AFP chief of staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista during the recent 'Bayani Challenge'
As government continues to be rocked by corruption scandals, the chief of the Armed Forces called on all commanders to maintain the chain of command amid rumors of unrest in the ranks.
"All our efforts are due to our collective will as an Armed Forces. Let unity be our source of strength. Our unity of purpose and cohesiveness and strength of the chain of command is our only assurance that we will be able to face any challenge as an armed forces," General Emmanuel Bautista said after his last command conference Monday in Camp Aguinaldo.
Bautista, a member of Philippine Military Academy “Dimalupig” class of 1981, is retiring next week when he turns the mandatory age of 56.
Officially, the command conference assessed the military’s internal security operations, updates on humanitarian assistance and disaster response, the AFP Transformation Roadmap and Capability Upgrade Program, and a review of the AFP’s thrust and guidelines.
But military sources said Bautista’s “command guidance” appeared focused more on addressing possible fallout from the corruption scandals, with talk of some quarters "taking advantage of the situation to stir the organization (AFP)" into joining the public uproar.
A senior officer, who asked he noted be named since he is not authorized to speak on such matters, confirmed that the pork barrel scam as well as the Disbursement Acceleration Program, key provisions of which were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court recently, were “hot issues” among “some quarters” of the military.
“Maybe the chief of staff has in mind to once again remind the chain of command to remain apolitical when he issued such statement," the officer said referring to Bautista’s command guidance.
Both the Department of National Defense and AFP have acknowledged that a number of projects received funding from the DAP.
In its assessment, the AFP boasted of gaining ground in waging the counterinsurgency program Oplan Bayanihan, a claim that has been disputed by communist rebels, who have become more active recently and, according to authorities, have boosted their arsenal with more than a thousand AK-47 rifles.
In the first semester of the year, the military claimed to have “neutralized” 431 communist rebels, “more than half of last year’s 701,” and most of whom surrendered.
It also said it had “cleared 101 NPA-influenced barangays which is significantly higher than last year’s 87; and recovered 310 firearms as compared to 334 last year."
"More provinces are also undergoing normalization process as 16 were set for normalization in 2013 and three more in the first quarter of 2014. Currently, 45 provinces are undergoing normalization process," it added.
On modernization efforts, "the AFP continues to gain significant developments in its capability upgrade program aimed at achieving minimum credible defense posture in the next few years in line with the AFP Modernization Program," the military said.
However, it gave no details.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/90741/keep-chain-of-command--afp-chief-issues-call-amid-corruption-scandals
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.