(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the military's "mission is not over," as they still needed to thwart attempts to overthrow the government.
In his speech during his visit to the Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi headquarters in Bongao town, Tawi-Tawi, on Thursday, Marcos said he has been going around military camps to stress the urgency of fighting destabilization.
"When I go around our camps, I always explain that our mission to fight those who attempt to overthrow the government for whatever reason," the President told the troops.
Marcos made the statement amid claims that a group of police officials was plotting to unseat him.
Citing unnamed sources, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV had said that some retired and active police officers were trying to gather recruits for the ouster plot.
Trillanes, who had led rebellions against former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, said those who were hatching the plot want Vice President Sara Duterte to take over if Marcos is impeached.
While the military's primary mission is to foil attempts to topple the government, Marcos told the soldiers in Tawi-Tawi they also have an obligation to advance peace by giving insurgents the opportunity to return to the folds of the law.
"But the mission is not over; we now have — we transform ourselves from war fighters; we transform ourselves into now peacemakers," the President said.
"You have performed the war-fighting mission to an excellent degree. And now, let us also show them that the peace-making part of your mission, you will now fulfill as well to the same excellent degree," he said.
Marcos said the peaceful conditions in Tawi-tawi allowed him to be the first president to visit the remote southern province.
"The reason is not because other presidents did not want to come here; it was because other presidents were not allowed by the security conditions that had passed before to be able to come here," he said.
The President said peace now reigns in Tawi-Tawi because of all the efforts of all the troops to transform its reputation as a lair of insurgents and terrorists engaging in kidnapping.
"Now, instead of fighting, the battle is now over which one has the best resort, and that is something that we — is a very, very, very big achievement, and the part that you played in that is a very, very major part, so congratulations for the good work and for a job well done," he said.
2nd Marine Brigade commander Brig. Gen. Nestor Narag Jr. thanked the President for visiting the troops.
"We are very much honored and privileged to have you here with us this morning, for it is the first time in the history of the deployment of our brigade here in the province of Tawi-Tawi that the highest official of the land sets foot inside this headquarters," Narag said.
Marcos visited the Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi headquarters after distributing aid to farmers and fisherfolk affected by the El Niño phenomenon in Tawi-Tawi. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro takes part at the 126th anniversary of the Philippine Navy at its headquarters in Manila on May 24, 2024. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro takes part at the 126th anniversary of the Philippine Navy at its headquarters in Manila on May 24, 2024. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro takes part at the 126th anniversary of the Philippine Navy at its headquarters in Manila on May 24, 2024. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro takes part at the 126th anniversary of the Philippine Navy at its headquarters in Manila on May 24, 2024. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro takes part at the 126th anniversary of the Philippine Navy at its headquarters in Manila on May 24, 2024. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro takes part at the 126th anniversary of the Philippine Navy at its headquarters in Manila on May 24, 2024. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN
Read The Rest at :
