Duterte Plays Catch-Up on Defense Spending With Cash for Troops
- Philippines to add 15,000 police, jail, fire officials in 2019
- Boosting troops comes at cost of upgrading arms: analyst
Rodrigo Duterte
Photographer: Ted Aljibe/AFP via Getty Images
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President Rodrigo Duterte is beefing up the ranks of the Philippines’ military and police as his government continues to wage its war against illegal drugs and Islamic State militants in the country’s south.
The Interior and Defense Departments will receive record amounts in the proposed 2019 budget of 225.6 billion ($4.22 billion) and 183.4 billion pesos respectively following the resolution of an funding impasse in the lower house Wednesday. Their allocations will increase by as much as a third, while other major agencies will suffer spending cuts.