As the Armed Forces of the Philippines celebrated its 78th founding anniversary a day earlier on Friday, AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Emmanuel T. Bautista lauded all the men and women under his command, stressing that the institution they are all serving has distinguished tradition and enduring legacy of defending the Filipino nation.
"It
is with great pride that we honor the glorious legacy of the AFP on the
occasion of our 78th year. The AFP is a distinguished institution with an
enduring legacy of defending the Filipino nation and the ideals of peace,
freedom and democracy that our nation represents -- from the revolutionary Army
led by Andres Bonifacio that won our independence to the AFP that freed our
country and help restore democracy," Bautista said.
"Our
proud legacy has always been that of honor, service and patriotism in fulfillment
of our constitutional mandate," he added.
The
AFP chief stressed that protecting peace and democracy is the proud legacy of
the AFP.
"While
we win the peace today as our legacy for the future, thus our anniversary theme
'Tagumpay Noon, Bayanihan Ngayon, Karangalan Nating Lahat Bukas', as we
celebrate our history, let me take this opportunity to honor and to thank each
and every member of our Armed Forces, past and present, for heroism offered and
faithful services rendered in the pursuit of our mandate. May we also pay
tribute to and honor the lives and services of our fallen brothers who gave
their last full measures of devotion in the name of peace, and there is no
greater way to honor them than by carrying on the work that they have left
behind," he said.
He
noted that 2013 is a very particular year due to various challenges it has
offered.
"In
this particular eventful year of our organization in the face of challenges
that kindled the adrenalin of heroism and service in us, the Sabah crisis, the kidnapping
of our UN peacekeepers in the Golan Heights, the defense of Zamboanga City, the
7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Central Visayas, the numerous typhoons,
the most devastating of which was super typhoon 'Yolanda,' not to mention the
internal peace and security operations that we continuously conduct, all these
challenges were met with courage and strength of spirit by every soldier,
sailor and airman of the AFP," Bautista emphasized.
In
light of these events which were successfully mastered by the military, the AFP
chief also took the opportunity to extend his deepest gratitude to all
uniformed and non-uniformed personnel for their silent sacrifices and for
always performing above and beyond the call of duty.
"You
all deserve recognition and this day is for you, in honor of our legacy, we
will continue performing our mandate with patriotism burning in our hearts, we
will win the peace for the Filipino people, we will continue building a
stronger AFP that is more responsive to our mandate. We may have a long way to
go but we have already set our transformation direction, as inspired by the
leadership and steady vision for reform of His Excellency, President Benigno S.
Aquino III. Through our AFP transformation roadmap, we will develop our capabilities
and further professionalize our troops, we will be a world-class Armed Forces,
a source of national pride," Bautista stressed.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=598638
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