Funding woes stall F-16 deal as upgrades pushed

THE PHILIPPINE government’s plan to acquire 20 F-16 fighter jets from the US remains stalled due to funding constraints, officials said on Tuesday, even as Manila deepens its defense cooperation with Washington and other partners to address growing security challenges.

- By Erika Mae P. Sinaking

At the two-day Manila Strategy Forum in Parañaque, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel D. Romualdez confirmed that the $5.5-billion deal, which received in-principle approval from the US in April, has yet to move forward.

“The last time I heard, it’s been on hold, mainly because of funding,” he said. “At the end of the day, a lot of it boils down to the money, the availability of the funds.”

He noted that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has other priorities under its modernization program. “I think at this point, the AFP has other priorities which they feel are much more important,” he said, though talks on the fighter jets remain open.

Philippine Navy spokesman for the South China Sea Roy Vincent T. Trinidad said the military modernization is structured in phases, with each branch submitting its own procurement plans.

“The modernization program is a multiyear program,” he told