Mga ka-espiya, it's been a while since I've posted here, pero natuwa ako sa topic. So to share my two cents: (dahil may insider info ako on the military)
1) Our military DOES have its own research arm. In fact, our military research arm is working well beyond their compensation. The strategies being researched and employed by our military are also non-traditional in a sense that we do not focus on researching on the latest weapons, infrastructure, etc. Our research focuses more on the strategic and tactical level of operations (i.e. how we deploy our soldiers, how we organize our troops, how we allocate our funds and how we can achieve a unified defense in terms of inter-country response).
2) We do not have enough funds to purchase military grade weapons (no matter how much our generals allegedly stole). If it frustrates us that we cannot even defend our airspace and maritime borders, image how much more frustrating it is for our soldiers, who actually have to defend them. One war ship costs millions of dollars. Supposed that the alleged funds HAVE been stolen by our generals, if we pool these alleged stolen funds together, it still wouldn't be enough to buy enough ships (plus fuel and maintenance) to defend our seas.
3) Internal security issues. We have problems with MILF, MNLF, NPA and Abu Sayaff inside our country, and our police are incompetent when it comes to maintaining internal security. Hence, our military has expended years of research and millions of pesos to try to achieve internal peace. What is the point of securing our borders if the greatest threat to our sovereignty comes from secessionists. Our military has dedicated countless hours of research and actual operations to win over the people to the side of peace instead of joining the NPA who have been a huge impediment to progress.
In this light, it's actually amazing that we have NOT yet been invaded, nor ejected, for any of our islands (as opposed to Vietnam who use conventional military approach, has a lot of military strength, but still lost territory to Chinese invasion).
Lumalabas ang tunay na galing ng Pinoy dito, mahusay tayo mag-isip at mahusay tayong mag-strategize, all thanks to our military research.
Sa mga sundalong 20 pesos per meal ang budget, na malayo sa kanilang pamilya, na nakabaon na ang isang paa sa hukay..