Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., Commanding General of the Philippine Army (PA), has revealed his strategy to “finish” the insurgency problem in the country before President Duterte steps down from office in June.
Under the acronym “SERVE,” Brawner expressed confidence that the Army will complete Duterte’s order to eradicate the country’s insurgency woes.
“The style of leadership that we will apply while I am the CGPA is servant leadership. We will be servants to the needs of our operating units,” Brawner said during his visit to the 7th Infantry Division (7ID) headquarters in Fort Magsaysay, Palayan City, Nueva Ecija on Saturday, Jan. 29.
The “S” in Brawner’s command guidance stands for “Soldiers” which, he said, are the “most important resource” of the Army. That is why he vowed to take care of the troops’ physical and mental health by implementing programs that will monitor their overall well-being.
Meanwhile, “E” stands for “Enhance” which represents Brawner’s desire to upgrade the skills and competencies of the troops and their units so that they will be “well-equipped, well-prepared, and well-trained” to help them accomplish their mission.
To achieve this, he said more “Resources” should be provided to the troops. He explained that pouring in much-needed resources to the troops on the ground will help the Army fulfill their duties as quickly as possible.
Brawner emphasized that the three thrusts will enable the Army to emerge "Victorious" against communists and other threat groups.
Finally, he said all of these thrusts will also allow the troops to ensure the orderly and peaceful conduct of the "Elections" on May 9.
He said this will pave the way for the entry of the country’s new set of leaders who are expected to provide new orders to the military to maintain the overall peace and security situation.
The country is facing Asia’s longest running insurgency problem with the 53-year-old communist rebellion being waged by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).
Duterte has repeatedly instructed the military and police to finish off communist groups before his term ends.
In a speech in March 2021, the Commander-in-Chief ordered the state forces to “kill” all the communist rebels, sparking fears that it could result to violations of human rights.