Army to provide the winning shot as promised
Speaking before the senior commanders of the Philippine Army during the
Command Conference held at Camp Lapu-Lapu in Cebu City yesterday, Army
chief Lt Gen Delfin N Bangit strongly reiterated that "the Army must
deliver the winning shot for the AFP" in this last phase of
anti-insurgency campaign.
According to Lt Gen Bangit, to accomplish this, the Philippine Army has
to keep pace with the operational tempo set by the General Headquarters
by providing more hardware like additional trained manpower, creating
individual units, and providing more vehicles for squad and command.
To sustain the momentum and to ensure a winning stance in the fight
against insurgency, Lt Gen Bangit sees the need for a more effective
Civil Military Operation (CMO) effort through increased linkage and
alliance-building with stakeholders and other local organizations.
He further ordered for proper training and sustaining of CAFGUs so that
they could function as True Force Multipliers; pursuing disaster
response capability build-up through programming funds for the
acquisition of additional disaster response equipment; continuously
boosting the morale and welfare of soldiers and CAAs while complying
with the deadline and other tasks; and discouraging soldiers to engage
in political activities except the constitutionally-vested right to
vote.
With only eight months remaining, all efforts of the Philippine Army are
geared towards meeting the June 2010 deadline of defeating communist
insurgency. Various measures have been undertaken in the past months in
support of the AFP's ISO campaign. Among which were the activation of
additional two Civil Military Operations Battalions tasked to perform
development and nation-building activities especially in rebel-infested
areas, and three more infantry battalions which are tasked to address
the remaining threats of communist insurgency in certain parts of the
country and free communities from NPA atrocities.
These efforts were proven to be effective as NPA's strength has weakened
considerably brought about by mass surrenders, arrests, and
neutralization of enemy camps.
Among all these, the Philippine Army also complies with President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo's guidance to support the peace process with the MILF,
fight terrorism, support national development, and support international
solidarity.
With the deadline just a few months away, the Philippine Army is faced
with so great a task, but as Lt Gen Bangit has said, "No task would be
too heavy for an organization that is hard-working, committed, capable,
and persevering." The Army chief further added that the Philippine Army
shall remain "the soldier of all and the soldier for all."
|
