Senate passes bill mandating national defense, local weapons industry

The Senate on Monday approved, on the third and final reading Senate Bill 2455 or The Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act, which mandates the State to develop the national defense industry and improve its capability to locally produce advanced weaponry and equipment for the armed forces through technology transfer, partnerships with and incentivizing the private sector.  

The bill was passed with 24 affirmative votes, zero negative votes and no abstentions.

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa said the approval of the measure in the upper chamber serves as a "testament" to the Marcos administration's commitment "to protect every square inch of the country's territory."

"Our sovereignty and freedom would be best defended by us and us alone. While we welcome friendly nations to come to our rescue in times of international tensions and territorial conflicts, we should not always be dependent on our allies in furthering our national interest," Dela Rosa said in his manifestation during the Senate plenary session.

While he recognized the huge help of the weapons donated by the country's foreign defense partners, Dela Rosa noted that the Philippines can also improve its capabilities through locally-made defense products. 

"With adequate support from the government, Filipino-made products can also be world-class, and more importantly, having our own reliable domestic supply of defense equipment gives us peace of mind that we are no longer dependent on the availability from foreign sources," he added. 

Dela Rosa stressed that the measure would allow the Philippines to craft its own defense weapons and would further develop the defense industry. 

"I assure everyone that the weapons we will locally produce will no longer be more mere equipment but vessels that embody the Filipino nation," he added. 

Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who sponsored and defended the bill, thanked his colleagues for giving the green light for the passage of a "relevant measure" amid the current defense situation in Philippine waters. 

Once enacted, the Department of National Defense is mandated to create the Office of the Undersecretary for Defense Technology Research and Industry Development, which will be responsible for the formulation and implementation of the self-reliant defense posture or SRDP program. 

The program is seen to revitalize the defense industry and address the short-, medium-, and long-term needs for defense material. 

The SRDP Program "shall include materiel essential to and designed to effectively counter and address chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and cyber attacks or incidents."

Under the bill, the DND, Armed Forces of the Philippines and all other government agencies involved in responding to such attacks or incidents shall enhance the capacity and capabilities of special units tasked with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergency response and risk mitigation.

An initial funding of P1 billion will be included in the annual appropriations of the DND for the implementation of the act.