The Senate on Wednesday assured the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines that it will push for the allocation of more funds for next year to further strengthen the country's defense operations.

After extensive deliberation, the Senate Committee on Finance has approved the 2024 proposed budget of the DND and its attached, including the revised AFP Modernization Program, "subject to possible budgetary adjustments."

The DND's proposed budget will then be again submitted to the Senate plenary for deliberation and approval.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri expressed full support for the defense sector's efforts to defend the country amid the increasing tension in the West Philippine Sea.

With this, Zubiri committed to increasing the DND and AFP's budget for next year for more heightened defense initiatives.

"But you know my dear friends, courage can only take us so far.  And that is why, if we really want to truly defend our country and our seas, we must support their budget. Not only the budget that they have now… We're going to support, through the efforts of the Senate, an increase in their budget, especially in the defense spending," he said.

In his presentation, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the DND is seeking a total of P229.9 billion in funding under the 2024 National Expenditure Program.

Teodoro presented a 12 percent increase compared to the P204.5 billion DND budget allocated under its 2023 General Appropriation Act.

Of the budget, the AFP will get P221.6 billion, which will be divided among its major service units including the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and Philippine Navy, as well as the general AFP headquarters and AFP-wide service support units.

The DND will get P1.2 billion while the remaining P7 billion will go to civilian bureaus, like the Government Arsenal, Office of Civil Defense, National Defense College of the Philippines, Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, and Veterans Memorial Medical Center.

Teodoro said the DND initially requested P115.1 billion for the AFP Modernization Program but was only granted P50 billion.

Meanwhile, Senator Joseph Victor "JV" Estrada stressed the need to fast-track equipping the AFP with modern assets to protect the country's territorial integrity, given the current situation in the West Philippine Sea.

Hence then asked Teodoro about the ongoing military modernization: "We are supposed to be in Horizon 3 of the AFP modernization program in 2023. I think we are still in Horizon 2 or Horizon 1. Where are we now?"

In response, Teodoro said about 10 percent of the project remains to be accomplished in Horizon 1 while 51 out of 97 projects were already finished in Horizon 2 with some projects will be carried over under  Horizon 3.

"That's why we really have to re-strategize it because the paradigms for Horizon 2 may not be valid anymore," Teodoro said.

The military modernization program's Horizon 3 is slated for 2023 up to 2028 while Horizon 2 is from 2018 to 2022 and Horizon 1 is from 2013 to 2018.

All these horizons are geared toward acquiring equipment and weapon platforms that would equip the AFP to perform its external defense mandate.

An executive session was conducted with the DND after the Senate panel's approval of its proposal to discuss some adjustments to the funding, particularly those allocated for defending the WPS.

Zubiri stressed that he will not allow the Philippines to be bullied.

"Hindi tayo pumayag na ma-bully tayo ng ating kapitbahay sa Norte (we didn't allow our neighbor in the North to bully us). Because of that, we hear you loud and clear. We need more defense spending in our modernization project… We're here to support you. You'll see a drastic difference in your budget come this December," Zubiri said.

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa likewise rallied for the increase of both DND and AFP's intelligence funds for surveillance and reconnaissance assets.

In 2022, DND got P2.3 billion worth of confidential intelligence funds. The agency requested only P1.8 billion in 2023.

"With this new defense strategic direction, refocused on archipelagic defense and protection, will there be a corresponding shift, change, or retrofitting of our forces because right now our organization is heavy on the land-based army?" Dela Rosa asked.

Teodoro said no changes are needed at the moment as the country needs to sustain internal security.

However, he noted the need to strengthen the country's defense capabilities to cope with the "challenges of time."