By Priam F. Nepomuceno
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Gen. Jessie Dellosa said on Saturday he wants the country's
military reserve units to play a larger role on the country's defense affairs.
In line with this, Dellosa has issued an order calling for a strategic review of the AFP Reserve Force Development Program to ensure synchrony between the military’s active and reserve forces in their roles in
internal security operations and territorial defense.
Dellosa also instructed the AFP Reserve Command to give priority to the development of the reservists as territorial forces for internal peace and security, and make community-based reservists the backbone of the military's first responders in the event of calamities and natural disasters.
“Our reservists must form part of the integrated territorial defense system in peacetime or the sustainment phase of our Internal Peace Security Program (IPSP) "Bayanihan" campaign. Thus, we must endeavor to have our reservists ready to perform a variety of physical as well as psychological deterrence roles, and support civil authorities for peace and development,†the AFP chief stressed.
Dellosa added there should also be a territorial defense dimension to this order as the regular-reserve force-mix in the locality serves as the nucleus of the centers of resistance of the total Army which, he said, is “a strategic deterrence to foreign invasion or occupation.â€
The AFP chief said that this is relevant to IPSP "Bayanihan" as this comes at a time when the
Philippines is shifting its focus on internal security operations to territorial defense.
At the same time, Dellosa also highlighted the improved security conditions of provinces in Central Visayas which led to the transition of the AFP Reserve Force from being under-utilized to being one of the preservers of the internal security operation (ISO) gains.
“With the improved security conditions that led to the declaration of Cebu,
Bohol and Siquijor as insurgency-free areas, there is a need for the AFP Reserve Force to take a more organized and active role in the preservation of the gains of ISO. We should not solely rely on our active force component to perform territorial functions as our battalions are primarily tactical maneuver units that our commanders can re-deploy for force projection or mass forces in priority areas,†he said.
The AFP chief also said that the expertise and skills of technicians, managers and professionals can be a source of innovation that can further propel the military's reform initiatives.
“Indeed, at this time when the armed forces need all the help that it can get to fulfill its security mandate, rethinking our reservist program is a strategic step,†he said.
Dellosa also expressed his objective of confronting the challenge of enhancing the main source of the reservists, the Reserve Officer Training Corps or ROTC Program.
“We need to discard the same frameworks and reclaim the pride and prestige of the ROTC among our youth, and the reserve force program in general. We must strengthen the pool from where the AFP generates majority of its officers and enlisted personnel, as well as reservists in other vital sectors in our society. The AFP must ensure that the ROTC program is managed properly and strategically, for it will undoubtedly impact on the quality of our citizenry, and the kind of society we will have in the future,†Dellosa said.
AFP’s reserve units is primarily represented by the AFP Reserve Command located inside Camp Aguinaldo.
It is one of the military’s Major Support Commands created for the sole purpose of Reserve Force management, procurement, and organization.
Its mission is to develop, organize, train, equip, and administer AFP-affiliated and technical service reservists into capable, responsive and mobilizeable reserve force as an integral component of the AFP in the defense of the state and to participate in socio-economic development efforts. It is also tasked to augment the regular force whenever needed.
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