Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Wednesday batted for the passage of a bill establishing the Philippine Marine Corps as another independent armed uniformed service of the Armed Forces in a bid to further strengthen its mandate to get rid of the so-called “enemies of the state.”
Alvarez’s House Bill 7304 or the “Philippine Marine Corps Act” proposes the creation of the PMC “as a branch of service, distinct, autonomous, but complementary to the Philippine Army [PA], Philippine Air Force [PAF], and the Philippine Navy [PN] under the AFP.”
Alvarez’s bill was co-authored by Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas.
“Although the PMC has lived up to its mandate, its lack of Charter has caused institutional challenges, including but not limited to fiscal and organizational restrictions. Despite these, the PMC has provided seamless transition of military power between sea and land domains. The men and women of the PMC have served and responded to the call of duty gallantly,” Alvarez said.
Last Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte personally pinned the rank insignia of Colonel of the PN-Marines to Alvarez at Malacañang where Fariñas, a Judge Advocate General reservist, also attended.
The Commission on Appointment confirmed their nomination to the rank of Colonel in the reserve force of the various services of the AFP.
HB 7304 is currently pending at the House committee on national defense and is scheduled to be tackled on Monday.
The PMC, currently a naval infantry force under the command of PN, was created in 1950 by virtue of AFP General Orders 319 issued by former president and then defense secretary Ramon Magsaysay. It is intended to respond to the security threat of the emerging Hukbalahap insurgency in the mountains and plains of Central Luzon.
The bill mandates the PMC to deploy its forces to support the law enforcement agencies in implementing the laws of the land, respond to disasters, participate in the strategic defense under the Joint Defense Force, coordinate with the other branches of service in the performance of their duties and responsibilities, and determine its fiscal requirements through the allocation from the Department of National Defense.
The PMC is also tasked to organize, train, equip, maintain, develop, deploy, and supervise the PMC Reserve Force.
Under the bill, the PMC will be headed by a commandant with a rank of Lieutenant General who will be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the AFP Chief-of-Staff and the Secretary of the DND and its three bases will be established one each in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Alvarez acknowledged the PMC the government’s effort to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-inspired terrorism in Marawi City, in Mindanao.
“Much blood has been spilled, lessons learned and experience gained in the service of the Filipino people with the loss of 1,437 men since 1950. In the 2017 Battle of Marawi alone, 36 brave souls gave their lives for the motherland,” Alvarez said.
“They were the force combating terrorists in Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi,” they said. “The vigorous men and women of the PMC are everywhere to alleviate the impact of disasters to the Filipino people,” Alvarez added.