Loren Legarda urges fellow candidates to present platforms for national security

Three-term Senator and Senatorial Candidate Loren Legarda at the inauguration of the Office of the Dean, Corps of Professors (ODCOP) on Tuesday at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial aspirant Loren Legarda urged her fellow election 2022 candidates to present their national security platforms to the Filipinos, citing that this is important in reaching the goal of safer and more progressive recovery of the country from the pandemic.

Legarda made this statement after serving as Guest of Honor at the inauguration of the Office of the Dean, Corps of Professors (ODCOP) on Tuesday at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

“The Philippines is now at the threshold of rehabilitating from the development lags caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the demands from the bureaucracy and the military alike will be daunting,” Legarda said.

“This is the time when our defense education should deeply impart the nexus of development and security, which would redound to sustainable peace, prosperity, and general well-being.” She added.

The inauguration of the ODCOP building was significant to Legarda as she ensured the allocation of funds under the 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to construct the Corps of Professors (COP), AFP Office building during her term as the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance.

The three-term Senator stated that the institutionalization of the Corps, through the facility, has significantly contributed to competency building and career development across the command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“The construction of this academic building serves as a hallmark of excellence for the next decades to come, complemented by the superior qualifications of the professors,” Legarda said, who was a top-notch graduate of the National Defense College of the Philippines and the Command and General Staff College—the highest policy and strategy schools in the country.

Through legarda’s initiatives, members of the ODCOP, AFP, were provided with their two-storey building almost eleven years after moving to the General Headquarters in Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo in October 2011.

Three-term Senator and Senatorial Candidate Loren Legarda at the inauguration of the Office of the Dean, Corps of Professors (ODCOP) on Tuesday at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

“We have a rich pool of talents in the Corps, and it is our duty to expose these intellectual capacities to local processes and integrate these with global development by providing all opportunities that would enhance their skills and knowledge,” Legarda said.

As a full Colonel of the Philippine Air Force Reserve Command, Legarda stressed the need to make the AFP a truly resilient institution—and that the academic row, which includes the National Defense College, the Special Intelligence Training School (SITS), and the Corps of Professors, is also provided an upgrade in physical infrastructure.

Legarda also asserted that the next generation of defense and security leaders must be given adequate assistance to be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitude that would make them responsive and true to their constitutional mandate as defenders and protectors of the Filipinos.

The three-term Senator has supported additional allowances for the soldiers and other uniformed personnel. She initiated funding for the construction of the Philippine Navy Women’s quarters, the construction of the new NDCP Academic Building and new Library, and NDCP’s Staff Quarters and International Student Dormitory with amenities.

Legarda also augmented the NDCP budget to be able to take in more scholars and subsidized innovative programs like the MNSA Executive Class, which had its pilot run last year, and the Philippine Center of Excellence for Defense, Development and Security—a project of MNSA Regular Class 27 launched in 2018.

Furthermore, Legarda sponsored the increase in the allowance for all CAFGU Active Auxiliary Companies under the Department of National Defense-Philippine Army to bolster anti-insurgency operations. She also allocated funds to support medical missions and conduct a Disaster Risk Reduction Summit.

“I will continue to be your champion as we journey together in the coming days because defense and security is part of my system as a member of the AFP family,” Legarda said.

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