By PCO | Oct 21, 2026 12:00:00 AM ·6 days ago

Malacañang on Wednesday reiterated that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s administration remains committed to the Armed Forces of the Philippines' modernization program, even with a lower allocation than the Department of National Defense's budget request under the proposed 2027 budget.

The AFP modernization program received an allocation of PhP50 billion under the DND's proposed 2027 budget, or PhP84 billion below the agency's PhP134 billion request.

"Isa sa mga prayoridad ng Pangulo ay ang National Security at ang AFP modernization," Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said during a Palace press briefing.

Castro said the proposed budget of PhP50 billion was PhP10 billion, or 25 percent, higher than the PhP40 billion allocation in 2026, stressing that the proposed funding had not been reduced.

The Palace Press Officer said an agency's funding request does not automatically translate into the amount included in the Executive's proposed budget, since all requests undergo thorough evaluation to ensure they are aligned with the government's available fiscal resources.