MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday directed government troops to use their resources for the “territorial security aspect of your new mission,” as they continue to carry out their mandate of defending the Filipino people and the entire nation.
“Keep up the good work. And we will get to that point where we can say that we can already transition fully, or at least the majority of our resources can transition already to the defense of our territory,” Marcos told the Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM) troops during his visit to Camp General Guillermo Nakar in Lucena City, Quezon.
Marcos noted that territorial defense has now become part of the mission of the SOLCOM, whereas in the past its work was confined to internal threats.
“I just had a briefing from your Commander, Gen. Palafox, on the general situation in the area of operation of the SOLCOM. And ang pinakamalaking pagbabago na nakikita natin ay ngayon ang SOLCOM kasama na sa trabaho ng SOLCOM ay ang territorial defense (and the biggest change that we see is that now, the work of SOLCOM involves territorial defense),” he said.
He said the military should not get distracted by the political noise, stressing that their attention must be centered on the public’s welfare.
The President called on government forces to ensure peace and order while protecting Philippine territory.
Marcos gave the directive, as he told them to “stay focused” despite the current state of the country’s political landscape.
“Ako, ganoon ang isip, pagka marami – maingay ang nangyayari, iniisip ko lagi: ano ba talaga trabaho ko? Trabaho ko ba’y makipag-away diyan? Trabaho ko makipag-debate diyan sa mga walang kwentang bagay? Hindi. Ang trabaho ko ay pagandahin ang Pilipinas. Kayo naman, may mission din kayo (That’s my way of thinking. When there’s a lot of noise happening, I always think: what is my job really? Is it my job to fight there? Is it my job to debate there about useless things? No. My job is to make the Philippines better. You, too, have a mission),” Marcos told the SOLCOM officers.
“Pagka medyo naguguluhan kayo, isipin lang ninyo, alalahanin niyo (When you’re a little confused, just think and remember): what is my mission? What is my mission? Your mission is to defend the people of the Republic of the Philippines and the state of the Republic of the Philippines.”
He also expressed appreciation to the military personnel for assisting government agencies in their disaster response efforts during the onslaught of the recent tropical cyclones.
In a Palace press briefing on Thursday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the prevailing political noise would not hurt the Philippines’ sustained economic growth.
Balisacan’s statement came after Vice President Sara Duterte claimed that she had contracted an assassin to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez, in case she gets killed.
Marcos’ security team has already tightened its security following Duterte’s “active” threat against the First Couple. (PNA)