primer production. [3:17:24] Ang replication po nito, ngayon lang nangyari. [3:17:29] Pangalawa po, wala pang emergency hospital doon sa loob na kinakailangan po ng labor regulations natin. [3:17:36] So, the infrastructure development sa area ay importante. [3:17:41] Dahil po, ito ay sa plano nung araw na i-pre-privatize ito na hindi naman po po pwede. [3:17:51] Kaya nga, arsenal po ito eh. Parang mint ito eh. [3:17:54] May residual capacity dapat ito for our reserves, no? [3:17:58] We also have a… [3:18:03] It was causing a lot of moral problems also with our rank and file na hanggang diyan na lang yung ginagawa nila. [3:18:15] So, now there is a road map, sir. [3:18:17] As a matter of fact, sinama namin sa FMF yung additional line mo. [3:18:21] Yung sa 7.62 ammunition po, kailangan din po natin yung link at saka yung upgraded link na maire-reload po yung minigun po na bago sa mga helicopter po natin na napakataas ng expenditure rate po yung parang gatling. [3:18:43] Yung special provision that you are requesting to be retained, no? [3:18:50] I think the House already included that in the GAB. [3:18:55] Ando na yata eh. Special provision number two. [3:18:59] Yes, sir. [3:18:59] So, I just hope na you will notify Congress before a commitment is made. [3:19:05] As a matter of course, di ba? [3:19:07] Yes, sir. [3:19:08] Pati yung pag-monitor ng mga contingent liabilities, etc. [3:19:12] Yes, sir. Yes, sir. We will notify. [3:19:14] Please make sure na ma-notify ang Congress. [3:19:16] Thank you. [3:19:16] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [3:19:19] As Secretary, also, yung ano, you know, [3:19:21] lalo na sigur, we can ask the, probably our army, yung drone development, [3:19:29] do we have, I'm sure that we have that already. [3:19:33] I had the chance to visit a Camp Kapinpin a few months ago, [3:19:37] and they demonstrated na mayroon sinang ginagawang mga drone, [3:19:40] locally manufactured there in the camp itself. [3:19:43] So, sabi ko parang it's worth funding. [3:19:47] Secretary, because I think this will be the new, [3:19:51] ganito na yung magiging, ano, natin, no? [3:19:53] Wave of the future. [3:19:54] So, probably, you can, probably expound if, ano, natin? [3:19:58] Baka naman, kundi man classified. [3:20:00] Yes, sir. [3:20:01] The thing is, with a more bigger scale, we will need to produce it. [3:20:07] The problem with the developmental drones are these are assembled, [3:20:15] and sometimes the parts come from countries which are not reliable. [3:20:19] So, for the conception stage, mabuti, magaling ang Pilipino doon. [3:20:27] Sa production at saka scaling, doon tayo nagkakaproblema. [3:20:31] Sa processing na precision at sa tolerances, Your Honor, [3:20:43] pati raw materials supply chain. [3:20:46] So, pagdating po sa amin, sa level namin, hindi nila ma-scale. [3:20:52] At secondly, ho, yung GHQ is very busy now. [3:20:58] In the multi-level, multi-unit, depending on the use of the unmanned system, [3:21:11] doon sa command and control and operational doctrines. [3:21:16] Kasi, at one stage, sa Army po, sa Navy, iba-iba ang gamit. [3:21:23] Pero at the end of the day, pag nagiging mas lethal ito, [3:21:27] or mas may impact ito, at anytime, kailangan po may accountability ito sa GHQ. [3:21:34] Kaya, yung pag-employ nito, pag lumalaki, [3:21:39] kailangan po mas maagap ang command and control dito. [3:21:45] Kasi po, maaring makompromiso ang system. [3:21:54] I was just surprised and also impressed. [3:21:57] Ito'y itisigawa ng developed here. [3:22:00] So, probably, it's worth exploring kung talang kinakailangan tulungan. [3:22:04] Probably, we can also fund it para matulungan natin. [3:22:07] Because sabi nga nung cam commander at the time, [3:22:11] this would be the wave of the future na sa mga battles, [3:22:15] kasama na rin po talaga yung drone development. [3:22:18] Yes, Your Honor. [3:22:19] We are taking a serious, and it's not serious look. [3:22:24] We're implementing it on a scalable basis, Your Honor. [3:22:30] Likewise, sa sekretary, naging ano ka rin na subject, [3:22:33] na I know that you have been very firm in standing up for our sovereignty, [3:22:39] na madalas subject na rin kayo sa attacks. [3:22:43] Ang nakakalungkot lang na may mga ilang Pilipino na hindi ko alam bakit. [3:22:50] Ang kalaban naman natin dito, China, dapat lahat tayo nagkakaisa doon. [3:22:53] Pero meron silang makakampi dito. [3:22:57] Like recently, nung nakasagot ako yung Chinese ambassador, [3:23:03] actually, pinapractice ko lang yung Mandarin natin. [3:23:05] Nakalimutan ko na kasi matagal tayong gumraduate. [3:23:07] Galing Saber. [3:23:08] Tsaka baka hindi niya naintindihan na yung West Philippine si Ate. [3:23:12] Kaya in Chinese, sinabi ko sa kanya na West Philippine is ours. [3:23:17] And nako, in seven minutes, 500 comments ka agad. [3:23:21] So do you think itong mga ito, sekretary, part of ng China ito, [3:23:28] na meron silang propaganda machine really to create siguro itong disunity among us? [3:23:36] Meron po talaga, meron po talaga at admitido naman po sila na part of the United Frontworks po nila [3:23:44] na pillar ng kanilang Communist Party. [3:23:48] Ito po ay hindi state activity kung hindi party activity ito. [3:23:55] Katulad po ng People's Liberation Army, hindi parehong organization po yan sa Armed Forces [3:24:02] because the PLA is not a sovereign state arm. [3:24:07] It is a Communist Party of China arm. [3:24:12] Separate siya. [3:24:13] So talaga po lahat ng galaw nito ay motivated by their Central Committee o Standing Committee. [3:24:21] So ang propaganda is the reason also for being of the People's Republic of China. [3:24:29] It was born through subversion when, you know, espionage subversion. [3:24:37] And as with a lot of communist governments, although, yung iba po nagpalit ng anyo, [3:24:48] what is, what we observe po dito, na dito sa China ang pinakamatinding regime legitimacy support operations [3:25:00] ang kanilang foreign policy. [3:25:02] So, talaga po ang part and parcel ng kanilang taktika. [3:25:08] And makikita naman po natin eh na with a straight face sasabihin, [3:25:13] that is ours, na wala po silang karapatan. [3:25:17] Ngayon, ang pagka ho hindi tayo manindigan laban sa narrative na yan, [3:25:23] manonormalize po yan. [3:25:25] Manonormalize yan. [3:25:26] Sasabihin nila, tinanggap nyo na eh, wala kayong imig. [3:25:28] So, mabuti na ho manindigan tayo kaysa sa mawala pa sa atin by default. [3:25:35] Yes, Secretary, we commend you for standing up doon sa Singapore, no? [3:25:39] Nangyayarin, when you were, sa Seoul ba yun? [3:25:42] Singapore. [3:25:42] Singapore and Seoul, when you were passed with this question, no? [3:25:47] Na talagang obviously it was planted. [3:25:49] So, we commend you for standing up. [3:25:52] Sir Chairman, as an aside, ano? [3:25:53] Kaya siguro subject ng troll attacks si Secretary Guibo kasi wala pa nakaka-match doon sa mga fora na na-atina niya. [3:26:03] Wala pa nakaka-match doon sa kanyang brilliance. [3:26:06] So, doon lang sila bumabawi by way of troll attacks, et cetera, et cetera. [3:26:12] So, yeah. [3:26:13] I second motion in commending you for standing up in a manner na talagang hindi na maribate yung ati position. [3:26:23] Thank you. [3:26:23] Sir, dahil nung nag-review ako sa bar, isa kayo sa mga advisor ko noong araw, noong panahon na yun. [3:26:31] Ito ay part lang ng legal training din natin sa pag-rebat na si Sen. Laxon et al. [3:26:40] Kasakasama ko noong nagre-review ako noong araw at marami ako natutunan sa kanila. [3:26:46] Actually, yun ang tiyatawag na Mutual Admiration Club, Mr. Chairman. [3:26:50] Masundan ko lang ho sa Sen. Laxon, Mr. Chairman. [3:26:53] Napanood ko yung dalawang forum sa Singapore and sa Seoul. [3:27:01] And after that, in Pilipinas, nalagay sa mapa eh. [3:27:08] Because that event was a defense event attended by many countries. [3:27:14] So, at naging very clear and sober as well as rational yung ating position. [3:27:20] And we thank the Secretary for delivering that to the world. [3:27:25] Kasi hindi lang naman kami yung audience, patang audience yung buong mundo. [3:27:29] So, and the explanation was very clear. [3:27:32] And yet sober. [3:27:33] Hindi natin naman, hindi naging bastos, hindi naging walang galang, but very rational. [3:27:40] So, we thank the Secretary for that message. [3:27:43] Thank you, Your Honor. [3:27:44] But I must give credit to the guidance of the President to us. [3:27:48] And secondly, to the collective support of the whole DND and AFP family. [3:27:54] That's where, you know, we have consistent messaging. [3:28:00] We have the agencies under and the department are cohesive and united in our stand for the West Philippine Sea. [3:28:11] So, I mean, the expression in Seoul was instinctive on my part. [3:28:17] But you cannot avoid also that it is based on my experience taking guidance from the President with our experience with the Senate and with each and everybody. [3:28:35] I'm just the expression of the collective voice of the institution, Your Honor. [3:28:41] Credit is also due to those individuals and institutions I have mentioned. [3:28:48] And we commend you again, Secretary, for that, for standing up for our sovereignty. [3:28:54] Nakakalungkot lang, no, na may mga ilan dito. [3:28:57] Nakakatawa, China yung ano natin dito. [3:29:01] Ang ating katunggali. [3:29:03] Pero sandali lang. [3:29:05] Ang bilis na may ilang Philippine ano rito, mga troll. [3:29:08] Dinedepensa pa yung China, tayo pa yung inaano. [3:29:12] Itong mga ito, dapat bordering on ano ito. [3:29:15] Traceo na ba ito siguro? [3:29:16] Diba? [3:29:17] Sabi ko, mas masahol pa ito sa ano. [3:29:19] Sa kalaban, no, yung pagiging trader sa sariling bayan. [3:29:25] So again, we commend you for that, Secretary Teodoro. [3:29:29] Yun na lang po, siguro last before we wrap up, [3:29:34] yun pong we also noticed that in the, [3:29:37] may budget na nawala, no, dun sa ating disaster response, no? [3:29:42] Considering that there is a pending El Niño coming, no, next year. [3:29:52] Itong Super El Niño, may effect ba yung tanong ko lang? [3:29:55] 9.4 billion sa Calamity Fund na natanggal po sa inyo. [3:30:00] I am just worried that we have to be prepared for this. [3:30:06] So, ano po mag-i-efect na ito? [3:30:08] Hindi ko nga alam kung saan ito nangyari. [3:30:10] Whether it was brought to the Department of Agriculture, [3:30:13] baka naman di diretso nila. [3:30:14] Pinakita rin kasi kami rin na direct assistance to farmers and fisher folk. [3:30:19] So, your position, Secretary? [3:30:23] Your Honor, it will not affect because as the Senate President knows, [3:30:28] as far as last year is concerned, [3:30:31] I said that the Calamity Fund, [3:30:33] it's best downloaded to line agencies where we do the coordination. [3:30:40] However, for some projects, [3:30:43] for example, the integrated logistics centers for DSWD, DOH, [3:30:49] in select areas where, [3:30:54] because right now, [3:30:55] the warehouses, for example, [3:30:57] Your Honor, [3:30:58] are in Region 3, for example, [3:31:00] the two repacking areas [3:31:02] of the DSWD, [3:31:05] I was informed, [3:31:06] were flooded. [3:31:08] So, [3:31:09] I talked to Senator Gatchalayan [3:31:12] and offered an area [3:31:14] in Fort Magsaysay [3:31:16] for the repacking [3:31:18] beside the runway, [3:31:20] which is an ideal logistics location. [3:31:25] So, [3:31:25] just to fund the [3:31:27] ideal logistics locations, [3:31:30] whether it be [3:31:31] DSWD [3:31:32] or OCD, [3:31:34] since it will be done also [3:31:36] in [3:31:37] military [3:31:38] bases [3:31:42] because of the air transport [3:31:44] and the sea transport [3:31:46] facilities, [3:31:47] that's the only [3:31:49] requirement, [3:31:51] Your Honor. [3:31:51] Because now, [3:31:53] if we have to augment [3:31:55] in the Visayas [3:31:56] and Mindanao, [3:31:56] but it's good that [3:31:57] there is already [3:31:58] a supply [3:31:59] by [3:32:01] Secretary [3:32:03] Sherwin, [3:32:05] Secretary [3:32:06] Rex [3:32:08] ab initio, [3:32:10] so we just have [3:32:12] to fill the gap. [3:32:14] But normally, [3:32:15] before, [3:32:15] this used to emanate [3:32:16] from Metro Manila yet, [3:32:18] which is not [3:32:19] logistically ideal. [3:32:21] So, [3:32:22] but the downloading [3:32:23] to other agencies, [3:32:24] that's their function, [3:32:25] Your Honor, [3:32:25] why we do the coordination. [3:32:31] With that, [3:32:31] before we end, [3:32:32] liwanagi lang natin, [3:32:34] hindi natin [3:32:35] ina-attack [3:32:36] ang Chinese people. [3:32:38] Wala tayong [3:32:38] bad blood sa kanila. [3:32:40] I came from [3:32:40] a Chinese school, [3:32:41] sa Saber School, [3:32:42] pareho kami ng Secretary. [3:32:44] We both [3:32:44] grew up with our [3:32:46] Chinoy friends, [3:32:48] batchmates, [3:32:49] and schoolmates, [3:32:49] and we still love [3:32:51] our Chinese friends. [3:32:52] And recently, [3:32:52] I also became [3:32:53] an ambassador [3:32:54] of a Chinese tire [3:32:55] manufacturing company. [3:32:56] I use a Chinese vehicle. [3:32:58] So, [3:32:59] katulad nyo, [3:32:59] marami rin akong gamit [3:33:00] na gawang at galing China. [3:33:01] We welcome the people [3:33:02] from all backgrounds, [3:33:04] and we have valued [3:33:05] the friendships [3:33:05] and relationships [3:33:06] we have built over this. [3:33:07] Pero malina po [3:33:08] ang ating paninindigan, [3:33:10] ang ating values. [3:33:11] Again, [3:33:11] a question natin, [3:33:12] ay ang aksyon [3:33:13] ng Chinese government [3:33:14] sa ating [3:33:15] West Philippine Sea. [3:33:16] And I'm sure, [3:33:16] yan din po [3:33:17] ang pinaglalaban [3:33:18] ng ating Secretary [3:33:19] and the whole [3:33:19] D&D family. [3:33:21] Hindi ordinary [3:33:21] mamamayang Chinese. [3:33:23] Yes, [3:33:24] we can respect [3:33:24] the Chinese people [3:33:25] without turning [3:33:26] a blind eye [3:33:26] to the actions [3:33:27] of their government. [3:33:29] Yung gobyerno [3:33:29] naman nila po [3:33:30] ang ating [3:33:31] kanilang ginagawa [3:33:33] sa ating [3:33:33] teritoryo, [3:33:35] sa ating [3:33:36] manging isda, [3:33:37] at syempre [3:33:37] sa ating Coast Guard, [3:33:38] sa ating Navy. [3:33:39] Yan ang ating [3:33:39] hindi po tayo [3:33:40] pabor. [3:33:41] We stand for [3:33:42] mutual respect [3:33:43] but we will also [3:33:44] stand firm [3:33:44] in defending [3:33:45] our country's [3:33:46] sovereignty [3:33:46] and the dignity [3:33:48] of our people. [3:33:49] We also [3:33:49] reiterate our [3:33:50] stanch support [3:33:51] for the D&D [3:33:52] and the Armed Forces [3:33:53] in fulfilling [3:33:54] a sworn mandate [3:33:55] to defend [3:33:55] our national [3:33:56] interest. [3:33:57] With the consent [3:33:58] of our Senate [3:33:59] President [3:34:00] Nguyen Gatchalyan [3:34:01] and Senator [3:34:01] Ping Naxon, [3:34:02] the budget [3:34:02] of the Department [3:34:03] of National [3:34:03] Defense [3:34:04] is now deemed [3:34:04] submitted [3:34:06] for the plan [3:34:07] and raised [3:34:07] consideration [3:34:08] subject to [3:34:08] discussion [3:34:09] and possible [3:34:10] budgetary [3:34:11] adjustments. [3:34:12] The committee [3:34:12] would like [3:34:12] to thank [3:34:13] everyone, [3:34:14] especially [3:34:14] our esteemed [3:34:15] resource persons [3:34:16] for actively [3:34:17] participating [3:34:17] in today's [3:34:18] hearing. [3:34:19] With that, [3:34:20] this briefing [3:34:20] is hereby [3:34:21] suspended. [3:34:22] Congratulations!