Leveraging the Philippines for the Philippines

A product of, as he says, various experiences and a balance of politicians and technocrats in the family while paving his own path for a better Philippines, newly appointed Secretary of Defense Gilberto Teodoro, in an interview with Karen Davila, explained that his appointment was done with the least distraction as much as possible, as national defense is not something to trifle with.

Secretary Teodoro explained in his very informative one-on-one interview that the Defense Department is a service provider and under his watch, he intends to build up his organization in order to supply the needs and wants of the five agencies (Armed Forces of the Philippines, Office of Civil Defense, Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, National Defense College of the Philippines, Government Arsenal) with the Armed Forces of the Philippines being the biggest.

Under the law, as explained by Teodoro, the defense secretary is a political officer and uses his goodwill in all sectors of government, including the private sector, to secure resources and vital linkages, as national defense is everybody’s business.

One of the most important aspects, Secretary Teodoro explained in terms of running his department, is the ability to communicate the enormous expense that is required for it, as any country “worth its salt” requires a robust defense as there is no country that can have any integrity whatsoever unless it is able to enforce its laws within its own territorial boundaries.

The present leadership is one that has matured and comes from an essence of management of a civilian agency, where the Secretary of Defense as an alter ego of the President will provide a continuous flow for the five agency clients to use and, most of all, build up our credible deterrent and, as Secretary Teodoro said, the way we build it up is our business and nobody else’s, in order to develop our own core strength.

At this point, the thrust, as the Defense Secretary said in this interview, is to leverage the Philippines for the Philippines with countries wanting to help us because they view us as an integral whole — a stand alone, standing strong nation with democratic values.

Furthermore, Secretary Gilberto Teodoro explained that the Philippines is a value proposition by its own self and not a pawn of anybody else in the geopolitical battle raging within the area today.

In terms of direction, Defense Secretary Teodoro explained in his interview that the programs that have naturally been decided by the security councils before will continue and perhaps be enhanced, while making certain that such agreements are purely for defensive purposes that must be taken seriously so that it does not result in any misinterpretation, as Philippine interests are for the Philippines.

Since today’s times have resulted in a vastly different world, the lesson as Secretary Teodoro says is to build up our own capabilities in order to ensure our safety from any world event where we cannot foresee the political developments in the region. We have to be ready as much as possible in order to foresee, predict and react so as to defend the Philippines from any geopolitical events, Teodoro explained.

As for the pension fund, Secretary Teodoro, who brings with him his expertise in the financial sector, intends to review and see what is needed in order to have a self-sustaining system, ensuring prudential standards are in place, with persons responsible for running the fund conforming to the fit and proper rule imposed by the Bangko Sentral.

Last but not least, in terms of our internal security, Secretary Teodoro expressed in his interview that the gains of the NTF-ELCAC cannot be denied and he has always been consistent in his position that rebels should go back to the fold of government and that he will be neither recommending nor resuming peace talks, as we must continue to be on guard against all forms of terrorism as the country can no longer afford any more conflicts while it continues to secure development.

Congratulations to our new Secretary of National Defense! Just like you, we were but hoping all rumors were true until it came to be so and we humbly thank the President of the Republic of the Philippines for this great opportunity in the hopes that we continue to study the issues that concern our nation well, with the purpose of developing our political maturity and strength as a country.