The Marcos administration is proposing about PHP50 billion for the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) modernization efforts and PHP73.67 billion for the subsistence allowance of military and uniformed personnel (MUP) under the proposed 2027 budget.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the proposed PHP50 billion allocated for the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMP) is PHP10 billion higher than the PHP40 billion appropriated in 2026.

The DBM said the additional funding will help partially meet the requirements of the AFP modernization program and enhance the military’s capabilities to safeguard Philippine sovereignty and territorial integrity amid evolving security challenges.

The RAFPMP was established under Republic Act (RA) 7898, or the AFP Modernization Act, as amended by RA 10349, to develop the capabilities of the AFP to uphold the country’s sovereignty, preserve its patrimony, secure national territory, and protect the Filipino people.

Meanwhile, the proposed PHP73.67 billion allocation will cover the subsistence allowance of an estimated 583,130 MUPs in 2027, the DBM said.

The amount is PHP2.15 billion, or 3 percent, higher than funding under the 2026 General Appropriations Act due to the projected increase in filled positions among military and uniformed services next year.

The funding sustains the higher daily subsistence allowance granted to qualified MUPs under Executive Order (EO) 107 issued in 2025.

Under EO 107, the daily subsistence allowance was increased from PHP150 to PHP300 effective Jan. 1, 2026.

The DBM said the proposed allocations reflect the administration’s two-pronged approach to national security – strengthening the country’s defense capabilities while ensuring adequate support for the personnel tasked with protecting the Filipino people.

It stressed that the proposed package comes as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. continues to emphasize the importance of strengthening national security alongside the country’s broader development agenda.

“Peace, stability, and national security remain indispensable to sustaining economic progress and national development,” Marcos said in his budget message for Fiscal Year 2027. (PNA)