By
Priam Nepomuceno
July 21, 2021
MANILA – Department
of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana gave President Rodrigo R.
Duterte a rating of "90 percent" in terms of his administration's
accomplishments in preserving peace and security in the country.
"As
far as (the) DND is concerned, ang rating ni Presidente ay 90 percent dahil nadagdagan niya 'yung equipment ng ating mga sundalo at maganda
yung direktiba niya sa amin na puksain 'yung insurgency (the President's
rating is 90 percent because he managed to acquire and procure additional
equipment for our soldiers and his directive to us to totally neutralize (local
communist) insurgency is also good)," he said during the pre-State of the
Nation Address (SONA) forum of the Security, Justice, and Peace Cluster on
Wednesday.
Guided
by the President's order to defend what rightfully belongs to the country
without going to war, Lorenzana also said they have consistently asserted the
Philippines' sovereignty and sovereign rights.
"Patuloy ang pagpapaunlad ng imprastraktura
sa Kalayaan at Mavulis
Islands. Pinaigting
natin ang pagpapatrolya at pagbabantay sa ating himpapawid at karagatan (Improvements
in the infrastructure in Kalayaan and Mavulis Islands are ongoing even as we
intensified our patrols guarding our airspace and seas). We also intensified
our deterrence activities and deployed more personnel in our borders,
especially in the West Philippine Sea and the Sulu-Celebes Seas," he
added.
As
of last year, Lorenzana said the country has conducted 186 air and 575 maritime
patrols.
"We
now have more littoral monitoring stations and detachments in strategic
locations to monitor vessels transiting within Philippine waters and key sea
lanes of communication," he added.
Lorenzana
also cited the benefits of the country's defense cooperation with other
countries, inside and outside the region.
"Dahil sa Trilateral
Cooperative Arrangement natin sa Indonesia at Malaysia, mabilis nating napababa ang mga
insidente ng kidnapping-for-ransom at iba pang krimen sa karagatan ng Sulu (Due to
our Trilateral Cooperative Agreement with Indonesia and Malaysia, we quickly
reduced kidnapping-for-ransom incidents and other crimes in Sulu waters),"
he added.
Aside
from this, Lorenzana said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)
also invested in climate change and disaster resilience efforts.
"More
importantly, member states have committed to asserting the Asean centrality in
dealing with other countries in the Indo-Asia Pacific region, especially
towards the peaceful and amicable resolution of territorial disputes in
accordance with international laws," he added.
Lorenzana
also cited the milestones reached by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
in enhancing its capacity and capability.
This
includes the upgrading of systems, doctrines, and the acquisition of capital
assets and equipment.
Some
of these newly acquired assets include the two newly-acquired Jose Rizal-class
missile frigates, the six-newly delivered Embraer A-29B "Super
Tucano" close-air support aircraft and a number of combat utility
helicopters.
Lorenzana
was referring to the Polish-made S-70i "Black Hawk" helicopters, of
which 10 units are now in the country while the remaining five are to be
delivered within the year.
"Ginagamit na natin ang mga ito sa (we are now
using these equipment in) territorial defense, counter-insurgency,
peacekeeping, at humanitarian assistance at disaster response operations.
Though we still have a long way to go to achieve our desired level of defense
posture, we can now proudly say that the AFP is definitely stronger than it was
before," he said.
Lorenzana
added that he hopes that more ships and aircraft would be acquired for the
military in the remaining months of the Duterte administration.
"Ngayon, siguro ang dapat pa nating
magawa sa kanyang administrasyon, ay dagdagan natin ang ating mga nabiling equipment
dahil kailangan natin yan lalong lalo na yung mga barko at mga eroplano,
so, yun lang kasagutan ko (Now, in regards to what the administration can
do more, I would want to add on to the equipment that we had already acquired
especially ships and aircraft which we urgently need. That is my answer),"
Lorenzana said.
Despite
the July 4 crash of the Lockheed C-130 transport aircraft in Patikul, Sulu
which claimed the lives of 50 military personnel and injured 46 others along
with three civilians killed and four others wounded, Lorenzana said the
"One Defense Team" remains committed to serving the nation and its
people. (PNA)
