Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte called for a sit-down meeting on Monday with the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the commanders of the AFP’s major services — the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and the Philippine Navy; together with the chiefs and official representatives of the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Fire Management, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and officials from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd).
The meeting is the first order of the day of Duterte as OIC while President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. undertakes his state visit to Indonesia and Singapore on September 4 to 7, 2022.
The meeting also aims to strengthen existing coordination and enhance interagency cooperation on issues concerning our national security and the country’s development.
In a statement, Duterte stated that as the caretaker, she reiterated the Marcos administration’s direction towards aggressively pursuing programs and projects that will address social inequities and further propel the country’s progress post-pandemic.
“But the realization of our national aspirations could be slowed down, held up, or hostage altogether by forces motivated to derail our progress off the track. Our policy against criminals and terrorists and those that support and espouse their ideologies of violence should be hardline. We should show no mercy to criminals and terrorists,” she said.
The vice president also stated that “the Philippines will only be able to truly recover and rebuild post-pandemic and meaningfully stand with honor and pride as a nation if we successfully address threats to our security.”
She also expressed her gratitude for the security sector’s professionalism, integrity, commitment, and undying love for the country and the Filipino people.
Meanwhile, in a Special Order No. 75 released on September 4, 2022, Marcos ordered Duterte to “act as OIC to take care of the day-to-day operations in the Office of the President and oversee the general administration of the Executive Department and shall if necessary, act for and on behalf of the President, except on matters that the President is required by the Constitution to act in person, during the time that the President is outside the Republic of the Philippines from Sept. 4 to 7, 2022.”
