Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. rallied personnel of the Philippine Army (PA) to maintain their integrity and keep the organization “clean” so they can fulfill their sworn duties to serve and protect the nation and the Filipino people.
This, as he visited the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City last Wednesday, Jan. 18, where he reminded the commanders “to take care of our people, resources, and organization” amid the rumblings in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during the past weeks. He was accompanied by AFP Chief of Staff, Gen. Andres Centino and PA Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.
“Th DND chief emphasized the importance of employee morale and welfare in the DND and AFP to better serve the Filipino people,” DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said in a statement on Friday, Jan. 20.
Likewise, Galvez also mentioned the proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 11709 or the new mandatory term law for senior military officials which, he believes, is the root cause of “tampuhan” or sulking in the military.
“Huwag na kayong mangamba, inirekomenda ng DND at AFP na ang promotion system at retirement ng mga enlisted personnel ay hindi na sasailalim sa RA 11709 (Don’t worry, the DND and AFP recommended that the promotion system and retirement of enlisted personnel will no longer undergo RA 11709),” Galvez told the soldiers.
“Your human resource development systems/programs will be directly under the different major service commanders. When the law comes out, you will be excluded. We pray that the transition with 11709 will be well and swiftly managed by our armed forces. We hope that the amendments will come out soon so your careers will no longer be affected,” Galvez added in a mix of English and Filipino.
Galvez presented the proposed amendments to RA 11709 during a hearing before the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation last Tuesday.
“We are listening to the concerns of our men and women in the AFP, who are understandably anxious over the perceived uncertainty in their careers under the new law,” he said.
Galvez previously stated that the new law needs to be tweaked to avoid stagnation in the promotion cycle in the armed forces and demoralization of troops. The law, which sets a fixed three-year tour-of-duty for senior military officers, is believed to have affected the promotion of mid-level officers.