Doesn't the AFP have enough soldiers on hand without needing Sara Duterte to join their ranks as a reservist?
Sara probably feels like a beauty queen more than a solider because she isn't a soldier. She is also not a beauty queen. Becoming a colonel in the AFP reserves is also no laughing matter so why are the Senators laughing? How and why did Sara even join the AFP reserves?
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1239793/sara-duterte-before-ca-panel-i-feel-like-a-beauty-queen-not-a-soldier |
In what seems to be a lighthearted exchange between the Davao City mayor and members of CA’s Committee on National Defense, Senator Imee Marcos asked Sara about previous pronouncements of her father that he is “afraid” of his daughter.
“May I ask why the President, your father, repeatedly says that he’s afraid of you?” Marcos asked.
The presidential daughter said that “is something that I think is just in his mind because I have always supported him.”
“I told him that the only way that I can help you as President of the Philippines is make sure that Davao City continues on to become a progressive city in Mindanao,” she said.
“I just feel like a beauty queen not a soldier,” she added in jest which elicited laughter in the room.
It appears she has been in the reserves since 2008.
The promotions of the two Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) stalwarts, who both became AFP reservists in 2008, were confirmed with no objections from the members of the powerful body.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1096299In 2007 Sara Duterte became Vice Mayor of Davao. She has been an elected official ever since serving as Vice Mayor and now Mayor. As an elected official the President has the prerogative to appoint her to a commission the reserves. She can also apply for one herself. That is the law.
ARTICLE VIII
INCORPORATION INTO THE RESERVE FORCE
SEC. 44. Elected Officials and Presidential Appointees.—Elected officials and presidential appointees may be commissioned in the Reserve Force subject to the existing AFP rules and regulations.
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1991/06/27/republic-act-no-7077/There is also an interesting provision in this law for elected officials appointed to the reserve force.
SEC. 27. Deferment from Training.—The acceptance board, upon evaluation of the evidence to support application for deferment, may grant deferment on the following grounds and conditions:
(7) Elected officials and presidential appointees whose appointments are passed upon by the Commission on Appointments, during their incumbency.No elected official appointed to the reserves has to go through military training. Is it any wonder then that Sara does not feel like a soldier? But there is something a bit off about Sara Duterte's appointment to the reserves that I cannot put my finger on. You see she was already promoted to the rank of colonel in 2018. The AFP posted the event on their Facebook page.
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| Sara Duterte promoted to Colonel |
The media even wrote about it.
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| https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/421375 |
She said part of her job is mobilizing volunteers in Davao City and assisting the AFP in times of disaster and in times of situation that needs assistance.
Joining her in the donning ceremony Wednesday, February 28, were Colonel Isidro Ungab and Colonel Edgar Crisanto Voilan.
Ungab and Voilan were also promoted from the rank of lieutenant colonel to colonel.
The three were able to graduate from General Staff College, which is a requirement before a person can apply for colonel rank.
They were promoted through an executive order, the reason they need to pass through the Commission on Appointments after the official ceremony Wednesday.
Ungab said a colonel rank means that a reservist can already handle a brigade in the reserved force in the Philippine Army.
"As reserve officers, we act in the training and preparation of our reserved officers, and the reservists, in case of emergency, and in case of war, the reservists will be mobilized to defend our country and in times of peace, reservists are also mobilized to assist in nation building and disaster preparedness," he said.Maybe her commission has to be reaffirmed every few years? That would explain why she is being confirmed in 2020 as a colonel even though she has been a reservist since 2008 and has held the rank of colonel since 2018.
No way is beauty queen Sara Duterte able to handle a brigade. But what about Manny Pacquiao.
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| https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/03/07/commission-on-appointments-confirms-8-lawmakers-as-afp-reserve-force-colonels.html |
The Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday confirmed the appointments of eight lawmakers as colonels in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reserve force.
Senators Loren Legarda and Manny Pacquiao, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Farinas, as well as Gwendolyn Garcia, Sandra Sema, Roy Loyola, and Joel Mayo Almario faced the CA Wednesday wearing their military uniforms.
There were no oppositors and they did not go through the Committee's usual question and answer routine.
"After a thorough deliberation your committee unanimously voted to favorably recommend for the Commission's confirmation and its consent to the ad interim appointments and nominations," CA committee on national defense acting chairman Sen. Gregorio Honasan said, according to a House Press Release.
President Rodrigo Duterte submitted the lawmaker's names to the CA last week.This is article is also from 2018 but does not mention Sara even though it is in the same timeframe as when she was made colonel. No matter though. Let's focus on other things like noted mutineer Honasan being the national defense acting chairman! It's interesting that Honasan says these are "ad interim appointments and nominations." That means they are temporary. But as an elected official Sara has been in the reserves for twelve years now. Is that "ad interim?"
Senator Legarda is included among these appointments but she graduated from the National Defense College of the Philippines in 1993. It is not clear when she entered the reserves but she was first elected to the Senate in 1998 and likely entered their ranks soon after. In 2017 she even wrote a paper for Armed Forces of the Philippines Command and General Staff College.
Legarda also received the Academic Excellence for Research for her paper "The AFP in the Humanitarian Space: Building Resilience, Fostering Resilient Communities," which explores the role of the military not just in responding to disasters, but also in reducing climate and disaster risks.
https://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2017/1212_legarda1.aspNo doubt she is a smart lady but does that qualify her to become a colonel in the AFP reserves? She is 60 years old and the AFP's mandatory retirement age is 56.
Let's look more at Pacquiao. He entered the reserves in 2006.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/105617/army-promotes-pacquiao-to-lieutenant-colonel |
Bautista said in a statement that Paquiao and the reserve force “are indispensable stakeholders in our campaign to win the peace through the implementation and execution of our Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan”.
Pacquiao defended his appointment as lieutenant colonel by saying that his election as representative of Saranggani made him eligible for the promotion.
“Despite that knowledge, I did not seek it out until I was told after the Mosley fight that I was being considered for commissionship as lieutenant colonel. Fairly, I was not promoted because I was an enlisted staff,” Pacquiao said.
PA Spokesperson Major Harold Cabunoc said “his commissionship was based on the provisions of Section 44 of Republic Act 7077 which provides that ‘elected officials and presidential appointees may be commissioned into the Reserve Force subject to the existing AFP rules and regulations’.”
Pacquiao earned the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in September 21, 2011. He previously held the position of Senior Master Sergeant and was designated as Command Sergeant Major of the 15th Ready Reserve Division.
Pacquiao first entered the Army’s reserve force in April 27, 2006 as a sergeant. He later rose to technical sergeant in December 1 of the same year.
On October 7 of the following year, he became a master sergeant, the highest rank in the enlisted personnel.
Two years later, on May 4, 2009, he was given the special rank of senior master sergeant in honor of his accomplishment as number one pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
In the same year, Pacquiao was also given an honorary doctorate degree in humanities by the Southwestern University of Cebu City.
“He can also help in the recruitment of patriotic Filipinos to join the PA Reserve Force as we endeavor to build the force into one great component of a world-class Army that is a source of national pride,” Bautista added.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/04/14/1312614/afp-no-full-colonel-promotion-pacquiao-despite-recent-win |
Manny Pacquiao is not likely to be promoted to full colonel despite his impressive victory against American boxer Timothy Bradley, Jr. last Sunday.
Armed Forces spokesman Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan, Jr. said active and reserve officers are required to take the Command and General Staff Course (CGSC) to become eligible for promotion to full colonel.
There are requirements or things to be undertaken before one is promoted, Tutaan said in a press briefing on Monday. One has to undergo Command and General Staff Course before one gets promoted. This is true also for the reserve force, he added.
Tutaan said the CGSC trains soldiers to handle command positions. A graduate of CGSC is eligible to become a commander of a battalion, which consists of about 500 soldiers.
Tutaan said among the subjects taught in the one-year course are offense and defense operations and operations doctrine.
Pacquiao, who represents the lone district of Sarangani at the House of Representatives, was named a reserve Army lieutenant colonel in 2011.
The donning of the rank raised questions among critics who believe that Pacquiao did not meet some requirements. Critics pointed out that Pacquiao did not finish college, a requirement to become a military officer.
The military, however, claimed that Pacquiao could be commissioned as lieutenant colonel because he is a lawmaker.
While Pacquiao is not eligible to the next higher rank, he is nevertheless entitled to a military merit medal.
I joke about Manny Pacquiao ever commanding a battalion but actually he has been given command of a battalion consisting of some 3,000 reservists.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1066266 |
Senator Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao has vowed to help improve further the capability of Army reserve units in central Mindanao as he formally assumed on Monday the post of new commander of the area's Army reserve force.
Pacquiao, who holds the rank of full Colonel in the Army Reserve Command (Arescom), was designated as brigade commander of the Army's 2203rd Ready Reserve Infantry Brigade, which covers the entire Region 12 (Soccsksargen) and Maguindanao province.
He took over the post from retired reservist Lt. Col. Jaime Yangzon in a ceremony held at the Army's 1002nd Brigade headquarters, Camp Hermigildo Agaab in Barangay Pulutana, Malungon town, Sarangani province.
The senator said he will pursue programs that would help build the capability of some 3,000 reservists in the area.
He specifically cited training programs and related activities that would help improve the performance of reservists as support units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), especially in the conduct of medical and civic action programs.
Pacquiao rallied the region's reservists to continue providing the best service to the country even without compensation and recognition.
As volunteers, Pacquiao said they are expected "to share our resources, spend our own money and even risk our lives because we truly love our country."
"He will shoulder huge responsibilities in terms of improving our reserve force and make sure that they are always ready," he said.
Pacquiao assured that he is up to the task and is now more capable, being an elected government official.
"I can achieve a lot of things since I am an active senator," he later told reporters.It seems that reservists are not compensated by the government for their time.
What is the point of the president appointing Sara Duterte and Manny Pacquiao and other politicians as reservists? No way are they going to go into the battlefield and the law exempts them from training. They are not soldiers. They are politicians. Pacquiao even admits he can do his job better as a reservist because he is a Senator.
How does appointing elected officials to the reserves advance the readiness of the AFP? It doesn't but legislators are invited by the AFP to apply for a commission in the reserves nonetheless.
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| http://wingatchalian.com/news/gatchalian-signs-up-for-afp-reserve-force-commends-belmontes-support-for-mandatory-rotc/ |
“Every Filipino has a role to play in defending Philippine sovereignty.”
These were the words of Valenzuela City Representative Win Gatchalian as he signified his intent to pursue a commission in the Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Force (AFPRF) at a briefing held at the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
At the AFPRF Development Briefing, sponsored by the Magdalo Para sa Pilipino party-list and the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Reservist and Retiree Affairs, House members were oriented about the vision, mission, and current state of the reservist force.
Legislators were also invited to apply for a commission in the reserve force. Under Sec. 44 of Republic Act No. 7077, the “Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act,” elected officials and presidential appointees may be commissioned into the Reserve Force with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, or its equivalent, in the various military services."Required reservist training is one of the best ways to tenure we are always ready?" But elected officials with a commission in the reserves are exempt from training. Why would the AFP be soliciting legislators to join the reserves? Many of them are old, unskilled, and unfit for military duties. Plus they already have their hands full just being legislators.
“This is the perfect way for me to show my strong support for reinstating mandatory reserve officer training in colleges and universities. Every responsible citizen should be ready and willing to serve and defend our country in times of war and national emergency, no matter what their position or station in life. Required reservist training is one of the best ways to ensure that we are always ready,” said Gatchalian.
Maybe it's all about the public relations. Maybe the AFP thinks they can get more to join the reserves if famous politicians are seen in their ranks. Maybe the AFP reserve forces reflect Filipino celebrity culture.
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