MANILA, Philippines — Retired senior officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday that they are backing the presidential candidacy of Vice President Leni Robredo.
Robredo met with former PNP and AFP officials, two former spokespersons of the uniformed service — retired PNP Maj. Gen. Generoso Cerbo Jr. and retired AFP Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan for a short briefing at the Leni-Kiko Volunteer Center in Quezon City.
According to Cerbo, they are supporting the Vice President as they felt the sincerity of Robredo’s campaign slogan ‘Sa gobyernong tapat, angat buhat lahat.’
“Yung sinasabi namin, ng kampo ng vice president, sa gobyernong matapat, angat buhay ang lahat, mararamdaman natin na totoo. Hindi ito slogan lang para kumuha ng boto.” Cerbo said.
(What we and the camp of the vice president are saying, in an honest government, all lives will improve, you will feel that it is true. This is not a slogan just to get votes)
“Makikita mo sa kanya yung moral strength and integrity na kailangan natin sa mamumuno sa ating bayan sa susunod na anim na taon,” he added.
(You will see in her the moral strength and integrity that we need in the leader of our country in the next six years)
On the other hand, Retired Brig. Gen. Tutaan said that Robredo has the “program of action” to address national defense and security concerns.
“Ang kanyang programa sa seguridad is ‘isulong ang kampanya or karapatan natin sa West Philippine Sea, tutukan ang pangangailangan ng mga komunidad laban sa insurgency, this is to address the root causes of insurgency,” Tutaan said.
(Her security program is to ‘push our campaign or rights in the West Philippine Sea, to focus on the needs of communities against insurgency, this is to address the root causes of insurgency)
Tutaan also stated that they are communicating to Robredo about their sentiments regarding national security, as the Vice President wants to hear the voices of all sectors involved. “The Vice president, she’s very inclusive, she really wants to get the idea, the inputs, of all sectors’ concerns in order to come up with the best policies, guidelines, that she may have,” he said.
Tutaan further mentioned that many retired PNP chiefs and AFP chiefs of staff from Manila and the provinces are part of their group that supports Robredo.