The Department of National Defense (DND) highlighted some of its achievements in the past six years under the administration of President Duterte on Friday, June 10, as a new administration enters in less than three weeks.

DND Sec. Delfin Lorenzana said the department has relentlessly pursued the professionalization, modernization and development of the defense sector “to protect national interests, and respond effectively to domestic and global security challenges.”

“The most pressing among these challenges was the threat of communist insurgency and violent extremism,” Lorenzana said.

As such, he noted that the DND, through the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), sustained operations that led to the weakening of the communist groups and revitalization of the government’s reintegration program for former rebels and violent extremists.

“Since 2016, thousands of rebels, violent extremists, and their supporters have returned to the fold of the law, resulting in a major loss of their ground-level support,” he said.

Aside from ensuring internal stability, Lorenzana said that the DND also prioritized international defense and security engagements where agreements were forged with traditional and non-traditional security partners which brought the Philippines “closer to becoming a strategic player in the Asia-Pacific region.”

“The DND and AFP also significantly stepped up its external defense operations to secure our strategic border-areas and exclusive economic zone by increasing naval surface and maritime air patrols,” he said.

He said priority infrastructure developments in the municipality of Kalayaan, construction of maritime domain awareness platforms, heightened deployment of AFP detachments in border islands, and procurement of priority assets such as combat utility helicopters, missile frigates, close air-support aircrafts, unmanned aerial vehicles, air defense systems, various force protection equipment and weapon systems were pushed by the DND to increase the capability of the military to protect the country’s territories.

Further, the defense chief stated that the DND and AFP “significantly stepped up its external defense operations to secure our strategic border-areas and exclusive economic zone by increasing naval surface and maritime air patrols.”

Under the Duterte administration, the DND also “advanced good governance policies aimed at enhancing the organization’s capability to perform its mandate,” he noted.

In April this year, the President signed RA 11709 prescribing fixed terms for key officers to further promote further professionalization and meritocracy in the AFP.

"With these modern and multi-role assets added to the AFP's inventory, together with the improvements and reforms we have instituted, we are hopeful that the defense sector's trajectory will continue its upward momentum and lead to sustained peace and stability for the nation," said Lorenzana, who will vacate his office on June 30.