Lorenzana spells out DND gains in 2019

December 26, 2019

The Department of National Defense (DND) has pursued the protection of Filipino people and ensured sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country in 2019, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in his yearend message Thursday.

"As the year 2019 comes to a close, let me express my thanks and gratitude to the men and women of the Department for the work we have done together to accomplish our mission," Lorenzana said.

"The dedication of the military and uniformed personnel of the Department is manifested in the excellent accomplishments for the year, significantly contributing to the peace and stability in the whole country", he said.

"With the National Defense Strategy as our guide, we have pursued the protection of our people and ensured our sovereignty and territorial integrity," he added.

In his message, Lorenzana highlighted the accomplishment of defense and military in 2019.

Lorenzana said the government was able to establish a permanent presence in Mavulis, the northernmost island in the country, "by hoisting Philippine flag, constructing a fishermen’s shelter and permanently stationing a Marine contingent on the island."

"We shall also station more marines in the outlying islands in the Babuyan channel," he said.

On the southern border, Lorenzana said the trilateral cooperative arrangement with Malaysia and Indonesia have decreased kidnapping incidents in southern Philippines.

"We are also actively working with Malaysia and Indonesia under the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement on immediate measures to address security issues in the maritime areas of common concern in the Sulu and Celebes seas. This collaboration has decreased the kidnappings in those areas to almost nil in the past two years," he said.

"We have also continued to pursue defense cooperation with the other ASEAN members, other partner-countries, and non-traditional partner-countries to promote Philippine defense interests, generate opportunities for capability and capacity building, and attain stability and progress as well as the protection of a rules-based international order," said Lorenzana.

"Our partner-countries are also assisting us to improve our defense capabilities by making available their defense materiel to the AFP Modernization Program," he added.

In line with the agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte to end local communist armed conflict and other terrorist activities in the country, the DND has heightened its internal security operations within the year.

"In 2019, Task Force Balik-Loob, headed by Undersecretary for Civil, Veterans and Retiree Affairs Reynaldo Mapagu, has extended the government’s support to former NPA rebels through various government programs provided by member- and partner-agencies of the Task Force. The Armed Forces of the Philippines, continues to serve the needs of affected communities through the Community Support Program," Lorenzana said.

The DND is in the forefront in the implementation of Executive Order No. 70, which became the framework of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

''The NTF-ELCAC institutionalizes the Whole-of-Nation Approach to end the local communist armed conflict and places the burden of security and development on the LGUs supported by all the national agencies of the government. The main objective of the task force is the promotion and establishment of good governance down to the barangay level," he said.

"As head of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) and Amnesty Program and the Peace, Law Enforcement, and Development Support Lines of Effort, the department was active not only in neutralizing the armed component of the CPP/NPA, but more importantly giving support to former rebels who returned to the fold of the law," he added.

Lorenzana also commended the military for weakening terrorists in southern Philippines under the implementation of Martial Law.

"As the implementor of Martial Law in Mindanao, I commend the Armed Forces of the Philippines for its excellent efforts to attain the objectives of martial law. The AFP was successful in decimating and weakening the terrorist and extremist groups in the BARMM," he said. 

"I have directed the AFP to continue to hunt down the remnants of the Maute, BIFF ( Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters) and Abu Sayyaf groups or to accept their surrendering members for rehabilitation," he added.

Lorenzana said the DND also "invested resources in ensuring the welfare of its active personnel as well as retired soldiers through its welfare programs provided by the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC), and the respective human resource offices of the DND-wide offices and bureaus."

"Among the milestones in 2019 are: the increase in benefits for active military personnel under the Joint Resolution No. 1, s. 2018; the release of Hazardous Duty Pay to soldiers in Sulu; the increase of benefits of the CAFGU Active Auxiliary (CAFGU); and benefits to wounded soldiers and families of soldiers killed during active duty under the Comprehensive Social Benefits Program (CSBP)," he said.

"We have likewise collaborated with other agencies to improve our facilities through the Convergence Program on Strengthening and Expanding Military Readiness for National Security and Development, also known as Tatag ng Imprastraktura para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad (TIKAS) program" Lorezana stated. 

"For 2019, thirty projects amounting to P530 million were approved for implementation. For 2020, P4.6 billion has been allocated for the DND-DPWH Convergence Program in the National Expenditure Program The projects include construction, repair, and/or development of a runways, roads, road networks, army detachments and Philippine Air Force (PAF) hangars," he added.

As 2019 is about to end, Lorenzana call all the defense personnel to continue to pursue excellence in public service. 

"The call to a more effective and efficient defense sector is imperative in light of the enormous and varied security challenges confronting the nation," he said. Robina Asido/DMS