Joint General Membership Meeting
Partners in Development and Peace

17 June 2008 – “Security and development are both sides of the same coin—one cannot exist without the other,” said General Alexander Yano, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, at the joint general membership meeting of the Makati Business Club, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, and Management Association of the Philippines held on 17 June 2008 at The Peninsula Manila.

Calling the business sector as a force of development, Gen. Yano said he hopes to forge a “symbiotic partnership between the government and the business sector” as a way to defeat the long-drawn insurgency problem in rural areas and improve the quality of life of the country’s soldiers.

Costs of Conflict
“Local businesses and communities suffer whenever threat groups are present. Armed groups are the hindrances to both peace and development regardless of their purported ideology . . . because they all use terror tactics to source funds for their survival,” said Yano.

The AFP chief reported that the communist New People’s Army has amassed P32 million from extortion activities and the Abu Sayyaf Group has collected as much as P26 million in ransom money from their kidnap victims.

Gen. Yano said the NPA’s actions reduce the country’s gross national product by 2%. The World Bank estimates that from 1975 to 2002 the economic cost inflicted by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s rebellion reached $10 billion. Based on the National Security Council’s calculation, local terror groups caused roughly P1.1 billion in property damages from 2000 to 2007.

However, the AFP boasts that the NPA’s force is now at a historic low of 5,671 fighters and that there has been a steady decline of ASG fighters. Moreover, the peace negotiations with the MILF is ongoing.

The military is also implementing an Integrated Territorial Defense System to prevent the re-entry of armed groups in cleared areas. It combines coordinated strategies involving military troops, the local government, and community members.

Development with Peace
Without peace, there is no development. Gen. Yano said he finds comfort in knowing that the military shares with the business community a common aspiration for peace and development.

He cited the Kalayaan Barangays Program as one example of transforming conflict-affected barangays into model communities of development. Yano also lauded the AFP’s Oplan Kaunlaran, which synchronizes all AFP development-oriented efforts, and the deployment of Community Development, or CODE, teams in urban areas.

The AFP is now looking into more joint social responsibility projects, complementary private initiatives that can be tied up with the Kalayaan Barangays Program, and the pilot testing of critical areas for livelihood and medical outreach programs.

Mutual Benefits
Gen. Yano believes that peace cannot be attained “through military operations alone” and development will not prosper “if businesses are put up without taking into account the security of an area.”

Working together is a key element to hasten development. Yano is convinced that the civilian sector can help the AFP transform itself into a more effective organization. In partnering with business, what he appreciates most is the outright benefits to AFP personnel and their dependents.

The AFP chief promises a peaceful environment for business to prosper. On the other hand, business groups can assist the AFP in several areas:

· the design and development of management systems;
· leadership and entrepreneurship training of AFP members;
· livelihood programs for military dependents, as well as employment and scholarship opportunities for AFP dependents;
· social development projects in the countryside; and
· the pursuit of low-cost housing projects for AFP personnel.

The AFP will also explore the outsourcing of its support services (such as the maintenance of non-sensitive military facilities and equipment), real estate development, agri-business, and the property management of military lands.

These commitments were included in a memorandum of understanding between the AFP and the business groups signed during the meeing. With the pact’s signing, both the armed forces and businessmen aim to use the combined counter-insurgency efforts and community development programs as long-term solutions to terror and conflict. Download presentation

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

General Alexander B. Yano
General Yano is the 38th chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He held various key positions, including commander of the Southern Luzon Command; chief of staff of the Philippine Army; commanding general of the AFP’s Civil Relations Service; commanding general of the 601st Infantry Brigade in the SOCSARGEN area; and commanding officer of Task Force Zamboanga in 2001. He also served as the government’s chairman of the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities. Gen. Yano hails from Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte. He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy’s “Magilas” Class of 1976.