DTI chief urged European biz to invest in PH defense

MANILA – Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual has encouraged European businesses to explore investment opportunities in the country’s defense sector.

 

In a luncheon meeting with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) at Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City Thursday, Pascual said the country offers huge opportunities in the defense sector as the government continues to implement its modernization program.

 

“We invite the EU to participate in this program so we will have a broader range of options. We would appreciate it if the EU could invest in some, if not all, of the manufacturing processes and equipment in the Philippines,” he said in his keynote speech.

 

Pascual added that putting up the facilities for manufacturing of defense equipment here will ensure the government of lower acquisition and maintenance costs to a “more reasonable level”.

 

Key suppliers of the country’s defense equipment are the United States, Israel, South Korea and Turkey, as well as European countries like France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden.

 

“We need to diversify supply as well,” Pascual told reporters at the sidelines of the event. “We want to develop the manufacturing capability here.”

 

He said there is “no formal position on the part of the government” yet for a concerted action in developing the defense sector here, but it is an opportunity for the private sector to explore this area with the administration’s budget allocation for defense.

 

For 2023, the Congress increased the budget for Armed Force of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program to PHP45 billion.

 

The AFP is now implementing Horizon 3, or the third milestone of the modernization program, which will be rolled out until the end of the Marcos administration in 2028.

 

This has opened opportunities for defense suppliers to provide equipment to AFP as the new administration lists its new priorities. (PNA)