Arroyo thanks soldiers for loyalty to her

By Ronron
December 21, 2007

On the celebration of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) 72nd anniversary Friday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo thanked the soldiers for staying loyal to her last November 29 amidst calls by opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Army Brig. Gen. Danilo for them to defect.

Arroyo said she believes 99 percent of the AFP’s strength consists of “the good, the exceptional, loyal in loving the country, and those who are willing to fight to protect the country day by day.”

“I would like to congratulate all our soldiers, in behalf of the Filipino people, and thank you for your honest service to the Philippine nation,” Arroyo said in a speech.

The President said what Trillanes, Lim and their companions did last November 29 revealed “just how out of touch they are with the hopes and dreams of the average Filipino.”

Calling the group of Trillanes and Lim as “few desperate men,” Arroyo said “their actions merely are fueled for selfish motives, for personal gain.”

“Filipinos want political stability, a bright economic future and social justice. The actions of those misguided men undermine each and every one of the genuine aspirations of real Filipinos,” she said.

“But in the end, because of you, together with the police and the citizenry, the rule of law prevailed,” she went on.

Arroyo said Trillanes and company will be punished according to law, saying that “the transgressors will not hold this nation hostage with impunity.”

“Justice shall be served and the interest of the people upheld,” she said.

AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., in a separate speech on the same occasion, called the group of Trillanes as no different from communist rebels who are “ready to sacrifice the common good just to quench their thirst for power.”

The chief executive said the people should not put to waste the “current surge of the economy,” which, she said, “has reached a new level of stability and maturity,” citing for example the seven percent growth rate.”

“If we have seven percent growth today, if we have a 12.7-billion (peso) surplus today, it’s in large part because of you , the men and women in uniform, are 100 percent behind the Constitution and our democracy,” she said.

Arroyo went on to encourage the soldiers to be “all true to our God, faithful to our values and loyal to our nation.”

She reminded them that her administration has not taken them for granted, particularly with their benefits and requirements on the field.

Arroyo mentioned the purchase and upgrade of Huey helicopters; upgrade of the V150 Light Armory Power System for the Marines; the acquisition of light-utility and night-attack helicopters; and, the purchase of squad automatic weapons, night-fighting systems, military trucks, and Harris radios, among others.

She said her administration also addressed the medical needs of soldiers through the Forward Field Medical Support System, and the upgrade of military hospitals like the Camp Aquino Station Hospital, the Cavite Naval Station Hospital, the Camp Capinpin Station Hospital, Trauma Hospital in Jolo, Sulu, Camp Siongco Station Hospital in Cotabato, Camp Navarro General Hospital in Zamboanga City, and the Camp Bautista Station Hospital in Sulu.

“These are all for the soldiers, for their families and the surrounding community,” Arroyo said.

She also bragged about her order to raise the salary of the soldiers when she became President, and the raise of the combat pay incentive which is now P150 per day, of the subsistence allowance by P30 per day, and of the hazard pay by P120 per month.

“An essential part of building a modern nation in these trying times is to have a military as strong and modern as the nation it serves,” Arroyo said./DMS