by John Bello June 8, 2019 Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay speaks during SOLCOM and Media Fellowship Night at Camp ...
June 8, 2019
Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay speaks during SOLCOM and Media Fellowship Night at Camp Nakar in Lucena city. (JOHN BELLO) |
CAMP NAKAR, LUCENA CITY - Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM) chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay has called the print and broadcast media in Southern Luzon as ‘force multiplier’ and urged to strengthen partnership of SOLCOM with the media.
“The media is our force multiplier, just like our other stakeholders. Through the support of the media we gain public support,” Gapay told a gathering last Wednesday (June 5) of media practitioners from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon and the Bicol region which comprise the whole area of jurisdiction of SOLCOM.
Gapay in his brief speech said that “if our events are not documented and covered by the media, the public will never know.”
“Gone are the days when SOLCOM operates on a need-to-know basis. Now, I am an advocate of need to share information,’ Gapay said adding that with the launching of SOLCOM Website they will be uploading “everything the public needed to know”.
It was billed as SOLCOM and Media Fellowship Night held at the SOLCOM Officers Clubhouse which also coincided with the launching of SOLCOM Webpage led by SOLCOM public information office chief Lt. Col. Dennis Cana.
The event was participated in by 2nd Infantry Division Press Corps, 9th Infantry Division Press Corps, PRO4-A Press Corps and Camp Nakar Press Corps led by People’s Journal correspondent Gemi Formaran.
It was also attended by other SOLCOM officers such as deputy commander Brig. Gen. Monico Batle, chief of staff Danilo Benavides, U7 Col. Rolly Dumawa, Lt. Col. Cabanero and other officers from various military units of SOLCOM.
Gapay also expressed satisfaction with the recently concluded midterm elections that saw only 10 violent election-related incidents compared to 30 in 2016 elections and 0 incident on election day itself.
Gapay described the SOLCOM performance before, during and after the midterm elections as “a resounding success” and attributed it to the pervasive deployment of military and police forces.
In his power-point presentation, Col. Wilfredo Isaac, assistant chief of Unified Command Staff for Operation, it was revealed that some 10,000 soldiers were deployed in the whole Southern Luzon in the conduct of area security in support of the Commission on Elections and the Phil. National Police to ensure that the May 13, 2019 midterm elections will be peaceful, safe and fair.
The presentation also disclosed that focused military operations resulted to SOLCOM accomplishments against communist New People’s Army rebels as follows: 20 killed, 18 apprehended, 26 surrendered and 101 recovered firearms.
There are 30 regular NPA rebels in Southern Tagalog and 6 in Bicol region who have surrendered and are presently benefitting assistance from various government agencies under the government’s Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) or Task Force Balik-Loob program.
The SOLCOM said it has activated the regional and provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in Region 4A, Region 4B and Region 5 to end the communist insurgency in its area of responsibility.
The SOLCOM-Media Fellowship Night has the SOLCOM soldiers and media practitioners bonding with one another in animated conversation and laughters and was concluded with dancing led by Gapay and other military officers along with the media practitioners with lively dance music of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s rendered by the SOLCOM musical band.
“The media is our force multiplier, just like our other stakeholders. Through the support of the media we gain public support,” Gapay told a gathering last Wednesday (June 5) of media practitioners from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon and the Bicol region which comprise the whole area of jurisdiction of SOLCOM.
Gapay in his brief speech said that “if our events are not documented and covered by the media, the public will never know.”
“Gone are the days when SOLCOM operates on a need-to-know basis. Now, I am an advocate of need to share information,’ Gapay said adding that with the launching of SOLCOM Website they will be uploading “everything the public needed to know”.
It was billed as SOLCOM and Media Fellowship Night held at the SOLCOM Officers Clubhouse which also coincided with the launching of SOLCOM Webpage led by SOLCOM public information office chief Lt. Col. Dennis Cana.
The event was participated in by 2nd Infantry Division Press Corps, 9th Infantry Division Press Corps, PRO4-A Press Corps and Camp Nakar Press Corps led by People’s Journal correspondent Gemi Formaran.
It was also attended by other SOLCOM officers such as deputy commander Brig. Gen. Monico Batle, chief of staff Danilo Benavides, U7 Col. Rolly Dumawa, Lt. Col. Cabanero and other officers from various military units of SOLCOM.
Gapay also expressed satisfaction with the recently concluded midterm elections that saw only 10 violent election-related incidents compared to 30 in 2016 elections and 0 incident on election day itself.
Gapay described the SOLCOM performance before, during and after the midterm elections as “a resounding success” and attributed it to the pervasive deployment of military and police forces.
In his power-point presentation, Col. Wilfredo Isaac, assistant chief of Unified Command Staff for Operation, it was revealed that some 10,000 soldiers were deployed in the whole Southern Luzon in the conduct of area security in support of the Commission on Elections and the Phil. National Police to ensure that the May 13, 2019 midterm elections will be peaceful, safe and fair.
The presentation also disclosed that focused military operations resulted to SOLCOM accomplishments against communist New People’s Army rebels as follows: 20 killed, 18 apprehended, 26 surrendered and 101 recovered firearms.
There are 30 regular NPA rebels in Southern Tagalog and 6 in Bicol region who have surrendered and are presently benefitting assistance from various government agencies under the government’s Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) or Task Force Balik-Loob program.
The SOLCOM said it has activated the regional and provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in Region 4A, Region 4B and Region 5 to end the communist insurgency in its area of responsibility.
The SOLCOM-Media Fellowship Night has the SOLCOM soldiers and media practitioners bonding with one another in animated conversation and laughters and was concluded with dancing led by Gapay and other military officers along with the media practitioners with lively dance music of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s rendered by the SOLCOM musical band.