AFP rushes bidding process to utilize P5.5-B allotment

The Armed Forces is rushing its bidding process to utilize the P5.484 billion earmarked for its modernization program this year, or else the allocation will be returned to the National Treasury.

"We have to make use of (the funding) by the end of this year otherwise it will be returned to the National Treasury and we will have to undergo the same tedious process again to (get) such an allocation," said Brig. Gen. Cristolito Balaoing, director of the AFP Modernization Program Management Office.

"The SARO (Special Allotment Release Order) is good for only two years and we should fast-track our process without sacrificing transparency," he said.

He admitted that failure to utilize the funds will be another stumbling block in the long-delayed AFP modernization program.

The P5.484-billion allocation is stipulated in the SARO which former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno issued on May 13 last year upon the approval of ousted President Joseph Estrada.

The allocation represents the Armed Forces’ share from the sale of portions of Fort Bonifacio during the Ramos administration.

Based on the timetable Balaoing has issued, the major service commands — Army, Navy and Air Force — and the General Headquarters should finish conceptualizing their modernization projects by the end of the first semester.

The projects will be evaluated and reviewed in the second semester because negotiations are banned during the election period.

Bidding will start in the third quarter and contracts approved by yearend, Balaoing said.

The bidding, he said, will be conducted online to ensure transparency.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently announced that an additional P3 billion will be allocated for the AFP modernization program, once the P5.484 billion is used up.

Balaoing, however, said the additional funding will only materialize after the military justifies planned expenditures using the amount.

Under the revised modernization program, the Army will get priority, followed by the Navy and the Air Force, in view of the resurgence of communist and secessionist insurgencies.