How ready is the Armed Forces to respond to contingencies?

June 14, 2025 , 11:12 AM

By Manny Mogato

(June 14, 2025) — Israel attacked Iran after a nuclear weapons watchdog said Tehran had stopped cooperating and may have resumed enriching its radioactive materials to produce weapons-grade nuclear bombs.

In the Red Sea, US forces have been battling missiles and drones from the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen.

Not far from the Middle East, India and Pakistan exchanged artillery and shot at each other’s fighters.

In Eastern Europe, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is still raging with no end in sight despite efforts by US President Donald Trump to silence the guns.

Pope Leo IV has also stepped in to end the war.

In this part of the world, China has not stopped threatening to invade Taiwan, the self-ruled island of 23 million.

In another part of the Indo-Pacific region, tensions over the Bajo de Masinloc continued to rise as China and the Philippines asserted their sovereignty and sovereign rights over the rocky outcrop.

The US deployment of sophisticated weapons systems, like the Typhon Medium Range Capability (MRC), the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), and the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS), exacerbated the situation.

Further, the situation in the Korean peninsula remained dangerous as Pyongyang continued its ballistic missile testing.

The world has become more dangerous in 2025.

How ready is the Armed Forces to meet these security challenges in the region?

The military at this juncture may not be completely combat-ready to confront any regional actor attempting to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly in the South China Sea.

Further training is needed for conventional warfare. There is an urgent need to change its orientation, a mindset to fighting a war.

For the longest time, the Armed Forces of the Philippines have been fighting internal security threats from the Maoist-led New People’s Army (NPA), Muslim secessionist guerrillas, and Islamist militants affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

Moreover, in the last 80 years, the Armed Forces were behaving like a national police force out to pacify the country.

It has not completely performed its mandate to protect the state from external forces as the ground forces grew and the navy and air force shrank. Military assets were used for counterinsurgency and anti-terrorism operations.

Until 2020, the Navy had World War II vintage warships and the Air Force had Vietnam War-era helicopters and fighters.

Only under the administration of President Bongbong Marcos when he ordered a shift to external defense posture the military began to realize what it had neglected for too long.

The Armed Forces began shifting its gears to fighting external threats during Benigno Aquino III’s administration when the navy and air force started upgrading their equipment – drones, radars, missiles, surface combatant vessels, and faster aircraft.

The government has to invest more in upgrading equipment and increasing defense spending to at least 2 percent of GDP to catch up with Southeast Asian peers.

Singapore, which has the most modern equipment, spends 7 percent of its GDP on defense. It has F-35 fighters, conventional submarines, and stealth frigates.

Thailand is acquiring Swedish JAS-39 Gripen fighters, which were also offered to the Philippines.

Comparing the Philippines with its Southeast Asian neighbors, it is way behind. The Philippines has no fighter for an air superiority and air defense mission. What it has are South Korean FA-50 light fighters, which were used as a trainer and air defense platform.

With only 11 aircraft, some were grounded for lack of spare parts; these aircraft cannot train and, at the same time, patrol the disputed West Philippine Sea.

Filipino fighter pilots lacked the necessary flying hours to qualify as combat-ready pilots. They would be no match to more experienced combat-ready aviators who have more flying time and more aircraft to operate.

The Armed Forces must have more planes and simulators to train pilots and dedicated aircraft for air defense operations.

COMBAT AIRCRAFTS MULA SOUTH KOREA

Bibilhin ng Pilipinas ang isang dosenang FA-50 Block 70 light combat aircraft mula Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (KAI) ng South Korea bilang bahagi ng modernization program ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sa ilalim ng Philippine Air… pic.twitter.com/lqgiuVu230
— News5 (@News5PH) June 14, 2025

At sea, the Armed Forces must have more sailors as the fleet is fast expanding. At least eight new vessels will be added to the fleet – two frigates and six Offshore Patrol Vessels.

It has to start training sailors to man subsurface vessels. It took Indonesia a generation of mariners to man its submarines.

The Armed Forces could save precious resources by trimming the number of ground troops and investing in equipment.

With threats from the NPAs waning, the Army could now refocus its mission to fighting conventional warfare.
It’s also about time the different services – Army, Navy, and Air Force – end their rivalries and concentrate on operating jointly as a team.

Thus, it will take more time to train, reorient, and change mindsets for the Armed Forces to become a world-class fighting force.

The views expressed by the columnist do not necessarily reflect that of the media organization.

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.