President’s brief visit boosts morale of troops in Sulu, military official

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s brief visit to the troops in Sulu on Monday amid the COVID-19 pandemic gave a big boost to the morale of the troops, according to Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, chief of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).

Sobejana said Duterte braved the pandemic by visiting troops in Sulu on Monday afternoon.

“He met and talked with the troops and left afterwards,” Sobejana said.

“He boosted the morale of the troops. Just the idea of having our President visiting you, finding ways to see his men on the ground, strengthens and cheers up our troops,” Sobejana added, speaking partly in Filipino.

Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., commander of Joint Task Force Sulu, said Duterte arrived around 3:30 p.m. and talked 40 minutes with the troops before leaving.

His initial schedule was set for 5 p.m., but he arrived earlier and had a brief talk with the troops on the ground.

“Our troops feel indispensable whenever the commander-in-chief visits Sulu,” Vinluan said.

He said the President had earlier expressed sympathy over the loss of four soldiers in a shooting incident in June and assured that justice would prevail.

He said the President vowed to make sure that truth would come out and hoped that the incident would not affect the relationship between the AFP and the PNP, Vinluan said.

The President hoped to eliminate the local terrorist groups in Sulu before his term ends.

“He acknowledged Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan in the audience, urging him to support the Joint Task Force Sulu and our peace and security missions,” Corleto said.

He said the Presidential Security Group did not allow the military and local government officials to shake hands with Duterete.

/atm