MANILA— Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson has urged the Department of National Defense (DND) to develop a less costly but effective defense program to address external threats, citing the Philippines’ significant spending gap with regional powers, particularly China.

Lacson also called on Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. to investigate a possible link between sleeper agents and the potential misuse of the late birth registration system.

“There seems to be a glaring disparity in our defense spending compared to our regional peers, particularly China. Ang kanilang defense expenditure is 52 times ng Pilipinas. Sa kanila, US$335 billion or P21 trillion. So how do we compensate, how do we do a David against a Goliath in this regard? Kasi wala tayong magagawa except mag-improvise (There seems to be a glaring disparity in our defense spending compared to our regional peers, particularly China. Their defense expenditure is 52 times that of ours – about $335 billion or P21 trillion. How do we compensate? How do we do a David against a Goliath in this regard? There is no choice for us but to improvise),” Lacson said during a Senate finance subcommittee hearing on the DND’s proposed 2027 budget.

Under the National Expenditure Program, the DND is seeking ₱324.632 billion for 2027, including ₱312.777 billion for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Lacson said the Philippines, given its limited resources, could not match China’s military capabilities pound for pound in terms of warships and missiles.

“We should embark on a similar program that is less costly but effective. Aside from alliances (including mutual defense treaties, status of visiting forces agreements, and our treaty with France), we cannot solely rely on our allies because they have their own national interests to contend with in the first place,” he said.

Lacson also questioned the financial viability of some DND off-budget revenue-generating activities, citing projections of ₱2.5 billion in receipts against ₱2.9 billion in expenditures for golf course tourism.

“Pagka ganyan, sara na lang natin yung golf course, kung lugi pa tayo sa pandilig (If this is the case, we might as well close the golf courses),” he said.

Teodoro said the department might need to discontinue the practice because of security concerns involving military bases or scale down operations to achieve a more sustainable arrangement with at least no net outflow of funds.

The defense chief also cautioned that China’s reported military spending might be understated because expenditures for its maritime militia and China Coast Guard, which he said are linked to the People’s Liberation Army, are not officially included in reported military spending.

“There is no substitute but to build a level of resilience which will make it very unattractive for them,” Teodoro said, referring to efforts to discourage aggression against the Philippines.

“We never match China in pound-for-pound capability but we will make the decision calculus as unfavorable as possible. That is the goal,” he added.

National security concerns

Lacson separately urged the DND to examine a possible connection between sleeper agents and the potential abuse of the late birth registration system.

Teodoro said some late registrants were second-generation cases whose parents had entered the country earlier. He cited dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo as an example.

Lacson also asked Teodoro to follow up on analyses of surveillance equipment seized during anti-espionage operations, including equipment recovered following the arrest of a Chinese national near the Commission on Elections office in Manila in April 2025 and another arrest near AFP headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo.

During a September hearing on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s budget, Lacson raised concerns about possible national security vulnerabilities arising from abuses of late birth registration. He also stressed the need for the full implementation of the National ID system.

Lacson, the author and principal sponsor of the National ID law, said proper implementation could help address weaknesses in late birth registration by strengthening identity verification and authentication.

“I don’t think this is being implemented because of failure in full implementation. I don’t want this to be a dead letter law,” he said.