Citing recent incidents of “illegal incursions of China in the West Philippine Sea (WPS),” Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri stressed the urgent need for procurement reforms to “expedite purchase of defense equipment the country needs to protect its territory.”
The Senate leader issued the statement as he pressed for the removal of bottlenecks in the government procurement of goods and services and directing it to economic managers who appeared before senators last Wednesday to defend Malacañang’s proposed P5.768 trillion national budget for 2024.
Zubiri reminded administration officials defending the annual money measure “the acquisition process can be stringent but speedy so that recipients will get the right equipment at the right price at the right time.”
At the same time, the Senate leader complimented the timely passage of amendments to the Government Procurement Reform Act embodied in the pending Senate bill aiming to boost the domestic defense industry.
Moreover, the Senate President lamented the state of the country’s Navy and Coast Guard, stressing, “We need to procure the best and not necessarily the cheapest equipment because in military spending, the cheapest is not the best if it will soon fall apart.”
He recalled “there are several allies who would like to give us slightly used, not necessarily brand new, but good equipment so our law must be able to respond to this reality otherwise the acquisition will not push through for lack of legal basis.”
“You know, when you buy an aircraft,” Zubiri asserted, “even a 10-year-old aircraft, as long as it is well maintained, it can still be durable within the next 30 years.”
Zubiri added, “Being brand new should not always be equated with quality,” citing the “purchase of police vehicles from another country which were bugged by breakdowns and lack of spare parts.”
Complementing the amendments to the government procurement law, Zubiri also pressed for the passage of Senate Bill No. 315 or the “Philippine Defense Industry Development Act,” envisioned to promote the local production of defense equipment and materiel.
He said the bill “revitalizes the Self Reliant Defense Posture [SRDP] program implemented in the 1970s to support the growing military hardware requirements of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines].”
As proposed, Zubiri noted “the measure seeks to strengthen the SRDP program by incentivizing in-country enterprises to help grow the local defense industry.
“By encouraging the growth of local enterprises supplying defense equipment and hardware to our AFP, we become less reliant to other countries to fill out our defense requirements. It will also generate employment for many Filipinos in the long run,” Zubiri added.
Moreover, he noted the Senate has taken a more assertive stance against the illegal encroachment of China in the WPS, condemning the recent water cannon incident against Philippine vessels making a supply run to Filipino troops on board the BRP Sierra Madre.
The Senate passed a resolution condemning past and recent actions of China against the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard, as well as its harassment of Filipino fishermen trying to earn a living in Philippine territory.
Image credits: Senate PRIB
SP Zubiri calls for procurement reforms to expedite defense materiel acquisition
Source: News Paper Radio
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