General Romeo Brawner Jr., Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), challenged Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to “defend the Philippines” amid emerging security issues and uphold the military’s values as he took oath as a Philippine Army (PA) reservist on Monday, April 8.

Brawner presided over the donning of rank ceremony for Zubiri, who now holds the rank Lieutenant Colonel, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

In his speech, the military chief applauded the Senate President who decided to go the extra mile to serve the country by being an AFP reservist. 

“He is not only content with supporting the defense of our country from the sidelines, not from the halls of the Senate, and not only through the support of financial packages for the AFP. For him, this is not enough. For him, he has to don the uniform himself, go through the training and offer his life,” Brawner said.

For his part, Zubiri said he has long been wanting to be a military reservist, but he chose to be one now due to the “external challenges” faced by the country.

“Right now that we have external problems, external forces creating problems for our country, I think now is the time to be part of our reservist force,” he said.

“[I am] prepared to defend the country not only in the halls of the Senate but also in our war rooms and on the field,” he noted.

Zubiri said he has consistently advocated for the Army’s modernization and increase of its budget towards building a credible defense posture when he became the Senate President in July 2022.

He said this year, the Senate gave the Army P8 billion budget to enhance its cybersecurity capabilities and weapons and systems, among others.

Zubiri expressed hope that other lawmakers will also follow suit and join the military as reservists.

“I believe that any good patriot should be ready to fight for the country when called for. And this is a call that I am prepared to answer,” he said.