AFP to reconfigure armored personnel carriers from US

MANILA, Philippines - The military will reconfigure some of the 114 armored personnel carriers (APC) recently acquired from the US into armored infantry fighting vehicles for territorial defense.

This was according to Brig. Gen. Edgar Gonzalez, commander of the Army’s Mechanized Infantry, who said the changes would be made as soon as funds become available. Gonzales’ command is based in Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac.

The US officially turned over M113A2 tanks to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) last Thursday. Gonzales did not say how many of the APCs would be retrofitted for combat purposes. The reconfigured vehicles would be armed with 25mm automatic cannons.

The US has been helping the Philippines build a credible defense system.

The country has long neglected territorial defense as its military had focused on quelling communist insurgency and the Muslim separatist movement in Mindanao. China’s growing aggressiveness in asserting its claims over almost the entire South China Sea and West Philippine Sea has prompted the Philippines to rethink its military focus.

Currently, the Army only has five mechanized infantry battalions and two cavalry battalions with less than 400 armored assets.

Gonzalez said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin has given him the green light to proceed with the reconfiguration plan for the APCs.

Part of the reconfiguration plan is the replacement of the APCs’ engines with more powerful 265 horsepower engines. The units would have anti-aircraft guns and well as hi-tech communication systems.