Attempts at destabilizing the administration, particularly its “Bagong Pilipinas” program are mere “birth pains,” President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said.
In his speech during the commencement exercises of the Class of 2024 of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) at Fort del Pilar on Saturday, President Marcos told the future torchbearers of freedom that the Philippines is currently facing various internal and external threats.
“Bagong Pilipinas is now being slowly born. This a time of birth pains — sadly, of opportunism, blatant attempts of destabilization, and last-ditch to cling to the rapidly, disappearing past,” President Marcos told the 278-strong graduating “Bagong Sinag” cadets, according to a Presidential Communications Office news release.
The President also reminded the “Bagong Sinag” of Class of 2024 to remain resolute amid various threats blocking the administration’s shift to a secure, safe and progressive “Bagong Pilipinas”.
“But we must be resolute. We must hold on. We cannot turn back,” he added.
Amid all the threats, President Marcos, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), also highlighted the administration’s achievements over the past two years as far as peace building is concerned, saying the Filipino people can now “see and feel.
“The southern front has been relatively quiet. Development has replaced the blast of bombs and cannon, and booms,” the President said.
President Marcos reminded the cadets that attempts to divert people’s attention and dissipate the energy are better spent in making the country better and face the urgent tasks ahead.
One of the tasks, Marcos said, is to keep the Filipino people safe in their homes, the Philippine territory secured, the defenses against threats strengthened, and maintaining a stable and strong democracy.
“You are now inductees in the national effort to attain the following: Against parties whose fossilized ideas have been rejected by a people tired of war, no quarter will be given, but we offer peace, of the principled kind that will uproot the causes of social discontent.,” President Marcos said.
“Against intruders who have been disrespecting our territorial integrity, we will vigorously defend what is ours, but our conduct always guided by law and by our responsibility as a rules-abiding member of the community of nations. Against evolving threats that harm our people and corrode social and political trust, we will be adept, we will be flexible, and we will be ready in repelling such things,” he added.
Of the 350 original cadets, a total of 278 made it to the finish. They were conferred with the degree of Bachelor of Science in National Security Management.
Among the 278 are 224 males and 54 females.
The class valedictorian, 24-year-old 1CL Jeneth Elumba of Surigao del Norte, is one of seven females in the top 10.
Cadet 1CL Yaakovic Las-ang of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya is the “class goat” or the lowest-ranked in the batch.
The AFP will deploy 144 to the Philippine Army, including Elumba; 62 to the Philippine Air Force; and 72 to the Philippine Navy.