From the Commander - Speeches

10 February 2009
Acceptance speech of Major General Reynaldo Mapagu AFP
Change of Command Ceremony, 10th Infantry (Agila) Division, PA
NFEM Grandstand, Panacan, Davao City

Today, as I assume command of the 10th Infantry “\AGUILA\” Division, I would like to express my profound gratitude, of course, to The Great Architect of the Universe who has made all these possible and to the Commanding General of the Philippine Army, Lieutenant General Victor S Ibrado, for his faith in my capabilities and the very encouraging and generous support he has always extended in most of my undertakings, especially during my stint as Army Chief of Staff.

Even as I face high expectations and challenges in this new position, I feel a great sense of confidence knowing that we all have a common purpose and desire, that is, to do committed service to our country and achieve a secure and progressive environment. More significantly, I draw inspiration from the fact that we have here at 10ID a capable and dedicated team who will work with me to attain these goals.

I, therefore, accept the responsibility of leadership of the 10th Infantry Division with an unwavering resolve to carry out the army's internal security operations and development efforts in this part of Mindanao . In so doing, I shall pursue the ongoing programs of this command in support of higher headquarters' plans, priorities, and objectives.

I am well aware of the towering expectations of our Commanding General and those of my fellow officers, classmates, friends, and the personnel of this division, as well as the stakeholders in the area covered by 10ID. To all these, I can only promise my best effort in fulfilling the tasks that await me as the new division commander.

To my predecessor, my snappy upperclassman, Major General Jogy Fojas, sir, my endless thanks for laying the groundwork that I will earnestly follow. My best wishes to you, sir, as you assume your new post as Commander of the National Capital Region Command.

To the “Aguila” officers, enlisted personnel and civilian employees, I need your wholehearted cooperation and support in all our undertakings. Let the accomplishments of the previous AGUILA Commanders be our motivation and inspiration to do even better and achieve greater heights. We must continue to take a more aggressive and determined stance as we draw closer to 2010, during which we should have attained decisive victory over insurgency and other armed threats in this part of the country.

To achieve this, we must endeavor to work as a team. We have our respective individual jobs to perform, but all these are aimed towards common organizational goals. As such, although some may perceive their role as small or insignificant, I urge you to 'just do your job' and do it the best you can. As a team, we must move together in unison, beat with one heart, and surely, as we pull our acts and our accomplishments together, we will attain uncommon results.

On the other hand, we must also remember that as an organization, victory can only be attained with the full support, coordination, and integrated actions of our inter-agency partners, local government counterparts, and concerned civil society groups. Realizing this, we must be able to engage all sectors and all stakeholders and further improve the good relationships that we have already established with the grassroots communities within the region. I believe that with the full support of our partners in government, we can effectively further empower our grassroots communities by providing them a strong sense of security in their localities. In line with this, rest assured that your army will be ready to assist our local governments and concerned entities in addressing the people's needs for responsive development, livelihood opportunities, health care, informal education, shelter and other essentials to steer their human awareness and character leading to positive growth.

On the part of our troops, in line with the priorities and support programs of higher headquarters, we will continue to rationalize and push support and command resources to where they are immediately needed.

Let us, therefore, all work together to become exemplars of discipline, professionalism, and integrity. Let us be each other's model and each other's guardian as we engage in our daily works in the field. We must remember that a little stain in your integrity can inflict deep wounds in the character of all members of our organization and may even erode the credibility of the whole organization. Show our men and our people that we are their dependable partner, ready to fulfill its motto, “at your service, across the land”.

To our honorable public officials, inter-agency partners, our partners in the media, and other concerned non-government organizations present, we need to fire up and enhance our inter-agency linkages, because we will all reap the harvests of this endeavor. Let us all continue to join hands so that we can eventually see more progress in Mindanao and take pride in having been part of this positive change in the security situation in this part of the country, leading to better economic prospects for all of us.

To all of you, thank you for joining us in today's activity.

Mabuhay ang 10th Infantry Division!

Mabuhay tayong lahat!

Maayong adlaw ug daghang salamat sa tanan!

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