Public urged to support AFP in winning peace vs insurgents

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) urged the public to support the military in winning the peace against insurgents.

AFP chief Gen Jessie Dellosa issued the call during a meeting with 72 delegates from different government and private sectors in the country. The meeting was also attended by high-ranking military officers and members of the AFP Joint Staff in the 17th Executive Course on National Security (ECNS) last week at the AFP General Headquarters conference room.

“We are not, and we should not be, alone in winning the peace and end insurgency in our country. We have our stakeholders to consider. And that is why, our IPSP is centered on engaging our various stakeholders to do their share, because we believe that peace and stability is everybody’s concern,” Dellosa said.

For the past weeks, the communist New People’s Army rebels staged attacks in various areas, leaving soldiers and civilians dead and wounded.

Headed by retired Air Force Col. Antonio Matias, the delegates convened with Team AFP to discuss the military’s role on enhancing national security and the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP).

Col. Isidro Purisima, chief of the Research and Doctrine Division of the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, delivered the briefing on the roles and functions played by the AFP to enhance national security through the promotion of the IPSP Bayanihan “whole of nation” and “people-centered” principles.

The ECNS, which is designed for local executives, government officials, military and police officers, and private sector managers, is organized annually by the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP).

“It aims to provide the delegates a comprehensive understanding of the theory and practice of national security,” Purisima added.

The 17th ECNS is divided into four modules, including the National Security Framework, which provides the foundations, basic concepts and principles of national security and analyzes the various dimensions of national security and how they are interrelated.

Other key issues include poverty, social reforms and good governance to update and re-tool national security leaders to effectively respond to emerging security challenges.

The ECNS further attempts to examine the IPSP and formulate courses of action for implementation within the national security framework.

It is also intended to be interactive, analytical, and skills-oriented, utilizing a combination of lectures, syndicate discussions and workshops.

Established on Aug. 12, 1963, the NDCP is the government’s premier education institution for training and research on defense and security. For the past 48 years, the college has pursued its vision of becoming a highly reputable and doctrinal center for national defense and security, strategic thinking and leadership.

“In order for us to be fully capable in performing our role in the external defense of the country, we must first see to it that there is peace and stability within our own territory,” Dellosa said.

“This is when the participation of other stakeholders becomes very helpful in further promoting the ‘whole-of-nation’ and ‘multi-stakeholder’ principles of the IPSP Bayanihan,” he said.