The AFP Should Not be a Party to Midnight Defense Contracts

The Armed Forces of the Philippines should be careful not to become party to midnight deals that are being cooked up by the Defense Department in its rush to close contracts before the Arroyo Administration ends its term in June 30 of this year.

The military should keep in mind that any controversy or flaw in these deals will greatly affect the long-delayed AFP Modernization Program and further set back the military’s strategic and tactical targets in the performance of their duty.

It has been publicly stated by Secretary Norberto Gonzales that it is his desire to rush the AFP Modernization Program by entering into contracts before the end of President Arroyo’s term using the Multi-Year Obligational Authority (MYOA) granted by Congress under the 2010 General Appropriations Act.

This rush is widely believed to be supplier-driven with Secretary Gonzales admitting that he has already received offers from four governments, namely, Canada, Israel, France and South Korea. For example, military sources reveal that Sec. Gonzales is favorably considering the acquisition of Cobra attack helicopters from Israel, even though they are just refurbished and are single-engine aircraft even though the Philippine Air Force prefer twin-engined helicopters.

But as the end-users, the AFP has a vital role to play in ensuring that the Modernization Program will not fall victim to shady midnight deals . The military should not subscribe to the rush being espoused by Sec. Gonzales who was quoted as saying, “Yes, we are rushing what we can still do under the AFP modernization program in our very limited time left. Aren’t we Filipinos known to be good in the last two minutes?”

The MYOA granted by Congress will expire on December 31, 2010, or six months beyond the term of President Arroyo. The next administration, which will serve from June 30, 2010 to June 30, 2016, is in the best position to utilize the MYOA and proceed with the AFP Modernization Program without the need to rush into midnight deals.

The AFP itself should not give in to the desire of the Defense Secretary who will be out of office in several weeks to rush the military contracts . It would be to the best interest of the Armed Forces to proceed with the Modernization Program under a new administration. The Multi-Year Obligational Authority is a golden opportunity for the AFP to achieve honest to goodness modernization. As the principal sponsor of the DND Budget for 2010 and one of the sponsors of the MYOA, I do not want to see this opportunity squandered by the rush to deliver the goods before the administration steps down just so that it could be written down as one of its major accomplishments.

Aside from waiting for the new administration, it will also do well to wait for the 15th Congress to assume office, since the AFP Modernization Law requires the DND/AFP to submit the contracts to Congress for scrutiny before the appropriation of funds. The current 14th Congress will not have time to scrutinize and appropriate funds for any midnight deal that the SND will enter into at this time.

There simply is no need and urgency to rush these military contracts before the expiration of President Arroyo’s term. It will only serve the desire of this administration to have something to brag about as it steps down, although it would be to the detriment of the AFP’s and the country’s interests. This is one instance when it will be good for the military to delay action on the wish of the outgoing administration.