The Department of National Defense (DND) is pushing for an increase in budget to be allocated for military modernization. Defense Undersecretary Cardozo Luna told Congress that the requested budget increase is equivalent to 2% of the gross domestic product and will help greatly in addressing the nation’s security concerns in the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines possesses the second smallest military budget in the entire ASEAN region, amounting to only 1.1% to 1.3% of the country’s gross domestic product.
