AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner believes it is time to strengthen the country’s defense industry.
This follows the signing of the Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. today, aimed at enhancing the nation’s defense strategies through its own resources and capabilities.
According to Brawner, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has long awaited this legislation to facilitate progress in developing its own capabilities.
He shared that the AFP has previously manufactured its own firearms, ammunition, communication radios, and even rockets, known as “Bongbong rockets,” which have since been discontinued.
Brawner pointed out that this law brings renewed hope for improving the defense industry in the country.
The Chief of Staff added that this initiative will significantly aid the AFP’s modernization efforts, making them more effective and faster.
He clarified that the locally produced firearms will not be sold to private entities, as they are strictly for military use.
Under the SRDP Law, the military will not launch offensive operations with the defense articles obtained.
Actually, we have long awaited this because for the Armed Forces of the Philippines to progress and develop its capability, we need to have a robust defense industry. We have been manufacturing our own firearms, ammunition, and radios for a long time. We even produced our own rockets, which we called Bongbong rockets, but that has since disappeared. So we are very happy with the passage of this law, as it gives us hope for a better defense industry and allows us to modernize our armed forces more effectively and quickly. We really need to modernize immediately.
Gen. Romeo Brawner | Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines