National Security Adviser (NSA) Secretary Eduardo Año on Thursday, Aug. 31, said he is hopeful that the Philippine armed forces can refocus on protecting the country against external forces in the wake of continuous geopolitical issues after it ends the decades-long insurgency.
National Security Adviser Secretary Eduardo Año with Executive Director Ernesto Torres of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) during a press conference at the Premiere Guest House of the Malacañang Palace on Thursday, August 31, 2023. (KJ ROSALES/PPA POOL)
Speaking during a press conference at Malacañang Palace, the official said that doing so is “our objective and we are confident we are going to attain that objective.”
“We can now even reorient the focus of the Armed Forces towards external defense. Because right now, we have many geopolitical issues and challenges to face so we need the armed forces (to) now focus their eyes on external threats,” he added.
Although he doesn’t expect “zero insurgency,” Año expressed confidence that insurgency “will be reduced to a relevant number” during the term of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
“Finally matutuldukan, matatapos natin itong (it will be put to an end, we will end this) local armed communist conflict and from there puro developments ang ating itataguyod at sisiguruhin natin ‘yung delivery ng services (we will promote development and we will ensure the delivery of services),” the official explained.
Lamenting that the country has been fighting communist insurgency for more than five decades because of “missing components,” he underscored the need for “convergence of all government agencies, stakeholders, local government units rally to bring development and to solve the root causes of insurgency in these far-flung areas.”
“It is not just a military or police problem, but it’s a whole of nation, mga (the) armed group and the people themselves,” Año said.
“We also want to still give chance to these people, I mean to these rebels, to return to the fold of the law,” he stressed.