The military should not just be “warfighters” but also “peacemakers,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday amid the government’s new approach toward communist rebels.
The President said this to the Philippine Army’s 9th Infantry “Spear” Division in Camarines Sur.
According to the Chief Executive, the government has been offering communists a “life after their life as rebels.”
“But now, the situation is beginning to evolve. And that evolution means that not only are you meant—they still train to be warfighters, and, on some occasions, you have to go and fulfill your primary mission of defending the people or the communities here in Bicol,” Mr. Marcos said.
“Also now, we are asking you to be peacemakers because we have changed our approach to the communist, terrorist groups that we have been encountering,” he added.
“We are now not only presenting them with a military force—we are presenting them with other options. We are presenting them with a life after their life as rebels,” Mr. Marcos said at Camp Elias Angeles, San Jose in Pili, Camarines Sur.
Also, the President said the military has not let the country down despite tremendous challenges.
“I said during the command conference very quickly earlier, I see that the actions here, the violent instances of encounters et cetera, have slowly come down and looking at that, all I can say is that once again—I have always said that of all the sectors of society, it is only the military that has never let the Filipino down,” the President said.
“So, keep up the good work. Continue your service. We expect you all and you are not—you have no experience that you did not accept your duty and you did not fulfill your mission,” he added.
The President also asked the personnel of the 9th ID to become peacemakers under the government’s whole-of-nation approach and actively guard the nation’s borders from external threats amid the current geopolitical tension in Asia.
Asia’s situation, Mr. Marcos said, is becoming more complicated and the country is now facing difficult external threats.
“And with the geographical location of the 9th ID, we can see that it is very close to some of the disputed areas where various ships enter.
We also need to watch that. So, this is another new mission of yours,” the Commander-in-Chief told the troops.
The Philippines must have a sophisticated and well-trained military and the administration has been working very hard to attain that, the President said, as he described the Philippine military as a capable and well-prepared force.
In the past, the President said the government neglected the militaryand failed to develop its capabilities by providing soldiers with modern equipment.
“Now, that has all changed. And we in the civilian government are determined to make sure that when we ask you to do your duty, that then you are fully prepared, you are fully trained and you are complete in the equipment that you need to fulfill that mission,” Mr. Marcos pointed out.
“Also now, we are asking you to be peacemakers because we have changed our approach to the communist, terrorist groups that we have been encountering,” he added.
“And that I think has become the reason why we have slowly succeeded in the so-called whole-of-society, whole-of-nation approach in terms of our dealings with these groups that originally would like to bring down the government by armed struggle,” the President added.
The President also acknowledged the role of the whole-of-nation approach when it comes to dealing with these rebel groups who want to bring down the government through armed struggle.
“And now I think even the—although they technically have not abandoned the concept of armed struggle, I think they—efforts of those dissidents had been redirected in another way,” Mr. Marcos said.
“And that’s why your role as the Philippine military continues to be as warfighters, but now there is the additional mission that we are asking of you to be peacemakers,” he added.
The insurgency situation in the Bicol region has evolved and appears to have gained some stability, President Marcos noted.
In a previous speech in the Davao region, Marcos recognized the role of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in making the area “insurgency-free.”
He had said the law enforcement authorities’ support towards the anti-insurgency task force has improved the living conditions of the residents.
