00:00With eyes on rising tensions in national defense, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. stepped into the command center of the AFP,
00:08bringing with him not just policy but purpose, from strategic victories to territorial vigilance.
00:14The commander-in-chief laid out the mission to protect the Philippines, stay the course, and never let provocation steer the nation off principle, as our Patrick DeJesus reports.
00:25President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. himself led the 2025 Mid-Year Command Conference of the Armed Forces of the Philippines at Camp Aguinaldo.
00:37Also in attendance were Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Browder Jr.,
00:44along with other officials where they discussed the ongoing operations and accomplishments of the armed forces.
00:51The commander-in-chief also emphasized his policy of protecting the Philippine territory and sovereignty without provoking conflict.
01:00If I may paraphrase the commander-in-chief in the command conference this morning, when he mentioned,
01:06and I state, we have no desire to attack anyone. On the other hand, your armed forces has every desire to ensure the integrity of the national territory.
01:19We have every desire to protect our sovereignty and our sovereign rights.
01:25In relation to this, the AFP responded to those claiming that the Philippines is merely being used as a launching pad
01:32and a pawn in the conflict between superpowers, a statement that even came from a retired military general.
01:40On being turned into another Ukraine, these statements are defeatist and alarmist.
01:50They send a wrong message, especially to the Filipino people, and even to the former men and women of the armed forces who served under these retired senior officers.
02:01The AFP called on its former members to be responsible when making such statements, especially on matters involving the West-Philippine Sea.
02:11There are still a few mouthpieces in the Philippines, Filipino mouthpieces, that have been speaking out the discourse or the narrative of the Chinese Communist Party.
02:21This is very unbecoming of a Filipino. Freedom of expression must be based on truth. It must be based on fact. It must be based on the national interest.
02:31The AFP also reiterated that no foreign country dictates the Philippines actions and that activities conducted with other nations reflect their support for the country.
02:43We will not be dictated by any foreign power by any country, not even the United States of America.
02:51Their support for us, the support of other European powers, of other countries for the Philippine stand on the West-Philippine Sea,
02:58is based on shared values for freedom of navigation, for international law, and for sovereignty and sovereign rights.
03:08Patrick De Jesus, from the National TV, for a new and better Philippines.
