The AFP has been hard at work for the past 50 years battling both communists and Islamic terrorists and well as their bad public image as human rights abusers. Now the AFP can confidently say the war has been won.
Public satisfaction rating of the Philippine military is on the rise since 2015, said Vladimyr Joseph Licudine, Social Weather Stations deputy director, at a forum on Wednesday (March 4).
One of the key drivers of increasing satisfaction with the AFP was its victory against terrorism in Marawi City in 2017.
“Marawi had a great impact on them,” Licudine said of the AFP’s rising satisfaction rating. The military’s retaking of Marawi “has something to do with their image right now,” he said.
The war on terror in Marawi, he said, gave the AFP “appreciation” and “sympathy.”
The military’s role in saving lives during disasters and calamities also helped boost public satisfaction with it.
“A big part of the image of the AFP is disaster operations,” said the SWS official. Some of the most well-known disasters in which the AFP played a big role in rescue and evacuations were supertyphoon Yolanda, the Mindanao quakes and trapped miners.
Local television dramas that portray life in the military had also helped draw a positive public image for the AFP, Licudine said.
“You will also notice the trend in our TV stations,” he said. “The last two years there are so many teleseryes that depict the military in a good light, etc.,” Licudine said.
AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, at the same forum, said the high ratings can be attributed to the AFP’s commitment to excellence and professionalism.
“This is a departure from the previous image of the AFP as oppressors and human rights violators,” he said.
Just like the PNP the AFP have used television to improve their image. This same survey reveals that many believe the AFP can defeat the NPA and the Muslim terrorists.
Licudine said 79 percent of respondents had expressed confidence that the military can defeat the New People’s Army, while 4 percent are pessimistic and 17 percent are undecided.
On terrorism, 75 percent of respondents expressed confidence the military could beat terror groups, like the Abu Sayyaf, while 6 percent has little confidence and 19 percent is undecided.
On what basis do they place such confidence in the AFP to defeat the insurgents? Do Filipinos know that the AFP had
prior knowledge of the Marawi siege? That since 2014 when ISIS began making inroads into the country the AFP denied that ISIS was in the Philippines until they were forced to acknowledge their presence because of the Marawi siege? That even after the siege the AFP continued to downplay the threat of ISIS? That the AFP was unprepared for the Marawi siege because the DND dropped urban warfare combat from AFP training??
"It's a skill we used to have but we lost along the way because we didn't use it. We keep training our people in what we call the military operations in urban terrain, MOUT. But we seldom use it, we never use it, so we stopped teaching our people at the Marawi camp. So now we have to reacquire that skill plus the necessary equipment that goes with it.
https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2018/06/martial-law-no-ready-reserve-ammunition.html
It's understandable if most Filipinos are ignorant of the facts because the media does not dwell on them at all. They drop a bombshell story like prior knowledge of the Marawi siege and then they never follow up on it. The Philippine media keeps people ignorant. You have to stay on your toes and look behind the news to get the bigger picture. Who has time for that?
The AFP is always telling the public they are up to the job of putting down the insurgency. "
Irrelevant," they crow over and over about the NPA. "Six more months to defeat Abu Sayyaf," they predict. Of course the NPA continues to remain relevant and Abu Sayyaf isn't going anywhere soon. That's not to say the AFP doesn't do good work in occasionally stumbling upon weapons caches and disrupting whatever violent attacks the commies and Muslims have planned.
Intensified military and police operations against insurgents resulted in the discovery of war materiel and food cache of the New People's Army's Komiteng Larangang Guerilla (KLG) on Friday and Saturday in the hinterlands of Sitio Dayap, Barangay Punglo, Maria Aurora, this province.
Lt. Col. Reandrew P. Rubio, acting commander of 91st Infantry “Sinagtala” Battalion (91IB), Philippine Army, said the combat strike operations were conducted following the revelation of a former rebel that there is an NPA lair in the said area.
“The NPA lair can accommodate more or less 50 persons and believed to have been abandoned five months ago and what was found were two containers with rice approximately 50 kilos,” Rubio said.
He said while the troops were conducting clearing operations on Saturday, they discovered two drums containing 16 short magazines for M16, seven long magazines for M16, six magazines for AK47, six bandoleers, and two backpacks.
“I am commending the effort of the former rebel for providing relevant information that led to the recovery of said war materiel,” Rubio said.
The Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) has recovered more explosives in areas where the military and the Daesh-inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) clashed the past week, an Army official said Monday.
Maj. Gen. Diosdado Carreon, the 6ID commander, said four improvised explosive devices, bomb-making components, and mobile phones were seized during continuing combat clearing operations on Sunday in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao.
Soldiers under the 601st Infantry Brigade (601st IBde) also recovered at the clash site war materiel such as fatigue uniforms, empty shells for M16 rifles, face masks, medicine, and mobile phones.
“We continue to hunt them, there’s no letup," said Col. Jose Narciso, commander of the 601st IBde.
The PNP also say they are now ready to fight terrorism.
The regional director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) assures Boholanos and Cebuanos that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are prepared to protect them from the insurgents and insurgency threats.
Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro made the assurance amid the recent encounter in Bilar town, Bohol Province on Saturday, February 29, 2020, between the military and suspected rebels where one soldier and a suspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA) were killed.
Ferro said in a text message that in Cebu, there were no longer armed rebels because the government and the community had rejected their presence long before Bohol became insurgent-free.
“Cebu will remain insurgent free because the Cebuanos and their leaders will never be threatened by the CTG (Communist-Terrorist Groups) to be terrorized by them,” said Ferro.
The mantra of "public vigilance" in order to defeat the communists continues to be chanted throughout the nation as a key component to finally ending the insurgency.
“I am asking the local government leaders to be wary of NGOs and CSOs disguising as service-oriented groups. They will give services especially in the far-flung communities but the main agenda is to persuade and entice them to be part of the rebel group,” Uy said.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte urged Dabawenyos to cooperate with authorities to prevent incidents like the Old Davao Airport Terminal Bombing Incident which is commemorated on its 17th year anniversary today.
She said it is the reason why the culture of security is being promoted in the city.
Duterte stressed that a terror attack can victimize anyone now and in the future and that cooperation with the people in authority is a must.
Duterte said the Task Force Davao and the Davao City Police Office must be aware of any terror plot through the information coming from the people.
Hundreds of Negrenses from various localities in the province staged an indignation rally to denounce the atrocities of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s (CPP-NPA).
The gathering at the La Carlota City Public Plaza, which was supported by the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police, coincided with the interment of Captain Efren Espanto Jr., a Negrense policeman who was killed during an encounter with NPA rebels in Janiuay, Iloilo last Feb. 12.
On Feb. 25, a similar activity was held in Bago City, where a wake for Espanto was held. About 300 Negrenses have paid tribute to the slain police captain and rallied to condemn the atrocities committed by the terrorist group. It was held in front of the Manuel Y. Torres Coliseum.
“As we celebrate National Women's Month, we are reminded of how our nation’s women have played an indispensable role in the Philippine peace process,” he said.
Galvez also hailed the women who exhibit the courage to break “barriers and stereotypes.”
He also lauded them for being actively involved in “all aspects of peace-building,” which include conflict prevention and resolution, negotiation and signing of agreements, and social healing and reconciliation.
The Philippines is not the West but its fortunes
are inextricably tied to the West so it is no surprise that they would
celebrate National Women's Month which was organized
back in the 1970s by an Austrian Jewess who was also an active member
of the Communist
Party of the USA (CPUSA) and a founding member of the National Organization
of Women (NOW) named Gerda Lerner. I am sure if we look hard enough we will see that the Philippines has been swallowing the same social program as that which is being force-fed to the West which is ironic seeing as the Philippines has also been battling a 50 year war against communists. Just like the West the Philippines now has women at the frontlines
fighting terrorism.
Women members of the male-dominated Philippine Army (PA) are no longer confined to performing desk jobs but are actually doing combat duties, either as frontliners or as field commanders.
Current Army records show that six female officers are assigned as battalion commanders. They are among the 795 female officers and 3,777 women-soldiers in the PA.
Col. Ramon Zagala, Army spokesman, said the women’s deployment and assignment in top posts highlight the key role that the female officers and enlisted personnel play in the PA as it celebrates National Women’s Month.
“No woman should be left behind. Let us cultivate a space where women are confident to build on their potentials, enhance their skills, make their own choice,” Gapay said.
As Malacañang joins in the celebration of International Women’s Month, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Duterte administration has already “made significant strides to empower our women.”
What's next for the AFP? Are they going to have a Rainbow Pride Battalion like the Americans? Lower standards so women can pass the tests and join special forces? Were standards lowered for the three ladies who recently topped the PNP SWAT course?
Three female police officers of the Police Regional Office of Caraga Region (PRO-13) topped the recently-concluded Special Weapons and Tactics Course (SWAT Course).
In the graduation ceremony held on Friday (March 6), PRO-13 director, Brig. Gen. Joselito T. Esquivel Jr. cited Pat. Peachtche T. Cepeda, Cpl. Ginalyn S. Sanchez and Cpl. Romelyn T. Berido for their "excellent performance" during the course.
A total of 48 police officers from the entire region graduated from the Special Weapons and Tactics Course.
Cepeda received the Award of Excellence for having obtained the highest rating in class; Sanchez was awarded for obtaining the highest rating in individual practical drills both in pistol and rifle; and Berido for attaining the highest rating in a physical fitness test and other physical training during the course.
Esquivel commended the new graduates and urged them to "serve the people" and reminded them to live up with the motto “death before dishonor.”
Stunning and brave!
The military and police need to focus less on inclusion and more on fighting communists and Islamic terrorists. As it is they are playing catch up.
In hopes of being a credible line of defense, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Felimon Santos, Jr. admitted that the military still needs to catch-up with the latest technology.
“Magkakaroon tayo ng lahat ng...with the advanced technology, we are trying to catch up,” Santos told Politics as Usual on Tuesday.
[Translation: We will have all of the equipment with the advanced technology, we are trying to catch up.]
“We have to be a credible Armed Forces,” said Santos. “With all of this modernization program. Hopefully, we’ll attain that objective.”
Is the AFP Chief admitting that the AFP is not a credible Armed Forces? That's what it sounds like to me. What does it sound like to all those surveyed who expressed confidence that the AFP can defeat the NPA and the Islamic terrorists?
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