Gibo seeks private sector help to modernize AFP

MANILA, Philippines —Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. has called on private business leaders and excutives to help the government find more ways to finance the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Speaking at the general meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) on Wednesday, Teodoro urged executives and managers to develop “creative financing solutions to help the national government ease the burden that an honest-to-goodness modernization will create in the fiscal position of the government.”

He, however, rejected “malicious insinuations” that the military is preparing for war or provoking a conflict with its stepped up efforts to train its personnel. China’s provocations at sea – specifically targetting Filipinos – have raised fears that an armed confrontation is likely to break out anytime.

Citing the huge cost of sustaining the modernization of the AFP, Teodoro explained the government has to strike a balance between growing or stabilizing the economy and spending for infrastructure, social services, education and various other priorities.

“We need to find off-budget, non-traditional financing sources for modernization but not (based) on the model of the old BCDA (Bases Conversion and Development Authority), where land was traded for modernization,” he said.

“Therefore, I ask your help for creative financing for us where we can spread out the terms of whatever financial arrangements we can make to limit the size of amortizations that the national government will make to make it more palatable,” he added.

Teodoro underscored the importance of private sector support for the military’s aiming for a credible defense posture.

“We will need your support in the future because this is a continuing struggle for our territorial integrity, sovereignty, and sovereign rights amidst significant challenges to try not only to make our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) and other areas where we have jurisdiction smaller, to constrict it, but also weaken our resolve to stand up and resist attempts to change the narrative of what international law is and what belongs to the Filipinos,” he said.

He also stressed that the AFP