BBM to troops: 'We're not waging war'

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday said the Philippines is not waging war despite «external threats» facing the country.

In his speech during his camp visit to the Army's 10th Infantry Division in Mawab, Davao de Oro, the President said the country's military needed to boost its capabilities as it transitioned from internal operations to an external defense posture.

«Now, I am sure that all of you are aware now that the internal threat has been reduced. We now have to also think about the external threat and that again is a different strategy that we will have to employ,» Marcos said.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr, on Thursday vowed to provide the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) with the necessary resources, training, and equipment to enhance its effectiveness. PCO Photo

«But we in the civilian government and together with the military commanders are doing all that we can to make sure that our men and women [in military] are completely capacitated,» he added.

The President said bolstering the capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) did not mean that the Philippines was going to war.

«We are not going to war against anybody. We do not want to put ourselves into anything. We are just being defensive and we are only defending our country,» Marcos said.

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«That is the new threat that we are facing but like what I said, if you were able to do this for the internal threat, I am confident that you can also do it for what we call external threats,» he added.

Marcos said the military has to transition so it could continue performing its mandate to promote the safety of the people and the security of Philippine territory against emerging threats.

He said soldiers would have a partner in the civilian government.

«We will do everything so that you have the capability… to do the job… that you have to face. You have the capability. You have the training. You have the equipment and that we will be able to present at least a deterrent force,» he said.

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The President also urged the soldiers to be peacekeepers by encouraging communist insurgents to return to the fold of the law.

The Philippines is adopting a paradigm shift in