New Year’s Message of

DEFENSE SECRETARY GILBERTO C. TEODORO, JR.

 

Joint DND-AFP New Year’s Call on SND and CSAFP

Tejeros Hall, AFP Commissioned Officers Club

Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City   

January 4, 2008  

 

Ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant morning to each and every one of you and happy new year!

 First and foremost, let me take this opportunity to give my sincerest thanks to each and every one within the Department of National Defense family – from the undersecretaries down to our contractual employees – and the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines – from General Esperon down to our lowest ranking partner in public service – for the excellent performance which you have collectively given to the Republic of the Philippines last year. In the face of many challenges, we have performed well.

 I also wish to thank, on a personal note, each and every one of you for the warm welcome you had given me last year and the support and advice, guidance and cooperation which you continue to give me to this day.

 I also wish to thank the President for her trust and confidence in the Department and the Armed Forces of the Philippines and its collateral institutions for the total support she has given us and the trust and confidence which she continues to give us in the conduct of our sworn duties to serve the Republic of the Philippines.

 This is a special occasion to be thankful to the Divine Providence for the blessings that we received in the face of difficulties last year. It has made, to my mind, the DND and the Armed Forces stronger as the years go by and keeps us fit and more responsive to the challenges that we may face in the future.

 The Chief of Staff has said that on call of urgency, we need to focus on our duties for the year; we have to finish our missions that the President has entrusted to us with the military front. And we, at the Department of National Defense, reiterate once again that we will support the Armed Forces in the fulfillment of its mission to the fullest of our capabilities in order to achieve the instructions of the President on making insignificant the insurgency by 2010.

 I focus now on the other side of the hat, the National Disaster Coordinating Council of the Office of Civil Defense and allied agencies under the Department of National Defense to continue to work hard to build our disaster risk management capabilities in this country, which is indeed a tall order because we need not merely leverage from our own capabilities and resources, but also from those our partners in local government units whose participation is very crucial.

 Our agencies such as the Government Arsenal we have given the policy guidance that we have already planned for the modernization under the control of the DND as a solid entity. And naturally, we have to give focus to those who had risked their lives for our country selflessly – our veterans, our retirees.

 That, in a nutshell, is what we will focus on for this year. And with the support we have received last year, I am sure that we will continue to perform very well and we will attain our missions as we have planned for this year.

 Thank you once again.

 

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