Baguio City – President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. today challenged the 278-strong newly commissioned officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to defend the country’s national territory in the light of the ongoing harassment being employment by Chinese militia vessels on the re-supply missions being conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard at the Ayumin Shoal and the Scarborough Shoal.
The President made the said challenge to the new AFP officers during the graduation rites of the Bagong Sinag Class of 2024 of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) held at the Borromeo grounds in Fort del Pilar here.
“You have fought hard and for the cherished path that you now occupy in the long grayline of torch bearers of freedom and as you consecrate your life to the defense of the Republic, I know that you will neither fear, falter nor fall back for you are products of the best military school in the world. You come from great tradition of excellence,” Marcos stressed.
“This Academy did not only train you to be proficient in warfare but to be the champions of the welfare of the people because soldiering now is not limited to defending territories but also t improve the lives of the people who live there. This is what you signed up for in your military career for which you have given up the simplicity and safety of civilian life. Discipline and honor code are non-negotiable like those who came before you. You will forego the comforts of home for people to be secured and theirs. You will endure separation from your love ones so that families can live in peace in the communities where you serve. Your sacrifices will not be in vain. Your gallantry will not be squandered by those who benefit from it,” he added.
The Chief Executive rallied the new AFP officers to respect civilian authority, protect the life and liberty of the people, defend the sovereignty of the State and ensure the integrity of the national territory.
He lauded the young military officers for answering the call to serve at a crucial time of the nation’s great and torrid history.
Marcos likened the class name of this year’s graduating class Bagong Sinag to his flagship program Bagong Pilipinas.
“For when we say Bagong Pilipinas, we do not only mean a great nation yet to come. We also mean a great nation that we continue to actively build one day at a time. Bagong Pilipinas is now being slowly born. This is a time of birth pains, sadly of opportunism, blatant attempts of destabilization and last-ditch efforts to cling to the rapidly disappearing past, but we must be resolute. We must hold on. We cannot turn back,” Marcos asserted.
President Marcos underscored that the people can see and feel the progress that his administration has worked on for the past two years, saying that the southern front has been relatively quiet, development has replaced the blast of bombs and canons and what the country is facing now are a blatant disregard of internationally accepted principles and deployment of weapons of mass destruction by parties who seek to thrive a wedge between a united citizenry but people are not shaken through such schemes.
“But people are not fooled. They can see through such schemes. So, these attempts to divert our attention dissipate our energy better spent on improving the country should not draw us away from the urgent tasks ahead. That is to keep our people safe in their homes, our territory secure, our defenses against threats strong and our democracy stable, he stated.
He pointed out that the new military officers are now in a position in the national security to address certain issues confronting the country’s security, against parties whose fossilized ideas have been rejected by a people tired of war where no quarter will be given but the government will offer peace of the principled kind that will uproot the causes of social discontent; against intruders who have been disrespecting the country’s territorial integrity, the government will vigorously defend what is ours but the conduct will always be guided by law and its responsibility as a rules abiding member of the community of nations; against evolving threats that harm people and corrode social and political trust, the government will be a depth, flexible, ready in repealing such thing, thus to carry the same out, the future officers will have to be ready.
The President said that in these times of great complexities, the PMA must step up and take on the task of ensuring that the next generation of leaders in the country are ready for the emerging and future challenges.
He directed the Department of National Defense (DND) and AFP leadership to review the PMA curriculum to ensure that the cadets will be equipped with the 21st century skills necessary to counter conventional and asymmetric threats in the digital battlefield where a clear vision of truth, integrity and patriotism are necessary tools to combat attempts of disinformation, and infiltration.
He assured all AFP members that the government continues to improve the welfare and morale of the uniformed officials and personnel and to include their respective families. By Dexter A. See
