President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. commended Thursday the Joint Task Force (JTF) Tawi-Tawi for helping the government attain peace in Mindanao, resulting in enhanced tourism and business activities in the region.
Speaking before troops of the 2nd Marine Brigade and JTF Tawi-Tawi in Bongao town, President Marcos said he was able to visit Mindanao because of the present peace in the region which his predecessors didn’t experience during their tenure.
“But because of the efforts of all our personnel in the Task Force, we have now come to the situation where it is peaceful enough now,” he told the soldiers of the 2nd Marine Brigade.
“Ngayon, imbes na naglalabanan, ang labanan ngayon dito pagandahan na ng resort. That is a very big achievement and the part that you played in that is a very major part. So congratulations for the good work and for a job well done,” he stated.
But the military’s mission is not over, he said, noting the soldiers have to transform themselves from warfighters to peacemakers as the nation marches toward development.
While the military’s primary mission is to thwart attempts to topple the government, security personnel have an obligation to advance peace by giving insurgents the opportunity to return to the fold of the law.
“Kasama na ngayon sa mission natin ay ‘yung patuloy na peace-making para bigyan natin ng pagkakataon ang mga fighters, ang mga dating fighers na magkaroon ng mas magandang buhay na hindi sila nakatago sa bundok, hindi sila laging gutom,” he said.
“At tayo naman bilang pamahalaan ay gagawin natin lahat upang mabigyan sila ng pagkakataon para iwanan na nila ang kanilang mga armas, iwanan na nila ang kanilang kampo at magkaroon na sila ng magandang buhay,” he stressed.
As the Marines performed war-fighting mission to an excellent degree, he urged them to adopt the peace-making part of their goal to the same level.
Marcos was in Tawi-Tawi to lead the distribution of government aid to farmers and fisherfolk affected by El Nino phenomenon and assess the needs of families in the country’s isolated areas. PND