Gen. Pio Catapang, chief-of-staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, pins medals to soldiers who took part in a military exercise in Panay Island in his visit at the Central Command in Camp Lapu-Lapu.
CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON
THE outgoing chief of the Armed Forces reminded his men to adhere to their slogan as he bade farewell to the Central Command (Centcom) in Camp Lapu-Lapu in barangay Apas, Cebu City yesterday.
Gen. Gregorio Catapang said AFP’s slogan “Kawal disiplinado. Bawal abusado. Dapat asintado (Soldiers should be disciplined, not abusive, should be on target),” should be the guiding principle of every soldier.
In his visit, Catapang pinned medals to 12 soldiers for their roles in the Balikatan 2015 and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise in Panay island.
Catapang is set to retire next month upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.
Catapang had been the AFP vice chief of staff for two months before he was appointed AFP chief in July last year. He replaced Gen. Emmanuel Bautista.
Catapang commended Gen. Nicanor Vivar, head of the Cebu Central Command, after the whole Central Visayas was declared insurgent-free.
“This is a milestone and a big accomplishment. Let’s give it to him that he accomplished his mission in his area of responsibility and maybe he is prepared for a higher position in the future,” he said in a short program at the Centcom grandstand.
Catapang said Cebu is close to his heart as he this was his first assignment.
“Cebu is now really developed and I see Cebu and the Visayas right now which are contributing more to the gross national product, all of our hardships are now paying off,” he said in his speech.
Catapang will also visit the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City, Northern Luzon in Tarlac, Eastern Mindanao Command in Davao, Western Command in Palawan and the Southern Luzon Command in Quezon.
As the outgoing chief of the AFP, he said he has high hopes with the modernization projects of the military as the budget amounting to P90 billion f has been approved.