MANILA – Aside from focusing military pressure on terrorist groups known to be operating in the country, newly-appointed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Ricardo Visaya vowed to intensify their support to law enforcement agencies in a bid to eliminate crime.
He made this statement during his assumption speech at the GHQ Grandstand, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon last July 1.
“Over and above our role to run after the terrorists, we will also intensify our support to law enforcement agencies, particularly the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in their mission to eliminate widespread criminality and the wanton destruction of lives brought about by the spread and use of illegal drugs,” he added.
Visaya earlier vowed to launch a “24/7 fight” against the Abu Sayyaf bandits and its allied terrorist groups in a bid to totally neutralize these lawless elements.
“We will start the same advocacy with our ranks by continuously weeding out those scalawags who use drugs, who have links with illegal groups and activities. Then we will proceed to build alliances with our counterparts to bring down syndicates and other organized crime groups,” he added.
Regarding matters of territorial defense, Visaya said the AFP will abide by the political, legal and democratic processes to settle the issue and support national policy to strengthen our position in the regional and global area.
“The AFP will rationalize our relationship with our allies in order to strengthen our military ties with them while at the same time prioritize the interest of our force and our nation,” he stressed.