US embassy clarifies military presence at steel facility

This undated image shows the US Embassy in Manila, Philippines.

Philstar.com / File

MANILA, Philippines — The site visit conducted by the United States and Philippine military personnel at the Sanjia Steel Corp. plant in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental was part of routine planning efforts, the US embassy in Manila said.

The embassy issued a statement to clarify information circulating about the presence of US military personnel at the steel plant.

As part of the joint US-Philippines planning for Balikatan 2027, a team of US military and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel “arrived at the Sanjia facility in coordination with the Phividec (Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp.) Industrial Authority to assess its potential for use as part of bilateral military exercises,” the embassy declared.

“The site visit was part of routine planning efforts. When notified of facility access requirements, the team moved on to other site visits as planned. At no point was entry insisted upon,” it added.

“We take this opportunity to reaffirm our steadfast commitment to the ironclad alliance between the United States and the Philippines,” the embassy said.

The Chinese embassy in Manila said a security guard at the steel plant reported that American soldiers showed up and attempted to conduct an inspection.

The embassy questioned whether it had anything to do with the US plan to convert the industrial site into a fuel hub.

MUP pension

While the military and uniformed personnel (MUP) budget is triple the AFP modernization budget, only 49.6 percent of the total pension is earmarked for AFP retirees, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said yesterday.

Teodoro made the clarification after the Marcos administration proposed P142.95 billion for MUP pensions next year.

“It is important to point out some facts to frame the issue accurately,” Teodoro said in a statement.

“It should be noted that only 49.6 percent of the total MUP pension budget is earmarked for AFP retirees. The rest go to other security services. Therefore, to equate the total MUP pension to the AFP modernization is not accurate as a comparison indicator,” he said.

The key question, he said, is the total resources devoted to the AFP and to the defense space.

“As of this time, with worldwide vulnerabilities, almost all countries have made the conscious decision to increase defense spending in large adjustments. We cannot be immune to this,” he added.

The defense chief said the AFP modernization budget and the Modernization Law must be reviewed and the latter repealed.

He said the AFP modernization budget was supposed to be sourced from BCDA remittances that have been marginal and need to be subsidized by the national government.

“Worse, defense-optimized national real estate assets were lost. This must be halted and the corporate structure of BCDA be abolished to reduce cross-subsidies and other administrative costs which should have gone to the AFP,” Teodoro said.