MANILA is eyeing US financing to partly fund the acquisition of F16 fighter jets and other military equipment, Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said yesterday.
Another source of funding is the military’s own modernization budget, he said.
The US Defense Cooperation Agency, an office under the US Department of Defense, in a statement dated April 1 announced the approval by the US State Department of the Philippine request to buy 20 F-16 fighter jets, with an estimated cost of $5.58 billion or nearly P320 billion.
The approval followed the visit to Manila of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, during which he announced the US’ “iron-clad” commitment to its treaty ally and support to help modernize the capabilities of the Philippine military to help deter the growing Chinese aggression in South China Sea.
“We are looking at possible US financing, US loan. Long term,” Romualdez told GMA7 in an interview.
He added the approval of the sale of the F16 is “another significant sign of the US commitment to our strong alliance and the Trump administration’s deterrence through strength.”
The military and defense officials have not given details of the approved purchase.
The Department of National Defense on Wednesday said it has not received any official notice on the US State Department’s decision. It has been trying to procure multi-role fighters in the past years under the military’s modernization program to improve the country’s territorial defense capabilities.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin yesterday said he is not aware of the details of the planned purchase “but the principle of it, the Americans would give us the material for a defensive force, a defensive stance.”
He said details about the planned purchase “would be worked out still.”
“But that is not for any specific target or state. It is for our defensive posture,” he added.
National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said the planned acquisition is not aimed at any country but meant to enhance the Philippines’ capabilities.
“If you will remember, Secretary Hegseth said in a joint statement with (Defense) Secretary (Gilberto) Teodoro that the United States will deploy additional advanced military capabilities to the Philippines for joint training, enhanced interoperability and defense industrial cooperation. So, we see this announcement by the US Defense Cooperation Agency as the implementation, the initial implementation of that joint statement between the two defense secretaries,” he said.
Malaya said the acquisition of the F-16 is significant as it is the most advanced fourth generation fighter in the world, which would “upgrade the country’s current arsenal.”
Last year, Teodoro said Manila is eyeing the acquisition of 40 multi-role fighter jets under its Re-horizoned 3 phase of military modernization.
Senate President Francis Escudero said China should not react negatively to the plan because it is the Philippines’ right to upgrade its defense system just like any other country, and China should not feel that jets will be used against its forces.
Escudero also said the fighter jets will not arrive in the country soon because the US has released only an authority to sell. Besides, he said, the Philippines has no outright budget of around P300 billion to pay for the F16s.
He added the fighter jets will still have to be manufactured, unless the USS gives the country second-hand fighter jets.
He said it might take four or five years before the Philippines can acquire the jets because they are not “off the shelves” products.
GROUNDING LIFTED
An earlier study conducted by the US Pacific Command showed the Philippine Air Force (PAF) should have at least five squadrons of multi-role fighter jets, or around 72 aircraft, to fully secure and protect the country’s territorial airspace and sovereignty.
The PAF earlier said it was looking at the F16, the Swedish-made Gripen jet, and the South Korean KF21 to help fulfill its requirement.
Last month, a fighter jet of the PAF crashed in Bukidnon while on its way to a combat mission to Bukidnon, leading to the administrative grounding of the rest of its FA-50 jets.
The 11 jets are back on “full operational status,” PAF spokesperson Col. Ma Consuelo Castillo said yesterday, adding the grounding was lifted on March 25 or 21 days after an FA-50 crashed in Mt. Kalatungan, Bukidnon.
Castillo said the Air Force did not find any issue with the 11 FA-50s during the inspection. They were found to be airworthy, thus their grounding was lifted, she said.
As to the PAF investigation on the crash, Castillo said the probe has been completed and a report is being finalized.
Officials earlier said investigators are looking into materiel failure, human factor, and environment factor. – With Jocelyn Montemayor, Raymond Africa, and Victor Reyes
