MANILA – With the military about to play a more active role in law enforcement operations especially in the neutralization of the illegal drugs trade, newly-appointed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Ricardo Visaya assured the public they will be guided by the rule of law while performing these operations.
“In all these the AFP will always be guided by the principles of transparency, accountability and adherence to human rights, international humanitarian law and the rule of law. These values will never be lost despite massive change in the way we think and operate,” he added.
Earlier, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said he is mobilizing the AFP to help the Philippine National Police in its campaign to eradicate criminality in the country.
Visaya is a member of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1983, took command of the 125,000-strong AFP last July 1.
He replaced classmate Lt. Gen. Glorioso Miranda who served as acting AFP chief since April.
“Therefore the AFP will continue to seek the support and cooperation of the entire Filipino nation as we aggressively pursue the path towards transformation, as change is coming we wil first embrace it from within and then, help others so we can all create a societal order that is anchored on a platform of discipline and unity,” Visaya added.
“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 weed AFP personnel using illegal drug-users and those with links with illegal groups and activities.
“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.
“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,” Visaya added.