Is the Philippine armed forces ‘massively underfunded’?

The Philippine government's commitment to military modernisation appears to be lacking, with critics alleging that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's administration is "massively underfunded". The revised 1.9 trillion Philippine pesos plan to acquire new military assets by 2034, aimed at enhancing the country's power projection in the disputed South China Sea, has been delayed due to budget constraints.

Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr revealed that the proposed modernisation fund for next year was slashed from 126.97 billion pesos to just 50 billion pesos by the Department of Budget and Management. This reduction is said to be inadequate to even cover the repayments for previously bought military hardware on credit, which totalled 56 billion pesos for the same period.

The analyst Manuel Mogato described the allocated budget as "mere lip service" to the ambitious military modernisation plan, as it falls far short of the 100 billion pesos annual budget analyst Mogato deemed necessary. The shortfall is expected to limit recruitment and strain military personnel, with limited time for rest and recreation.

Although the United States has pledged $100 million in military financing, Teodoro explained that it would not be transferred directly to the Philippine treasury due to foreign military financing norms, and would likely be used for coastal defence, maritime security, and integrated air defence. However, the analyst warned that with the arrival of new Philippine naval assets, the limited space at the Tagoloan dockyard would be "crammed" and would likely not accommodate any additional US warships.