DND chief: Marcos admin dedicated to protecting PH waters

ANILA – The Marcos administration is fully committed to protecting the Philippines' maritime interests.

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. made this remark during the inaugural "Balangay Forum" in Camp Aguinaldo on Monday, the DND said in a news release.

“What we should do, because the political leadership will is already there – no less than the President (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.) has already said time and time again that we will not waver – we will protect our maritime interests in accordance with international law, which is why in our department and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), we came up with the CADC (Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept),” Teodoro said in his speech.

He also recognized the importance of engagements, such as the Balangay Forum, and emphasized that all Filipinos have a stake in the protection of the country’s jurisdiction and rights to the resources of our maritime domain, as provided by international law.

“We should never trade short-term inflows of cash, cash inflows, for a long-term benefit in the future. Likewise, in the same way, we should also make a call to action to our local officials and other people not to be tempted by spurious offers of cash or other assistance, in order for international criminal syndicates and their ilk to have a foothold in this country,” the defense chief said.