Cruz, who along with his officers and
men spent time at the division headquarters to watch the President’s speech
said this year’s SONA was more convincing than the previous years saying that
the President sincerely reported the accomplishments of his administration.
The army chief said he was grateful for
the continued and unparalleled support to the modernization and capability
upgrade of the AFP.
“I am very grateful that President
Aquino gave his unrelenting and full support to the modernization and
capability upgrade of the AFP . Providing soldiers with modern equipments and
giving them good benefits will further motivate them to perform better and
deliver effective and efficient services to the people, which is their
obligation to our country,” Cruz said.
He added that the AFP’s modernization program will certainly
provide bright future for the soldiers and help solve insurgency problem in our
country. “With the implementation of low cost housing program of the AFP and
PNP, it greatly helped ease the soldiers’ financial burdens,” Cruz opined.
On a scale of 1-10, Cruz gave the President an excellent grade of “10”
cognizant of the president’s achievements in a span of more than two years.
Zamboanga del Sur police provincial
director Sr. Supt. William T. Manzan was elated and satisfied to hear what the
President mentioned in his SONA, on strengthening the entire country’s police force by
providing 74,600 guns to bring down crime rate.
Manzan said the President indeed,
brings good news to the PNP saying that the organization needs firearms in
protecting the citizens and in the implementation of peace and order especially
in the remote areas.
“The acquisition of firearms will help
the police to effectively reduce crime rate and improve their performance,”
Manzan said who is optimistic that mobility as an essential police equipment,
will also be included in the bidding by the PNP national headquarters.
Manzan was pleased that the problem was
given immediate attention by the government. “We will wait for the time when
these firearms will be issued to the policemen,” Manzan said.
“I admire the President for having a
heart for the PNP. I gave him a grade of 10,” Manzan announced.
Meanwhile, Zamboanga del Sur-Pagadian
Press Club, Inc. (ZPPI) president Vic del Pilar praised the administration of
Aquino for instituting reforms and for his “personal” fight against corruption
but said he failed to give the updates of his anti-corruption campaign.
Del Pilar cited the president for
building sufficient infrastructure projects generating substantial job
opportunities for Filipinos specifically the upgrading, expansion and modernization
of airports in which he mentioned Pagadian
City
“I thank the President for mentioning
Pagadian airport. With this, I am confident that our city will now be included in the country’s map of
development,” he said. Del Pilar gave the president a rating of “7”. (ALT/GCC/PIA9-Zambosur)