HIDDEN AGENDA…

apprising the President and pertinent government officials of the progress of our acquisition of defense equipment. Furthermore, members of the media and civil society are always invited as observers during proceedings of our Bids and Awards Committee so that they can report the progress of the DND/AFP procurements. However, please accord us some confidentially in some stages of the procurement since it involves sensitive information that are considered military secrets.

I would like to stress that the DAS assessment teams have undertaken appropriate due diligence in the evaluation of the material alternatives for the fighter jets, warships, radar and communication systems, support aircraft and other modern equipment available in the market. While Ms. Reyes is correct that “the Philippines should build up its defense capability by tapping the best defense contractors in the world,” this task is not easy because these are very complex equipment. Yes, the DAS assessment teams considered in the evaluation well-diversified defense manufacturers and contractors whose technologies have been proven successful in many countries and in actual field operations. But the evaluation of the equipment offered by these “contractors” is quite elaborate because the teams do not only consider the technical and operational requirements but also the limited available funds for such acquisitions. The Philippines is not like China which can afford billions of dollars for military spending. More importantly, this department is accountable to the Filipino people since said equipment are worth billions of pesos.

I hope the above clarifications are sufficient to dispel the allegations in Ms. Reyes’ article. This department is working double time to modernize the country’s defense capability and meet the targets of the present administration. I would also like to inform you that this department will publish a year-end report to account to the Filipino people our defense equipment acquisitions.

If there are other questions, I would like to invite Ms. Reyes or any of your writers to visit me for a more in-depth discussion regarding our acquisitions and the APF Modernization Program. Again, thank you.

Truly yours,

Atty. Patrick M. Velez, MNSA

Assistant Secretary