AFP, Canada hold 5-day defense mgmt. course

AFP public affairs office chief, Col. Noel Detoyato, in a message to reporters, said the DRMC is organized around four inter-related themes –Managing Defense Resources, Military Personnel and Force Deployment, Preparing and Employing Military Forces, and Defense Procurement. (PNA file photo)

MANILA — To gain a better grasp of resource management within the defense sector, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) together with Canadian Ministry of Defense and Canadian Armed Forces, on Monday started the five-day Defense Resource Management Course (DRMC) in Makati City.

AFP public affairs office chief, Col. Noel Detoyato, in a message to reporters, said the DRMC is organized around four inter-related themes –Managing Defense Resources, Military Personnel and Force Deployment, Preparing and Employing Military Forces, and Defense Procurement.

“This course aims to teach its student officers from various participating countries the core economic management concepts utilized in the Western National Defense Headquarters,” said Brig. Gen. Francisco Mendoza Jr., AFP assistant deputy chief-of-staff for education and training.

The DRMC was attended by 38 senior military officers and civilian staff in the defense sector from the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Singapore, and Nepal.

The course employed a building block approach in learning, tapping the prior knowledge of the student and using it as leverage as the class moved toward more complex ideas.

“This is an appropriate method in engaging our middle and upper level managers and key leaders. We are expecting that at the end of the course, we will have a fuller grasp of the integrated and corporate nature of defense management at the strategic level,” Mendoza said.

The training was facilitated by highly experienced practitioners from Canada who offered first-hand knowledge and experience in training officers from various countries.

“I am certain that all armed forces involved in this endeavor, regardless of the national goals and objectives they embody, strive to become the most credible and most resilient. I encouraged participants to continue to help one another to develop competencies in having formal knowledge on defense budgeting processes and managing defense resources,” Mendoza said.