Marcos ordered AFP to 'reconfigure' efforts vs threats, including in WPS —Brawner

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to "reconfigure" its approach in addressing rebellion, disasters, and the West Philippine Sea issue.

In a press conference, AFP chief Romeo Brawner Jr. said Marcos gave the order when he presided over the military command conference at Camp Aguinaldo on Monday.

"He said that we needed to reconfigure our approaches to dealing with different threat groups," Brawner said in a press briefing.

"We need to deal with communist terrorist groups, the local terrorist groups, the threats that we are facing in the West Philippine Sea, and of course yung mga natural disasters."

Marcos, the military's commander in chief, directed the AFP to come up with new and innovative ways in dealing with these challenges, according to Brawner.

However, Brawner said Marcos did not give specific instructions regarding these matters as the President does not want to micromanage the military organization.

According to Brawner, Marcos made the initiative to attend the command conference after he was informed about it last week.

"Siya na po mismo nagsabi (It was Marcos himself who said) that he wants to attend the command conference of the AFP and he wants to give his guidance to our commanders to the field," he said.

Guerilla fronts

In the same briefing, Brawner said the number of weakened guerilla fronts of the New People's Army (NPA) decreased to 11 with around 1,500 members left.

"We have given our commanders on the ground targets to dismantle the remaining guerilla fronts," he said.

But while there are no more active NPA guerilla fronts, the weakened groups are still a force to be reckoned with, Brawner said. —KBK, GMA Integrated News