The Department of National Defense (DND) has been a “resilient and dependable” organization when it comes to ensuring the security of the country for more than eight decades already.
This was emphasized by DND Officer in Charge (OIC) Jose Faustino Jr. as the department kicked off the week-long celebration of its 83rd founding anniversary on Monday, Nov. 7, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
The theme for this year’s celebration was “DND@83: Matatag na Sandigan ng Sambayanan para sa Kapayapaan at Kaunlaran.”
According to Faustino, the Defense department “has remained resilient and dependable in paving the way for our nation’s security and development” since its inception 83 years ago. The DND was formally created on Nov. 1, 1939 by virtue of Executive Order No. 230 series of 1939.
“As head of this Department that serves as one of the cornerstones of our nation, I am pleased to experience firsthand the remarkable level of professionalism, proficiency, and patriotism that permeates within the ‘One Defense Team.’ Mga lingkod-bayani ng DND, maraming salamat po sa inyo (To our servant-heroes at DND, thank you very much to all of you),” said Faustino in his message that was delivered by DND Undersecretary Nemesio Gacal.
The anniversary celebration commenced with a flag-raising ceremony and awarding of outstanding personnel of the One Defense Team. This refers to the bureaus supervised by the DND namely the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), Government Arsenal (GA), and Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).
“Today’s awarding ceremony honors our colleagues who have not only fulfilled their respective roles with the excellence expected from all of us, but also went above and beyond their normal work routine to deliver the necessary outputs for the Department,” he said.
Further, the Defense OIC urged members of the One Defense Team to take to heart the DND’s 10-point agenda.
The 10-point agenda, established by Faustino last July 11, seeks to align the DND’s policies to the vision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to have a “stronger and better” country through national unity, nation-building, and economic recovery.