The Armed Forces of the Philippines is allocated a record ₱90 billion for its revised AFP Modernization Program in the proposed 2026 national budget, with P40 billion in programmed funds and ₱50 billion in unprogrammed appropriations.

The proposed amount is ₱15 billion higher than the ₱75-billion budget included in this year’s General Appropriations Act. Of the ₱75 billion for this year, P35 billion and P40 billion are under programmed funds and unprogrammed appropriations, respectively. 

The AFP was given ₱45 billion for its modernization program in the 2023 GAA, the first full budget under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The second phase of the AFP modernization program, dubbed “Horizon 2,” started in 2018 with a P30-billion budget under the GAA. The program’s budget has since increased by 150%, with unprogrammed funds rising 700%, from ₱5 billion in 2018 to ₱40 billion in 2025.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman has said that “unprogrammed funds have triggers,” and that these can only be released “if you have additional revenues.”

Under the 2012 Revised Modernization Program Law, it is the defense secretary who administers the release and use of funds for the military’s modernization projects.

The proposed 2026 National Expenditure Program states that the ₱40 billion for the AFP’s modernization program “shall be used exclusively to support the funding requirements for [its] modernization projects.”

In January 2024, President Marcos approved the AFP’s revised wish list for new weaponry and equipment under the updated acquisition plan called “Re-Horizon 3.” The revised acquisition plan has a timeline of 10 years and is expected to cost about ₱2 trillion. 

Under the original Horizon 3, the AFP wanted multirole fighters, radars, frigates, missile systems, and rescue helicopters.

‘Our duty’

The President told reporters covering his state visit to India earlier this month that the Philippines is in the process of modernizing its military. “And so, we are looking to see what’s the most suitable for our defensive needs,” he said.

He was quick to clarify that Manila is not “gearing up for war,” and described his administration’s increased defense procurement as a necessary response to regional security and part of the long-delayed modernization of the armed forces. 

“It is our duty to defend the country,” he said. “In so doing, we have a scheduled procurement of military equipment.” 

Mr. Marcos said the Philippines will procure more BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from India, warning that rising tensions in the South China Sea could escalate into a wider conflict even from a small miscalculation. 

The first batch of BrahMos missiles from India arrived in the Philippines in April last year, making the country the third Southeast Asian nation to acquire the world’s fastest supersonic antiship missile system.

In April this year, India sent the second of three batches of BrahMos cruise missiles to the Philippines. The delivery is part of the ₱18.9-billion deal signed by the Philippines with BrahMos Aerospace Private Ltd.—an Indian-Russian joint venture—in January 2022.

Defense capabilities

Under the proposed ₱6.793 trillion national budget for 2026, the defense sector will get ₱430.9 billion “to bolster domestic security and modernize our defense capabilities,” the President said in his budget message submitted to Congress on Wednesday. 

Of the ₱430.9 billion, the Department of National Defense will receive the majority share with ₱291.6 billion and the AFP will get ₱286.9 billion.

Security analyst Chester Cabalza told CoverStory that “it is a right of any sovereign state like the Philippines to beef up its own arsenal.”

“The procurement of Brahmos missiles for the AFP’s modernization are steps in advancing territorial defense operations, particularly in safeguarding the West Philippine Sea,” said Cabalza, the president and founder of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation. 

He pointed out that the acquisition of Brahmos missiles from India indicates the higher defense spending of the Philippines.

“The clear direction on safeguarding external security can be translated to the outward-looking national security strategy of the country,” Cabalza said. “The important procurement of missiles is for the deterrence capability of the Philippines. It means that Manila is willing to fight for its exclusive economic zones and internal waters against foreign aggressors like China.” 

The United States has earlier approved the sale of 20 F-16 fighter jets and an unspecified number of training helicopters to Manila worth $120 million.

‘With transparency and purpose’

The AFP spokesperson, Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, told CoverStory that the record budget for the military’s modernization program would accelerate the implementation of the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept, “enabling the AFP to strengthen capabilities on land, sea, air, and cyberspace.”

“The proposed budget for the AFP Modernization Program in 2026 is more than just figures on paper—it is a clear statement of our nation’s resolve to protect its sovereignty amid escalating geopolitical tensions,” she said. 

With national attention focused on alleged corruption in the government’s multibillion-peso flood control projects, Padilla said the budget for the military modernization program would be managed with accountability.

“We deeply appreciate this continued support, and every peso will be spent with transparency and purpose to ensure our forces are mission-ready to safeguard our maritime domains, defend our territories, and uphold peace and stability,” she said. 

Past military officials have been implicated in corruption, including accepting cash gifts from military suppliers and contractors. Some officials are also said to have received multimillion-peso “pabaon” (sendoff) money on their retirement.  

In 2024, former AFP comptroller Carlos Garcia was ordered by the Sandiganbayan to pay P407.8 million in fines for his conviction of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering in 2022. He was found to have amassed ₱303 million in illegal wealth during his military service in 1993-2004. In 2003, customs officers at the San Francisco International Airport held Garcia’s two sons for attempting to bring an undeclared $100,000 into the United States.

The antigraft court has also previously ruled that Jacinto Ligot, another former AFP comptroller, and his family had unlawfully acquired properties valued at over ₱102 million, and ordered that these be forfeited in favor of the government.

In 2019, the court convicted Ligot of six counts of perjury for failing to declare ₱135 million worth of properties in his statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth from 1998 to 2003 and sentenced him to six years in prison.

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