ASUNCION, Davao del Norte (PIA) – – “Panahon na magkaisa talaga tayo,” said the newly installed commander of the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command, Maj. Gen. Luis Rex D. Bergante, in his message during the opening of the Former Rebel Summit conducted on June 27 at the 60th Infantry Battalion.
Gen. Bergante urged former rebels to go beyond factional thinking and to think holistically as part of the Filipino nation.
“Yong bansa na mas malaki sa atin, ngayon kinukuha ang atin; kinukuha ng China yong palaisdaan ng mga Pilipino,” he told the former rebels, referring to the incidents at the West Philippine Sea (WPS), which China also claims as part of their maritime territory.
[A bigger nation is getting what is ours; China is taking our fishing ground from the Filipinos.]
He also made them understand that the responsibility to defend the Philippine territory lies in the hands of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which includes the Philippine Army, but they have not fully done so for a long time as they have been engaged in ending the local communist armed conflict for more than 50 years.
In a separate interview with the media, Bergante said that the entire AFP is now shifting focus externally to defend the Philippine territory due to the pressing concern at the WPS, and solving the internal security threats would strengthen its external defense positioning.
“Pag yong ating Armed Forces, Philippine Army, Philippine Navy, will not be already involved in the internal security, makaka-focus na tayo sa external defense, at ang dami nating capability na kulang sa 50 years na involved tayo sa internal security, puro internal, napabayaan natin yong ating capability to address external threats,” he said.
[If the Armed Forces, Philippine Army, and Philippine Navy are not already involved in internal security, we can then focus on external defense, and there are a number of needed capabilities to address external threats that have been left unattended as we have been involved in internal security for 50 years.]
Meanwhile, Bergante asked the former rebels to understand that they would eventually be affected in the long run despite their distance from the WPS because, he said, other resources in the WPS, such as marine products and fossil fuels, are generally beneficial for all Filipinos.
He told them to make their respective lives even better upon receiving the financial benefits from the government through the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) and other direct assistance intended for them to start their livelihood.
“Sana ating tandaaan na katagal tagal na, sa kahaba-haba ng pakikipaglaban natin sa isa’t isa, panahon na magkaisa talaga tayo,” he told them, urging them to also think of how they can help the government.
[I hope we will remember that, as we have been fighting with each other for a long time, it’s now time that we should really unite.]
Meanwhile, Bergante wanted the FR to develop and acquire skills for their sustained livelihood and to get themselves educated to gain lasting means of mainstreaming themselves in society.
“Kung baga hindi tayo magbibigay ng isda [It’s just that, we won’t be giving fish]. We will teach our fellow Filipinos how to fish, para ang impact niya ay mas longer [so the impact will be much longer],” he said in a media interview.
He called on the national line agencies to reinvigorate their delivery of services and sustain the whole-of-nation approach of integrating government services for the benefit of the former rebels. (JMDA/ PIA Davao Region)
