Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa urged the Senate to restore the P10 billion cut introduced by the House of Representatives on the P50 billion modernization funding of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for 2025.
During the Senate plenary deliberations on the proposed P6.352 trillion national budget bill, Dela Rosa noted the budget reduction to the AFP’s modernization program “is contrary to the pronouncements of politicians who appeared to be supportive of the AFP whenever the military was being harmed while protecting the country's territories, particularly the West Philippine Sea.”
Dela Rosa expressed disappointment over the House of Representatives decision to cut the Executive Department's proposed P50 billion allocation for the Revised AFP Modernization Program to P40 billion.
The adjustments made by the lower house were incorporated by the Senate Finance Committee in its committee report on the budget bill.
“Being a former member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, a former member of the Philippine National Police, and now a senator of the Republic, I cannot help but point out a glaring contradiction na nakikita ko. Kasi every time may mangyaring hindi maganda during our resupply missions to the Ayungin Shoal...our immediate reaction is like this: 'We condemn in the highest terms this incident, and we have to see to it that we have to modernize our Philippine Navy,” Dela Rosa pointed out in his interpellation.
"That’s always the line we, as politicians and legislators, tend to say. And now, here comes the budget deliberations, binawasan pa ng P10 billion iyong NEP ng Department of National Defense... Sana coordinated palagi or synchronized iyong sinasabi natin as politicians at iyong ginagawa natin as legislators who have the power of the purse,” he added.
Dela Rosa emphasized the country's first line of defense should not rely solely on avoiding confrontation or resorting to escape and evasion when confronted by those who wish to harm them.
He then appealed to his colleagues to restore the P50 million AFP modernization funding to boost the morale of the military organization.
“I am talking about the morale of our people in the field... Maybe we can somehow restore some of the value there just to make our soldiers and sailors feel that their government cares for their welfare... and that it's not just lip service [where] we say one thing, but when it comes to the budget deliberations, we do something else. It’s as if we are undermining them,” Dela Rosa said.
“Our soldiers are willing to die for the Philippines,” he added.
With this, Committee on Finance chairperson Senator Grace Poe committed to looking into Dela Rosa's appeal and expressed her willingness to consider the latter’s proposal.