Senator Imee Marcos speaks during the opening ceremony of the Caraga Regional Athletic Games (Crag) 2024 at the Datu Lipus Makapandong Governor DO Plaza Sports Complex in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur on Sunday, May 4. PHOTO BY DOUGLAS BAYLON JR.
PROSPERIDAD, AGUSAN DEL SUR — In the wake of continued harassment by China’s Coast Guard (CCG) of Philippine vessels on the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Senator Imee Marcos reiterated her call to revive the country’s Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP).
This was a program initiated in 1974 by her father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. which seeks to develop the country’s defense industry and enhance locally produced advanced weaponry and equipment for the armed forces.
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“Mahirap kang makipag negotiate kung masyado kang mahina. Wala namang strength mapakita puro lang maanghang na salita ( It’s hard to negotiate when you are too weak, and you’ve got no strength to show, only spicy words),” the senator told reporters on the sidelines of her visit here as guest speaker during the opening of Caraga Regional Athletic Games 2024 on Sunday.
She said the country does not have enough arms to defend its territory, hence, it is important to resuscitate the SRDP, a program where the government will manufacture its own arms.
Marcos first made this call in February last year when he consulted top officers of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) on the move to revive the neglected government program that seeks to develop the country’s self-reliance in national defense.
Marcos, who chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said such a program must be revived to “scale down our dependence on foreign goodwill in the sticky web of geopolitics.”
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“Thailand now customizes rifles that are slimmer and lighter for its soldiers while Vietnam can now manufacture anti-surface warfare missiles. How far have we gone?” Marcos asked in her earlierpress statement in the senate.
“In the 70’s to early 80’s, our SRDP was already producing M-16 rifles under license, steel helmets, hand grenades and other ammunition, handheld radios, Jiffy jeeps. It also created jobs and minimized foreign spending,” the senator said, recalling the time of her father.
She added that Filipino manufacturers used local materials along with imported parts, through which technological know-how was gained, with the support of the National Science Development Board (NSDB)’s research and development.
“(During my father’s time) we had mini cruisers, patrol cars, patrol boats and we even had missiles in the 1970s,” she said.
He also said that to effectively ward off China’s continued aggression, the country should continue to dialogue with neighbors in the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (Asean). “The first round of our defense is our neighbors,” she said.