The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) celebrated its 87th founding anniversary on Monday, Dec. 19, at the AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo Quezon City. The event was graced by no less than its Commander-in-Chief, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who, unfortunately, was mistakenly identified by AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro as “President Ferdinand Ramos.”
Bacarro, the first AFP chief under the administration of Marcos, thanked the Chief Executive for gracing the event although he appeared to mix the present leader of the country with the late former President Fidel V. Ramos during his speech.
“As we celebrate yet another year in the history of our distinguished military institution, we are deeply honored to be graced by the presence of our President, His Excellency President Ferdinand R. Ramos Jr. who joins us in this year’s anniversary celebration for the first time as our Commander-in-Chief,” said Bacarro, who assumed the AFP leadership last August 8.
Nonetheless, Bacarro’s remark on Marcos was met with applause by the attendees which included officials from the House of Representatives led by Speaker Martin Romualdez, Department of National Defense (DND) led by Officer in Charge Jose Faustino Jr., high-ranking military officials from the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and Philippine Navy; former AFP chiefs, Medal of Valor awardees, and foreign representatives from the diplomatic corps, among others.
In his speech, Bacarro also emphasized that the AFP remains committed to continue protecting the Filipino people and securing the State – 87 years since its establishment. The theme for this year’s celebration was “AFP@87: Kaisa ng Buong Sambayanan Tungo sa Mapayapa, Matatag at Maunlad na Pilipinas.”
The AFP was formally organized during the American Commonwealth era when then Pres. Manuel Luis Quezon, the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth, renamed the Philippine Army to Armed Forces of the Philippines on Dec. 21, 1935 in accordance with the National Defense Act of 1935.
Focus on insurgency, terrorism
Under the present administration, Bacarro noted that the primary focus of the AFP is the campaign against terrorism and communist insurgency, particularly involving the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army, and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP).
The AFP has so far dismantled 75 percent or 67 out of 89 guerilla fronts (GFs) of the CPP-NPA-NDFP nationwide. Military records showed that there remains 22 remaining GFs: 17 were already “weakened” after their commanders were neutralized while five are still “active.”
“International security operations are of prime importance to ensure the safety and security of our citizens against spoilers of peace and lawless elements. On this front, we can confidently state that we have achieved strategic victory and it is inching closer towards victory against terrorism,” Bacarro said.
External security
Aside from its internal security operations, Bacarro said the AFP is also putting premium on the country’s external security operations to defend the territory against encroaching nations.
“As much as we put premium on guarding our people and territory against threats from within, our external security operations ensured that our country and people are safe from pressure and aggression from outside. We know that this is the cornerstone of sovereignty,” he said.
“The aerial and sovereignty patrols that we have conducted this year, the air assets denials that we have issued to counter intrusion and aggression and our efforts to establish littoral monitoring stations along more parts of our country attest to this,” he added.
Although the AFP Chief did not mention anything in particular, the country’s territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea against China remains one of the most heated topics when the issue of external security defense is discussed.
But he believes that resolving conflict through peaceful means is more important than “burning bridges.”
“We recognize our capacity to defend our country and believe we can do this with utmost commitment. However, in an interconnected world where security threats transcend borders, building bridges instead of burning them is very, very important. This is where our international defense and security engagement are instructive,” Bacarro said.
Bacarro said the AFP also made strides in the modernization program of the AFP through the acquisition of capable and state of the start ground, air, sea assets.
“All of these said, I would like to emphasize that the AFP’s accomplishments were not possible if not for the dedication and commitment our soldiers, sailor, airmen and marines. I keep my hat to our gallant personnel and the recognition and the glory belong to them, the heart, the soul and the spirit of our institution,” Bacarro said, as he also paid tribute to military personnel who died while in the line of duty.