Senator Win Gatchalian urged the Department of National Defense (DND) to leverage a provision in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) that allows government borrowing to accelerate the AFP modernization program.

As chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Gatchalian pushed for this provision so the government can maintain a credible defense posture through advanced military equipment and surveillance technologies. “For the first time, mangyayari ito at maraming gustong magpahiram sa atin,” he said, noting that South Korea, for one, has expressed willingness to provide preferential rates for Philippine loans that would upgrade the military’s assets and facilities.

“While the government is now allowed to borrow for AFP modernization, the borrowing is subject to a ceiling and must be carefully managed in accordance with our medium-term fiscal framework,” he added. 

“Our national security should not be constrained by budgetary pressures. We need to provide our defense sector with financial flexibility to acquire critical military assets,” Gatchalian pointed out.

The senator also vowed to support any legislation that would speed up the creation of a new law for the AFP modernization, as the current program is set to expire next year.