President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has commended the Joint Task Force (JTF) – Tawi-Tawi for helping the government attain peace in Mindanao, resulting in enhanced tourism and business activities in the region.

During his visit to the JTF Tawi-Tawi headquarters in Bongao town on Thursday, Marcos said Tawi-Tawi, which used to be a conflict ground zero and the nest of insurgents and terrorists in their kidnapping activities, is now peaceful because of all the efforts of the troops.

“But because of the efforts of all our personnel in the Task Force, we have now come to the situation where it is peaceful enough,” he told the soldiers of the 2nd Marine Brigade.

“Ngayon, imbes na naglalabanan, ang labanan ngayon dito pagandahan na ng resort (Instead of fighting, the battle here now is which is the best-looking resort). That is a very big achievement and the part that you played in that is a very major part. Congratulations for the good work and for a job well done.”

First president to visit Tawi-Tawi task force HQ

Meanwhile, 2nd Marine Brigade commander Brig. Gen. Nestor Narag Jr. noted that Marcos made history by being the first Filipino president to visit the JTF headquarters in Tawi-Tawi.

“Indeed, we are very much honored and privileged to have you here with us this morning for it is the first time in the history of the deployment of our brigade here in the province of Tawi-Tawi that the highest official of the land sets foot inside these headquarters,” Narag said.

“Along that line Mr. President, sir, kami po ay taus-pusong nagpapasalamat sa inyong pagdalo (we are wholeheartedly grateful for your visit) and thank you very much, sir.”

Marcos said he was able to visit Mindanao because of the present peace in the region, which his predecessors did not experience during their tenure.

He said he was very happy to be able to claim to be the first Filipino president to set foot on the Marines headquarters on the island.

“The reason is not because other presidents did not want to come here. It was because other presidents were not allowed by the security conditions that had passed before to be able to come here,” Marcos said.

From warfighters to peacemakers

The President, however, emphasized that the military’s mission is not over and the soldiers have to transform themselves from warfighters to peacemakers as the nation marches toward development.

He said while the military’s primary mission is to thwart attempts to topple the government, security personnel have an obligation to advance peace by giving insurgents the opportunity to return to the fold of the law.

“Kasama na ngayon sa mission natin ay ‘yung patuloy na peace-making para bigyan natin ng pagkakataon ang mga fighters, ang mga dating fighers na magkaroon ng mas magandang buhay na hindi sila nakatago sa bundok, hindi sila laging gutom (Part of our mission now is to continue our peace-making efforts to give the former fighters a chance to live better lives where they don’t need to hide in the mountains or starve),” he said.

Noting that the Marines performed their war-fighting mission to an excellent degree, he urged them to adopt the peace-making part of their goal to the same level.

Marcos was in Tawi-Tawi to lead the distribution of government aid to farmers and fisherfolk affected by El Niño and assess the needs of families in the country’s isolated areas. (PNA)

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