GMA thanks AFP for keeping Pinoys safe

Source: Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines - In her last appearance as commander-in-chief at the graduation rites of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), President Arroyo paid tribute to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for making Filipinos safer than ever.

Mrs. Arroyo told the new graduates of PMA Class 2010 that they would have to build on what their seniors have achieved in the defense and security of the nation.

“In the lawless provinces of the south, we have brought stability and peace through a combination of strict military hard power and the effective use of soft development tools, namely the building of roads, bridges and schools and ports to lift up the local economy,” the President told the new AFP officers.

“I trust that you, the new officers of our Armed Forces, will apply the same hard and soft power to achieve lasting peace in Mindanao and other insurgency affected areas,” she added.

The President admitted that lasting peace in the region has yet to be achieved and that she took heavy political risks to broker a final peace pact with the separatist rebels.

She cited the case when the government in 2008 decided to scuttle the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) because of constitutional issues raised before the Supreme Court.

The agreement would have brought the government closer to a final peace pact with the MILF, considering that the issue of ancestral domain was the most contentious.

Smarting from the SC rejection of what could be considered a preliminary peace deal with the rebels, the government decided to adopt a local approach to the peace process with the participation of the communities concerned.

Mrs. Arroyo said the international community has also been playing an active role in the peace process.

“We have brought together an amazing international consensus to aid the process from the outside. Japan, Australia, the US, England, the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) nations, Malaysia and so many others now have a vested interest in peace in Mindanao,” Mrs. Arroyo said.

In dealing with the communist insurgents and the Abu Sayyaf extremists, on the other hand, Mrs. Arroyo said stronger intelligence gathering and sharing of the country’s armed service has significantly weakened these groups.

“As a result we have narrowed the layer of hardcore terrorists in the south and continued to limit and confine the communist insurgency which is sputtering on empty fumes,” the President said.

“As a result of all this, the people are safer than ever. We thank your seniors in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.”

In her speech, Mrs. Arroyo vowed to put in place a new curriculum for the PMA that would focus on technology.

Mrs. Arroyo said PMA’s curriculum used to be focused on engineering and it was only in 1996 that this was pared down.

“Because I remember also the alumni saying that they would have preferred less engineering and more communication skills, and now we’re giving that to our cadets,” the President said.

“But at the same time we must recognize that in today’s world, a strong education must be accompanied by a strong backbone in technology to build the mind and connect to the world,” she added.

Mrs. Arroyo said a committee that would be led by Dr. Consuelo Estepa of the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School would do a review of the PMA’s curriculum.

“This should result in a new curriculum for the next batch of entrants and I instruct Admiral (Leonardo) Calderon to make sure that this new curriculum should emphasize technology the way engineering was emphasized in the 1990s and earlier,” the President said.

Mrs. Arroyo said she would push for better technological infrastructure and education in the PMA and the other institutions during her last few months in office.

“While we are proud of what our government has achieved, past achievement is only as good as the ability of the nation to continue to grow and prosper. We fervently desire that the progress we have made will not stop and what remains to be done will be picked up by you, the next generation of leaders, our graduates of class 2010,” the President said.