Tag: DND

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Law Ending ‘Revolving-Door Policy’ Caps Lacson Legacies to AFP, DND

Sen. Ping Lacson upholds professionalism in the AFP.

A new law prescribing fixed terms for the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Chief of Staff and senior officers will cap the key legacies of Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson to the military and defense establishment.

Lacson, who chairs the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, pushed last September Senate Bill 2376, which with House Bill 10521 forms the basis of what President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law as Republic Act 11709.

“Finally, we will see an end to the revolving-door policy in the AFP. The leaders of our AFP will have the opportunity to implement their legacy programs instead of staying in office too briefly,” said Lacson, who upon graduating from the Philippine Military Academy in 1971 served in the Philippine Constabulary until 1991.

Related: Batas na Tutuldukan ang ‘Revolving-Door Policy’ ng AFP, Isa sa Mga Legacy ni Ping sa AFP, DND
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Ping, Kinwestiyon ang Panukalang Paglipat ng P35B ng AFP Modernization Fund sa SPF

Kinuwestyon ni Senador Panfilo Lacson nitong Biyernes ang panukala ng Department of National Defense (DND) na ilipat ang P35 bilyon mula sa regular budget ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) papunta sa Special Purpose Fund (SPF).

Ayon kay Lacson, ang pondong ililipat sa SPF ay magiging “lump sum” na maaaari lamang i-release kapag inaprubahan ng Pangulo.

“You are proposing that P35 billion be transferred from the regular budget to the SPF. Why is that? The SPF is used to augment the regular budget and is released only upon approval of the President. Bakit inaalis nyo sa regular budget?” tanong ni Lacson kay DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana sa pagdinig ng Senado sa panukalang badyet ng DND para sa 2022.

Related: Lacson Questions Proposed Transfer of P35B in AFP Modernization Fund to SPF
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Lacson Questions Proposed Transfer of P35B in AFP Modernization Fund to SPF

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson on Friday questioned a proposal of the Department of National Defense (DND) to transfer at least P35 billion from the regular budget of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to the Special Purpose Fund (SPF).

Lacson said such a transfer to the SPF effectively turns the amount into a “lump sum” that will be released only upon the approval of the President.

“You are proposing that P35 billion be transferred from the regular budget to the SPF. Why is that? The SPF is used to augment the regular budget and is released only upon approval of the President. Bakit inaalis nyo sa regular budget (Why do you want to remove it from the regular budget)?” he asked DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana at the Senate committee hearing on the DND’s proposed budget for 2022.

Related: Ping, Kinwestiyon ang Panukalang Paglipat ng P35B ng AFP Modernization Fund sa SPF

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On Defunding the NTF-ELCAC

Since 2016, I have been defending the budget of the Department of National Defense (DND) and all its attached agencies. Last year, I stubbornly fought to retain the P16.5-billion anti-insurgency fund of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for 2021, arguing that it was intended for development programs, activities and projects in areas that had been cleared of the presence of the New People’s Army (NPA), and not for armed anti-insurgency operations.

Early this year, the Senate approved in plenary my Committee’s recommendations on the red-tagging issue – including the immediate relief of Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. as spokesperson of NTF-ELCAC, not only because his civilian position is violative of the Constitution. He has in fact, on many occasions, become a “liability” to the overall efforts of the government, as well as the government’s position on the pending 37 petitions against the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 before the Supreme Court, mainly due to his careless remarks and flawed interpretation of certain provisions of the law.

Unfortunately, the DND has openly ignored the Senate in that regard. Thus, I am not sure if I will still defend their budget this year with the same tenacity as I did the previous years – especially if the NTF-ELCAC spokesperson continues to threaten to affect its mission with uncalled-for statements.

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Ping: Pagpapawalambisa sa UP-DND Accord, Puwede Ipagpaliban

May mga pangyayari na puwedeng pagbatayan para ipagpaliban muna ang pagpapawalambisa sa 1989 UP-DND Accord.

Ayon kay Senador Panfilo Lacson, ang listahan ng mga estudyante ng University of the Philippines na diumano’y naging miyembro ng New People’s Army (NPA) at napatay sa pakikipagsagupaan sa militar ay isa sa mga pangyayaring dapat na tingnan.

“I think it is prudent now for Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to at least suspend the termination of the UP-DND accord and hold a dialogue as he already mentioned he would do,” paliwanag ni Lacson, chairman ng Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, sa panayam ng CNN Philippines.

Ayon sa mambabatas, lumalabas na base sa maling impormasyon ang naging basehan ng DND para i-terminate ang kasunduan, dahil ang mga nasa listahan nila na diumano’y nahuli o napatay ay buhay at malaya pa pala.

“They based their decision to terminate the UP-DND accord, signed way back, on what appears now to be false information. They included personalities that they said were captured or killed in action by the military, but turned out to be alive and not captured at all,” banggit ni Lacson.

Related: Lacson: Prudent to Suspend UP-DND Accord Termination
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