Date Released: August 23, 2019 Releasing Officer: ANTHON A. CAYACO OIC, Public Affairs Service

Former uniformed personnel gather for first-ever Samahang Serbisyong Kawal Fellowship

Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana addresses the former uniformed personnel holding government positions at the “Samahang Serbisyong Kawal” Fellowship held at the AFP Commissioned Officers Club, Camp , Quezon City on August 23, 2019.

“We hope to fortify this group to facilitate easier coordination in our future endeavors and converge our efforts in order to bring greater impact on the lives of the people,” stated Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana as he addressed all retired Armed Forces of the (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel and reservists who are holding elective and appointive government positions during the Samahang Serbisyong Kawal Fellowship held at the AFP Commissioned Officers Club, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City on August 23, 2019. The event aims to forge networks among the said personnel and formulate “concrete and common agenda to collectively establish mechanisms in support for the government’s efforts to achieve lasting peace and sustainable development in the country.”

DND Press Release | Page 1 of 2

(From left) Senator Francis Tolentino, DND Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu at the “Samahang Serbisyong Kawal” Fellowship held at the AFP Commissioned Officers Club, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City on August 23, 2019.

The fellowship was held in partnership with the National Security Adviser; the Secretaries of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council; Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process; the Chairman of Metropolitan Development Authority; and the Director Generals of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency. “I hope we will not fail [President ] as he deeply values our sense of discipline, duty, urgency, integrity, and unquestionable love for country,” the Defense Chief said regarding the President’s statement on the former uniformed personnel’s obedience and integrity as rationale for appointing them to government positions. Meanwhile, Secretary Lorenzana expressed the value of experience and humility imbued among the former uniformed personnel, citing French General Charles de Gaulle’s description of the “culture of soldiering” from The Edge of the Sword in 1932. According to him, these values are owed to their sacrifices as they “ceased to be the masters of their fate” as “part and parcel of their job.” The event is expected to be a platform to facilitate synergy among the public servants for future endeavors geared towards the betterment of the Filipino people. ###

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