More resources to meet insurgency deadline: Brawner

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 31, 2022): More resources to meet insurgency deadline: Brawner (By Priam Nepomuceno)

Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner (Photo courtesy of the Philippine Army)

The chief of the Philippine Army (PA) vowed to pour resources into its units in order to meet the June deadline of eradicating insurgency and threat groups.

During his visit to the 7th Infantry Division headquarters at the Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija last Saturday, Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner told officers and enlisted personnel he would be the "servant leader" kind by providing them with support and resources, a thrust of the "SERVE" (Soldiers, Enhance, Resources, Victorious, Elections) program.

“The style of leadership that we will apply while I am the CGPA (Commanding General Philippine Army) is servant leadership. We will be servants to the needs of our operating units,” Brawner said Saturday.

Resources include the necessary equipment, aside from the enhancement of skills of the soldiers so that they are prepared for the challenges of fighting and neutralizing these threats.

In a speech during his assumption of command last December, Brawner vowed to continue the programs implemented by his predecessor, Gen. Andres Centino, now the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff.

"It is imperative that we pursue this thrust so that we be able to accomplish the mission that was ordered by no less than the Commander-in-Chief (President Rodrigo R. Duterte) which is to end the local communist armed conflict by the end of his term," he said.

In the long term, Brawner said the thrust to equip soldiers with the resources, equipment and skills would help propel the Army towards modernization and achieving its vision to be world class by 2028.

In a statement issued Sunday, Army spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said Brawner also highlighted the need to take care of the soldiers' physical and mental health and enhance their skills and competencies.

"The CGPA vowed to provide units with support and resources to empower them in their sprint towards the June 2022 deadline set by the commander-in-chief to eradicate insurgency and other threat groups," Trinidad's statement read.

He added that enhancing the resources would help them win against threat groups, allowing troops to focus on ensuring orderly and peaceful elections in May.

Earlier, Brawner vowed to focus more efforts on ensuring that troops and their families are taken care of.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166680