US Congress OKs $2.5 billion in military aid for Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – American lawmakers from both parties lauded the congressional passage of a piece of legislation that, once signed into law by United States President Donald Trump, would authorize up to $2.5 billion (P146.75 trillion) over five years in military aid for the Philippines. 

The Philippines Enhanced Resilience Act or PERA is part of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. 

The measure’s authors, Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, said in a release on Wednesday, December 17 (Thursday, December 18, Manila time), that the bill would “deepen US-Philippines defense cooperation and strengthen the defense capabilities and interoperability of the US-Philippines Alliance to meet growing threats in the Indo-Pacific.” Hagerty is a Republican, while Kaine is a Democrat.

The amount is practically double the earlier “once-in-a-generation investment” of $500 million that the US allocated in foreign military financing (FMF) for the Philippines in 2024. That amount, announced during then-secretary of state Antony Blinken and defense secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to Manila, covered 2024 up to 2025. 

The new pledge would authorize up to $500 annually in FMF for the Philippines for five years. 

The text of the bill itself, as filed in 2024, is much more explicit in its aspiration — to “support the acceleration of the modernization of the defense capabilities of the Philippines.” 

Modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), according to the bill, would help: 

• safeguard the territorial sovereignty of the Philippines;
• improve maritime domain awareness;
• counter coercive military activities;
• improve the military and civilian infrastructure and capabilities necessary to prepare for regional contingencies; and
• strengthen cooperation between the United States and the Philippines on counterterrorism-related efforts.

Based on the bill, it’s up to the US secretary of state, in coordination with the defense secretary, to submit before the US Congress a plan on how the FMF would be spent. 

It also requires the US secretary of state, the equivalent of the Philippines’ foreign affairs secretary, to submit before the US Congress an annual report that would expound on capabilities that the AFP needs, to include “coastal defense, long-range fires, integrated air defenses, maritime security, manned and unmanned aerial systems, mechanized ground mobility vehicles, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, defensive cybersecurity, and any other defense capabilities that the Secretary of State determines.” 

The earlier $500-million FMF pledge covered both the AFP and the Philippine Coast Guard. The new amount, once signed into law, only explicitly covers the AFP.

Bilateral ties between the Philippines and the US, Manila’s sole treaty-ally, have intensified over the past few years under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It was a 180-turn from ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s adminsitration, which wanted closer ties with Beijing. 

The Marcos administration has been more aggressive in asserting Manila’s rights and entitlements in the South China Sea, a vast waterway much of which China claims. 

The South China Sea is where nearly a third of global trade passes. – Rappler.com