Eastern Visayas Army reaffirms loyalty to admin

STA. RITA, Samar, Dec. 5 (PNA) –- The military in Eastern Visayas does not see the need to conduct a loyalty check among its soldiers in the region amid rumors of possible martial law declaration of their Commander-in-chief President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Our soldiers in the region remain faithful to the chain of command and the constitution,” said Col. Cesar M. Idio, assistant division commander of Army’s 8th Infantry Division Phil. based in Catbalogan City, Samar.

Idio said they did not receive any reports of plans of soldiers in the region to stage an anti-government uprising.

“Loyalty is imparted in every soldier early in their lives when they first learned the Pledge of Allegiance,” Idio said.

According to the official, they recognize that loyalty is the thread that binds their actions together. It defines their commitment to each other, to their units, country and the Constitution.

“Soldiers in Eastern Visayas have a reputation for excellence, a strong reflection of its soldiers and officers and this reputation arises from their commitment, self-sacrifice and mutual trust,” Idio added.

Amid recent talks about the possibility of another martial law, President Duterte said that it’s far from his mind. He said he found no reason nor relevance for it.

The 8th Infantry Division is one the Army’s units in the Visayas under the Armed Forces of the Philippine Central Command, with its mission to conduct internal security operations in the area to dismantle the presence of local communists in Eastern Visayas region. (PNA)
LAP/SQM/Jazmin Bonifacio/egr