PGMA's Remarks during the 56th Foundation Anniversary of the Philippine Air Force

Col. Jesus Villamor Air Base Parade Ground, Pasay City (02 July 2003)
Thank you very much, Secretary Angelo Reyes.

Troop commander, General Nanong, give the troops 'Tikas Pahinga.'

Lieutenant General Nestor Santillan and Mrs. Santillan; AFP Chief of Staff, General Abaya; Acting Commanding General of the Philippine Army, Major General Abu; Vice Commander of the Philippine Air Force, Major General Ugali; PNP Chief of Staff, Director General Ebdane; Acting FOIC, Rear Admiral de Los Reyes; Former Commanding Generals of the Philippine Air Force; distinguished members of the diplomatic corps; foreign Armed Forces attaches; the AFP Deputy Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Carolina; the former Armed Forces Chiefs of Staff; Press Secretary Milton Alingod; mga magigiting na piloto, airmen at lahat na bumubuo ng hukbong himpapawid ng Pilipinas, binabati ko at ng buong bansa kayong lahat sa pagdiriwang ng inyong anibersaryo.

Fifty six years old ang Philippine Air Force. Sa Armed Forces of the Philippines, kapag 56 years old, nagre-retire na. Pero ang Philippine Air Force, sa inyong 56th birthday, second wind ang ating pinagdidiriwang. Second wind because the program is to provide you with additional aircraft. Ang gagaling kasi ng ating mga piloto kaya lang kulang ang eroplano at helicopter. 'Yan ang ating gagamutin. 'Yan ang ibig sabihin ng bagong buhay ng Philippine Air Force.

Binabati ko rin ang mga binigyan ng parangal sa pagdiriwang na ito. Indeed, we have seen in Buliok, in Batangas, in Mindanao, in many other places that you have been a resourceful, imaginative and resilient team.

Indeed, we must be one team. Hindi lamang ang air force kung hindi na rin ang buong Pilipinas. Kailangan ang buong bansa ay higit na alerto at makiisa sa giyera kontra sa terorismo at giyera kontra sakriminalidad.

Tungkol sa NPA, we shall combine military action with political and legal action to meet this renewed threat. As we move against NPA units, we shall step up legal action against all personalities of the national democratic front ostensibly engaged in democratic struggle but clandestinely leading and abetting the overthrow of government by force and violence.

I'm directing our military and civilian intelligence agencies to further document and expose the web of deception spun by the NDF, the CPP and the NPA -- their engagement in terroristic acts and their links with terrorist organizations. We shall bring evidence before the courts as well as the proper international venues so that we can further curtail the movement of NDF-CPP-NPA leaders, funds and materiel.

I'm also directing the government peace panel in prospective peace talks with the MILF to take up the matter of reported tactical alliances between the MILF and the NPA, and put an end to it. We will combine all necessary measures to stop this threat and defeat it by the use of force, political action and long-term social reforms.

Tungkol naman sa MILF, we are now moving in a calibrated way towards peace talks. We will continue to stabilize the situation on the ground, return the evacuees home, and move towards substantive negotiations. We need everybody's vigilance and support. The fight against terrorism and the enforcement of the law in all places shall be undiminished.

In our fight against drugs, we will call in the military to supplement police operations and PDEA operations whenever necessary, replicating in our anti-illegal drugs campaign the interoperability of police and military forces under the leadership of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. As you have played a key role in this campaign uprooting the plantations, you will continue to play a key role in this campaign.

Your awardee this year received an award -- one of your awardees that is -- for uprooting marijuana plantations in Mindanao.

Today, I held a command conference in Marawi on drugs. Marawi is our most noted Islamic city. I wanted to bring home the message to our Muslim brothers that this war against drugs is as much their own as it is of the entire nation. There have been growing tie ups between terrorist groups and drug syndicates in Mindanao, and it's about time we meet these deadly conspiracies head on.

I appreciate very much the commitment of the Muslim communities to exercise vigilance and action against illegal drugs and I asked them to extend their vigilance to all the urban centers in the country where they have a presence. As this effort should be non-partisan, it should not be divided by ethnic and religious lines. Every Filipino must own this campaign.

But even as we proceed, kahit na tayo ay masigasig na lumalaban sa droga, kailangan naman natin gawin ito sa ilalim\ ng batas. Hindi tayo pumapayag sa mga vigilante.

We condemn in strongest terms the slay attempt against Go Teng Kok. The authorities are already investigating the incident, and we shall bring the perpetrators to justice. Rogue justice has no place in our society.

Kaya ako ay nasisiyahan sa ginagawa ng ating Philippine Air Force. Sa ilalim ng rule of law, karapatang pantao, rules of engagement ng mga bansang sibilisado, ang Philippine Air Force ay matagumpay na lumaban sa Sulu, sa Sultan Gumander, sa Buliok, sa Batangas, sa Siocon at mga iba't-ibang lugar na sakop sa ating punitive action.

Gaya ng sinabi ni General Santillan, ang galing ng inyong intelligence work ay lumitaw noong naaresto ang leader ng Abu Sayyaf na si Abdulmukim Edris, 'yung nag-ensayo sa Al Qaeda. At sa kanyang pag-aresto, naiwasan ang pagbomba ng embahadang Amerikano at iba't-ibang lugar ng kalakalan. Maging si President Bush ay tumawag upang batiin tayo sa nagawa ninyo.

Kaya nararapat lamang na bigyan kayo ng dagdag na aircraft. Kahapon, nadagdagan ng isang C-130 -- 'yung nandoon, 'yung nakalagay number 5495. At sa loob nitong buwan, may darating na tatlong helicopter. At eto na nga, mamaya pagkatapos ng ating selebrasyon dito sa entablado, pupunta tayo doon dahil tatapunan natin ng champagne itong bagong -- hindi naman bago -- naging bagong apat na aircraft. 'Yung C-130 ay good as new. Kakagaling lamang ngayon sa Malaysia. 'Yung tatlong mas maliliit na aircraft mismo ang ating mga maintenance ng Philippine Air Force ay nagpabago sa kanila. At talagang napaka-kailangan natin itong mga bagong aircraft. Nagpapasalamat tayo diyan sa isang C-130ng dumating kahapon. Nagpapasalamat tayo sa tatlong helicopter na darating itong buwan ngunit noong ako ay pumunta sa Amerika, sinabi ko, 'yung aking magigiting na Air Force, hindi lang dapat tinitingi ang binibigay sa atin. Nararapat, karapat-dapat sa ating matatapang na Armed Forces na Squadron ang binibigay sa atin. Hindi, Squadron ang binibigay sa inyo. Kaya noong ako ay pumunta sa Washington ay... Ang Amerika, si President Bush, nilagay doon sa aming joint communique na bibigyan tayo ng mga dagdag na helicopter. Ilan? Tatlumpung dagdag na helicopter. Dalawampu para sa labanan at sampu na magagamit natin para sa ating maintenance. Ngunit, hindi pa 'yon sapat. Salamat at binibigyan tayo ng Amerika, pero palagay ko, hindi rin dapat umasa lamang sa mga regalo, dapat pinaggagastusan ang Philippine Air Force kaya inatasan ko rin ang Philippine Air Force, ang Armed Forces na bumili pa ng dalawampu pang mga helicopter. Inaatasan ko ang modernization board na apurahin ang anunsyo ng bidding. At ayon sa ating mga magigiting na bituin sa front row, sa loob ng isang buwan ay magagawa na 'yung bidding para makabili tayo ng dalawampung helicopter para sa ating sandatahang himpapawid.

Gusto kong batiin si General Santillan dahil nga pinapakita niya na marunong naman tayo din sa maintenance, kasi 'yon ang pinupuna sa atin. At gusto ko ring batiin siya dahil nga 'yung nalakad niyang makakakuha tayo ng sampu pang OV-10 na eroplano mula sa Thailand. Eto, noong ako ay pupunta sa, saan ba 'yon? Sa SARS summit ba 'yon, santi? Sinabi ni General Santillan sa akin, "Ma'am, makikita n'yo si Prime Minister Thaksin, sinabi sa akin ng aking counterpart na kung kakausapin n'yo si Prime Minister Thaksin, dahil mayroon silang sampung hindi na gagamitin na eroplano, ay ibibigay na lang sa atin." kaya tinawagan ko si Prime Minister Thaksin, at noong nagkita nga kami doon sa SARS summit, kinumpirma niya. Kaya 'yung unang apat na ov-10 ay ihahatid mismo ni Prime Minister Thaksin sa Pilipinas sa Setyembre.

At sa ibabaw ng marami pang mga... Sa kanyang sariling inisyatibong renirecover niya, isang importanteng recovery ay 'yung isang S-76 para sa task force malampaya, at ang gastos nito ay 70 million pesos. As good as new paglabas nitong recovering ito.

Kailangan talaga ninyo ang mga air assets para palakasin ang institusyon ng Air Force. At kailangan malakas ang mga institusyon ng ating bansa para lumakas ang ating republika.

I thank you for your Anniversary motto: "Spreading the wings and braving the odds for a strong republic." ako nga iniisip ko ang aking trabaho -- the presidency. The presidency is a pilot's job. Once you take off, you can't park on the clouds. You have to set your destination and stay the course no matter what you encounter up there.

And so, I thank you, the men and women of the Philippine Air Force, for steadfastly helping me pilot the Philippine republic.

Happy anniversary sa inyong lahat!

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