PH reserves right to train, equip military - Teodoro
Philippine News Agency
By Priam Nepomuceno
March 28, 2025, 6:00 pm
MANILA -- Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Friday said the Philippines reserves the right to train and equip its military personnel.
This, as the defense chief neither confirmed nor denied whether additional Medium Range Capability Typhon missile systems have arrived in the country from the United States.
"On the (MRC) capabilities, we will neither confirm nor deny any deployments. We will train as we see fit, and Philippine armed forces will equip as it sees fit," Teodoro said when asked to comment on the matter during a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Friday.
Earlier, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) welcomed reports that the US would be deploying additional Typhon missile systems to the country.
A report by US-based Defense News posted March 18 said "the US Army's 3rd Multidomain Task Force unit is standing up its long-range fires battalion over the next year, including readying its Typon battery, for deployment in the Pacific theater," quoting unit chief Col. Michael Rose.
"This is a welcome development for the Armed Forces of the Philippines. We can say that the more, the merrier. So the more assets we have, the more that we are able to train more personnel on our part," AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said.
Rose said in the same Defense News story that they are "always looking for opportunities to do live-fire with the system."
The first MRC Typhon missile system was deployed to the Philippines last year. It was used for training purposes during the 2024 iteration of the "Salaknib" and "Balikatan" exercises and initially stationed in Northern Luzon. (PNA)
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