President Marcos on Friday instructed troops at the Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM) to stay focused on their mandate to defend the republic and not to be distracted by the ongoing political noise.
“Don’t be fooled by what’s going on. Let’s stay focused,” said the Commander-in-Chief during his visit to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Camp Guillermo Nakar in Lucena City, Quezon.
Mr. Marcos advised soldiers to drown out the noise and focus on their duties amid political squabbles.
He made this remark days after former President Rodrigo Duterte urged the military to “withdraw support” from the Marcos administration and intervene to “correct” what he described as “fractured governance,” a move interpreted as intending to destabilize the current leadership.
“What I do when there’s too much noise and commotion, I always think to myself, what is my job really? Is it my job to pick a fight? Is it my job to debate over meaningless things? No, my job is to make the Philippines better. As for you, you have your own mission, too,” the President said in Filipino.
The Commander-in-Chief reiterated to the soldiers their mandate to defend the Filipinos and the republic.
“Let’s keep that mission clear in our mind,” Mr. Marcos said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive lauded SOLCOM for its accomplishments in fighting communist insurgency even as he reminded them about their transition from internal to external defense amid the current geopolitical situation.
“And now that [territorial defense] has become part of the mission of the Southern Luzon Command. Whereas before, it was only with the internal threats that we were having to deal with,” he told soldiers.
Mr. Marcos also commended the AFP for responding to the recent calamities in the country.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Marcos to soldiers: ‘Stay focused, ignore political noise’.”
