Senatorial candidate and current House Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda has vowed to firmly push for vigorous government support for training and education on national defense and security that will complement the patriotic fervor already embedded in every Filipino, especially military personnel.

Legarda made the assurance as she led the inauguration of the Office of the Dean, Corps of Professor (ODCOP) at Camp Aguinaldo on Monday, April 4.

It was Legarda, a former three-term senator, who pursued the funding for the construction of the two-storey Corps of Professor at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) headquarters when she was still the chairperson of the Senate Committee of Finance in 2019.

An alumna of the National Defense College of the Philippines and the Command and General Staff College, Legarda has put premium on national security and defense programs on the legislative agenda since her initial stint as senator in 1998.

In her speech, Legarda urged her colleagues vying for national posts “to present to the Filipino people their national security platforms as these are important in advancing our goal for a safer and more progressive recovery for the country and the people".

During her three-terms as senator, Legarda acted as the “go to” solon in ensuring the provision of allocations to various projects of the AFP.

In her speech on Monday, the incumbent Antique congresswoman underscored the need to ensure that the next generation of defense and security leaders are given “adequate assistance so they may be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitude that would make them responsive and true to their constitutional mandate as defender and protector of the Filipinos".

Legarda, a full colonel of the Philippine Air Force Reserve Command, pointed out that the future of the country’s defense leaders is in the hands of the 81 members of the Corps of Professors.

“These members must strike a balance between pushing for academic excellence and encouraging compassion, empathy, and a pro-people attitude among the military,” she said.

Adopted by leading presidential teams as part of their respective senatorial slate, Legarda said the military must play a significant role in helping rehabilitate the country from the “development lags caused by the Covid-19 pandemic".

“This is the time when our defense education should deeply impart the nexus of development and security, which would redound to sustainable peace, prosperity, and general well-being,” she said.

The comebacking senator vowed: “I will continue to be your champion as we journey together in the coming days because defense and security is part of my system as a member of the AFP family.”