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Villar wants PH to have own defense industry

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Arra Perez, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - It is time for the Philippines to have its own defense industry in order to produce its own equipment such as ammunition to protect the country&#x27;s sovereignty, Sen. Mark Villar said on Thursday.During the budget hearing of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Villar urged the corporation to provide support for interested companies.The lawmaker made the statement after learning from his recent visit to the Government Arsenal in Camp Antonio Luna that a BCDA property in Bataan is being considered as location for defense industries.&quot;We should be able to make our own ammunitions. Especially now. We have security issues, kailangan din na magkaroon tayo ng sariling defense industry to create basic materials, to protect our sovereignty also,&quot; he said.&quot;I visited the armory. They updated me on the status, unfortunately wala pang masyadong locators. But I hope you can push for that. If there are local export-oriented businesses that want to locate there, sana bigyan din ng support. Para mapabilis iyong pagtayo nila ng mga factories that can promote our defense industry,&quot; he added.BCDA Chairperson Delfin Lorenzana said there are some &quot;Korean companies&quot; already in Bataan, while others are interested to enter New Clark City.&quot;Meron ng 2 kompanyang Korean doon that relocated there (Bataan). One is making magazines for M16, and the other one is making protective vests for soldiers. They are there now, I don&#x27;t know what happened to them. Actually the area is our property,&quot; Lorenzana explained.&quot;There are also some Korean companies that would like to put up defense facilities in New Clark City. But I don&#x27;t think we can mix them with some of the facilities there. Mukhang hindi tugma eh. Iyong gagawin nila, they will be making ammunitions for whatever,&quot; he added.BCDA President and CEO Joshua Bingcang told the committee that they have a property in Morong, Bataan that can be used for the said industry. A part of this has already been donated as a permanent site for the Philippine Marines.&quot;In our property in Morong, Bataan, while we have already donated 100 hectares for the Marines, we still have more than 250 hectares. So we can consider these kinds of industries,&quot; he said.Villar hopes for more support for the defense industry, citing its &quot;relevance&quot;.&quot;My point is I hope you support this promotion of defense industry. I think it&#x27;s very relevant to promote the defense industry. And if the BCDA has properties that can help promote, sana bigyan din ng pansin iyong projects para sa development ng defense center in the Philippines,&quot; he said.Meanwhile, BCDA plans to transfer the Philippine Air Force from its current location in Clark Freeport Zone to New Clark City.Bingcang explained the 300-hectare land that will be vacated by the Air Force will be used for the expansion of the Clark International Airport slated in the next five years.<div>RESIDENTIAL AREA IN CLARK</div>Bingcang is also asking legislators to amend the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992 or Republic Act 7227.Under the said law, only leasehold is allowed in Clark - and the official said they want to convert about 5 to 10 percent of land as residential area.&quot;Lahat po kasi ng mga developers ngayon, nasa labas lang sila ng Clark. Wala po pumapasok sa Clark because of the limitations on the ownership of the land. Clark is only under leasehold. The Filipinos are not accustomed to renting just their house because we all know, it can be considered that one of the biggest accomplishments that one can have is to own a residential house dahil naipapamana nito,&quot; he said.Bingcang explained this will address the &quot;huge housing demand&quot; in Clark, along with transport problems and other issues in city management.Meanwhile, the Senate Subcommittee on Finance has approved the P2.1 billion budget of BCDA for next year.The corporation requested an additional funding of P2.5 billion allocated for other projects, including housing facilities.

It is time for the Philippines to have its own defense industry in order to produce its own equipment such as ammunition to protect the country's sovereignty, Sen. Mark Villar said on Thursday.

Villar wants PH to have own defense industry

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Villar wants PH to have own defense industry

Arra Perez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 05, 2023 07:04 PM PHT

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Senate

Mark Villar

BCDA

Bases Conversion and Development Authority

defense

defense industry

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