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| The BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) Frigate of the Philippine Navy, one of the Products of the ongoing AFP Modernization. Photo from Wikimedia Commons |
Just breaking down the Inquirer’s Article on the Status of the Modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) based on Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s Testimony before the Senate during a Budget Hearing:
* The AFP Modernization Horizon 1 Program from 2013 to 2017 had a total of 53 Approved Projects worth Php 97 billion.
* Out of those 53 Horizon 1 Projects, only 30 out of the 53 (57%) has been completed so far. 23 out of the 53 (43%) Horizon 1 Projects has yet to be completed up to now.
* Out of the Php 97 billion required funding for Horizon 1, Php 82 billion or 84% has been released already, with the remaining Php 15 billion or 16% still yet to be released.
* The AFP Modernization Horizon 2 Program from 2018 to 2022 has a total of 85 Approved Projects worth Php 310 billion.
* 65 out of those 85 (77%) Horizon 2 Projects has been allocated funding. Only 20 out of those 85 (23%) Horizon 2 Projects has not been allocated any funding yet as of now.
* Only 2 out of those 85 (2%) Horizon 2 Projects has been completed as of now, with the majority or 83 out of 85 (98%) still open or for completion.
* Of the required Php 310 billion worth of funding for Horizon 2, only Php 50 billion or 16% has been released so far, with Php 260 billion or 84% still to be released.
* Lorenzana said that he estimates that only 25% of the Horizon 2 Projects was complete.
* Php 8 billion allocated of the Budget for the AFP Modernization in 2020 was realigned to fight the ongoing Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19) Pandemic, but will be returned next Year (2021).
* Another Php 9.4 billion allocated for the AFP Modernization in 2019 went unspent and has been reallocated to fight Covid-19 also. This however, has not yet been reallocated back for the 2021 budget.
That delay of course resulted in more delays in the AFP Modernization Projects under Duterte under Horizon 2 wherein only 2% has been completed and an incredible 98% has yet to be for completion.
I don’t think it is simply an issue of “Funding” because for the Horizon 1 Projects, 82% of the funding has been released and yet only 57% has been completed so far.
One issue I see is that the lack of Transparency as AFP has not been releasing regular updates on the Status of their Modernization Projects. We don’t know anything about what’s happening to all those Projects, and it takes a Budget Hearing for us to learn that they have mostly been delayed.
Ideally I think there should be a list to be put out there with all of the Projects and their status, and it should be updated per Month. That would also mean that the AFP would need to explain why each delay happened, and putting those problems out in the open could result in more transparency and more urgency in completing those Projects.
SOURCE: Lorenzana says 2nd stage of PH Military upgrade won’t be completed on time {Archived Link}
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