Philippines releases funding for ‘second horizon' procurements

The Philippine government has released funding worth about PHP12 billion (USD252 million) to support a series of acquisitions under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ‘second horizon’ modernisation programme.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issued the funding through a recently published ‘Special allotment release order’ (SARO). High-profile procurements supported through the notice include a ground-based air defence (GBAD) system, a medium-lift transport aircraft, and a light tank.

Many of the procurements supported through the funding are already in process, although the funding approval provided by the SARO enables the projects to be finalised through contracts and associated payments. Israeli firms Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are some of the principal beneficiaries.

Funding for the procurements is sourced from the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMP). In fiscal year (FY) 2021, the RAFPMP – underpinned by legislation enacted in 2012 – allocated PHP33 billion for military procurement, an increase over the PHP25 billion allocation in 2020.

The largest procurement to receive RAFPMP funding in the new SARO is the Philippine Air Force’s (PAF’s) GBAD programme, which will receive PHP3.42 billion. In November 2020 this project also received funding worth PHP2.39 billion. The PAF is meeting the requirement by procuring from Israel the Spyder self-propelled surface-to-air missile (SAM) system made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.