Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana reminded all military personnel to remain non-partisan and apolitical in the coming May 9 elections.

He made this reminder during his visit to Camp Kibaritan in Kalilangan, Bukidnon where he had a brief talk with the men and women of the Mindanao Training Group of the Philippine Army.

“As my term as SND (Secretary of National Defense) is about to end, I thanked each and everyone of them for the solid support that they have accorded me. I also reminded them to stay non-partisan and apolitical during the upcoming national elections and do their best to ensure a smooth transition of national and local leadership,” Lorenzana said in a Facebook post Wednesday night.

Also, the DND chief said the 42,000-hectares Kibaritan Military Reservation has great potential as a training area for troops.

“Being the second-largest military reservation of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), the Kibaritan Military Reservation holds great potential for future endeavors of our troops. Thus, we look forward to fully developing it as a Combined Readiness Training Area (CRTA) of the AFP,” he added.

The largest was originally the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in Nueva Ecija at 73,000 hectares but this was reduced to 35,647 hectares after seven presidential proclamations. (PNA)