WITH great fanfare, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last week signed into law Republic Act (RA) 12024, or the Self-Reliant Defense Posture and Revitalization Act. Simply stated, its aim is to make the Philippines self-reliant by manufacturing its own armaments.
The assumption of this Act is deeply flawed. It is inconsistent with the history of warfare since the Napoleonic Wars, when 'total wars,' i.e. the commitment of an entire country to fight a war, became the norm. We will cite examples later to rebut this law.