MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is now laying down ground work for the first ever Philippine space center, AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. confirmed.
“We are now planning to create our space center which will eventually evolve into a space force or a space command,” Brawner told reporters in an interview on Tuesday.
“It will be a center, kasi nga we’re going to start small muna and later on we’re going to expand into a space command or a space force kasi kailangan natin eh,” he added.
Brawner said the project was initiated by no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself during the 2025 year-end command targeted to take off by 2028 as it already has a budget approved by the chief executive.
“From that guidance, we started planning. We presented it to him today na it’s already in the works, yung utos niya nung december ginagawa na natin,” he said.
According to Brawner, the AFP will be partnering with the Philippine Space Agency for this project since they already have geo satellites. The AFP meanwhile will be kicking off with a low-orbit satellite, Brawner said.
“Dalawang napaka importanteng gamit ng space, number one is ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), yung eye in the sky para nakikita natin yung nangyayari sa lupa at sa ating karagatan and second is to connect all our systems so yung communication systems natin, command and control system, missile systems, drone systems,” Brawner said.
(Two of the most important uses of space are, first, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance)—the 'eye in the sky' that allows us to see what is happening on land and in our maritime areas. Second, it is used to connect all of our systems, including our communication systems, command and control systems, missile systems, and drone systems," Brawner said).
