On 5 June, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. appointed Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. as the Secretary of the Department of National Defense. While Secretary Gibo is the third defense chief under this administration, he is the first to be given the title of Secretary.
He replaced Officer-in-Charge Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr., who served as the head of DND since 9 January 2023. Retired military general Jose Faustino Jr. served as DND OIC from 30 June 2022 to 9 January 2023.
The mission of the DND is: “To defend against external and internal threats to territorial integrity and sovereignty, and promote the welfare of the people, in order to create a secure and stable environment conducive to national development.”
Aligned with this mission are some of the challenges and issues Secretary Gibo will face as he takes on the job.
Among these is the fact that the military is shifting its attention from battling communist insurgents, local terrorists, and other internal security threats to defending Philippine territory from outside forces by fortifying its external defense.
Secretary Gibo is also expected to continue the programs initiated by the previous DND OIC, including the development of the four new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement training and “Balikatan” sites: two in Cagayan, and one each in Isabela and Palawan.
He is also expected to follow the foreign policy of PBBM, which ordered the DND and the Armed Forces of the Philippines not to lose even an inch of Philippine territory amid the tension in the West Philippine Sea.
It is worth noting that the DND’s Vision 2028 is “a defense organization that guarantees Philippine security, territorial integrity, and sovereignty; a reliable partner in national development; and a strategic player in the Asia-Pacific Region.”
Unbeknownst to most people, there is Republic Act 10349, also known as The Revised AFP Modernization Act, which has a component that shall develop and transform the AFP into a multi-mission-oriented force capable of effectively addressing internal and external security threats.
Both the vision and the act emphasize the necessity for DND to improve and modernize its defense equipment, capability, technology and training. Secretary Gibo will try to establish a self-sustaining military that can produce its own weapons and assets through the Self-Reliant Defense Posture program of the AFP. He will also push for the third horizon of the AFP’s modernization program, including the procurement of more sophisticated assets such as multi-role fighter aircraft, missile systems and possibly the country’s first-ever submarine.
However, on top of the opportunities for improvement in the DND and AFP, Secretary Gibo faces the challenge of conducting a difficult conversation involving the stakeholders in the pension system of the military and uniformed personnel.
The need for this conversation is spawned by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s observation that if the existing pension scheme continues, the Philippines may witness “a fiscal collapse” as the pensions are fully funded by the national government.
Diokno noted that for 2023 alone, the government has earmarked about ₱120 billion to ₱130 billion for pensions. He added that the MUP pensions are automatically indexed to the salaries of active personnel of the same rank, which means that if the salary of the incumbent is doubled, retirees would see their pensions jump by 100 percent.
Given the reality and limitations of the national budget, it seems that either the AFP will be able to achieve its goals of modernizing or be able to continue supporting the pensions of the MUP. However, it does not have to be exclusive, they may both be achieved with proper planning, budgeting, and implementing. Let us wish Secretary Gibo the best of luck in this very important position.