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Saturday, July 08, 2006
No plan to abolish Marines: Armed Forces chief
ARMED Forces Chief Generoso Senga on Friday dismissed reports about a plan to abolish the Philippine Marines, an elite unit under the Philippine Navy whose officers have become restless against the government.
Senga revealed that there are even plans by the military to upgrade the capability of battalions under the Marine Corps through the military’s battalion upgrade program.
Military sources said an intelligence official proposed the abolition of the Marine Corps during a meeting after the February 26 standoff at the Marine headquarters, also in Fort Bonifacio, led by bemedalled Colonel Ariel Querubin.
The meeting was supposedly presided over by National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales. The source said the proposal, which already reached Malacañang, was welcomed by those present, including Gonzales.
“There is no proposal in the Armed Forces to abolish the Marines. The Marines is a very important part of the Armed Forces. We are not thinking of anything like that at all, it will always be a part of the Armed Forces,” said Senga.
Senga said the military however is looking at the possibility of the Marines working in tandem with the Navy Fleet in the conduct of operations against “internal security threats”, particularly in far-flung areas.
“The Philippine Marines is also among the beneficiary of the battalion of excellence program wherein the infantry battalions of the Army and the battalion landing teams of the Marines will be retrained,” said Senga.
Senga said under the battalion retraining program, Marine and Army soldiers will be provided with new equipment to improve their capability in fighting groups and people considered as “internal security threats”. (VR/Sunnex)
(July 8, 2006 issue)
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