AFP lists ways Filipinos can help defend PHL sovereignty

Filipinos may help defend the country’s sovereignty through means other than fighting, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Monday.

AFP Chief Of Staff General Romeo Brawner made the remarks following an OCTA Research survey showing that 77% or three out of four Filipinos expressed willingness to fight for the Philippines.

One of the ways to prepare for possible external threats is undergoing the Reserve Officer Training Course (ROTC) or joining the Reserve Corps for citizens to be trained in military tactics, according to Brawner.

Filipinos may likewise extend assistance by excelling in their chosen fields that may be useful in case of emergencies, such as the medical field or engineering.

Brawner also said individuals or organizations may donate resources to the country’s overall defensive campaign and may also help by echoing the Philippines’ call against other countries’ illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive tactics, particularly in the West Philippine Sea.

“The ways by which we can help defend our country, other than fighting, are only bounded by our imagination,” said Brawner.

“Let us take the result of the survey as a call to action and prepare for when we are called upon by the government to defend the State,” he said.

Based on the December 2023 Fourth Quarter Tugon ng Masa (TNM) Survey, a large majority of Filipinos expressed willingness to defend the country should a conflict erupt with a foreign enemy.

At least 60%, or six of 10 respondents, were willing to fight across major study areas. Mindanao posted the highest rate at 84%, while the lowest percentage was seen in the Visayas at 62%.

Among socioeconomic classes, respondents in Class D were the most willing at 80%. Class E and Class ABC respondents were nearly tied at 68% and 67%, respectively.

The study was conducted from December 10 to 14 last year using a sample size of 1,200 adult Filipinos with a ±3% margin of error.

It was commissioned by the AFP.

The December 10 to 14, 2023 study period commenced promptly after a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel fired a water cannon at ships of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources headed to Scarborough Shoal.

The next day, December 10, the CCG water cannoned Philippine vessels on a regular rotation and resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. was on board one of the vessels, the Unaizah Mae (UM) 1, which was rammed by a CCG vessel. — DVM, GMA Integrated News