The Senate will begin on Monday its inquiry into the snail-paced implementation of the multi-billion-peso 14-year old Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization program in relation to its task of ending the country’s problem of insurgency and terrorism.

The move came after Sen. Rodolfo G. Biazon filed Senate Resolution No. 1282 asking the Senate to instruct his Senate national defense committee to conduct the probe to determine the resources needed by the AFP in terms equipment, materia l and personnel needed to effectively address the threats and problems posed by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao.

The inquiry was triggered by the Aug. 12 clash between the AFP, on one hand, and the ASG and the MILF, on the other hand, in Basilan resulting in the death of 21 Marines and two Army officers, and 21 ASG terrorists.

Asked to appear in the Senate inquiry were Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. Republic Act (RA) 7898 or the AFP Modernization Program of 1995 was to have some P50 billion in trust fund but only P14 billion has so far been appropriated and spent for the program.

In reality, the AFP now needs P60-billion for its personnel requirement and for the acquisition of new arms and equipment, Biazon explained.

As a former AFP chief of staff, Biazon maintained that the killing of the soldiers was a result of treachery by the MILF because Maj. Gen. Ben D. Dolorfino, chief of the Western Command, coordinated with the MILF about the movement of the soldiers searching for ASG rebels who had mowed down two officers who were recent graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).