According to MaxDefense Philippines on October 16, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson confirmed that the US Government has allocated US$100 million (approx Php5.8 billion) of Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which she said can be used to procure US-made weapon systems like Heavy Lift Helicopters.
This amount can actually pay for at least 2 brand new Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavy lift helicopters, and can be added to the Php12.8 billion budget allocated by the Philippine Air Force for the Heavy Lift Helicopter Acquisition Project. Alternatively, it can be used for other procurement projects as well, like for the Multi-Role Fighter project.
The US government has always been providing US FMF for the Philippines, but the Air Force and DND opted to use it for non-major items like small arms, PPE, communications and night vision equipment, smart and dumb bombs, spare parts, subsystems, training and schooling programs, and maintenance support, MaxDefense Philippines reports.