Lobregat, Fil-Chinese businessmen manifest support to the Filipino troops

by Frencie L. Carreon

(Published in Zamboanga Today's Documented Features on 16 September 2008.)
This week began with a turn-over ceremony of some P300,000-worth of supplies for government troops in Mindanao at Camp Basilio Navarro, here in Zamboanga City.

The gesture by the Zamboanga Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Inc. led by Wee Sion Ben and Mayor Celso Lobregat was well-received by Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Alexander Yano.

“I’m happy to be here to accept in a formal ceremony the goods, all coming from our friends and fans of the AFP from Zamboanga City,” the AFP chief of staff.

“It is not that the military can’t support its own troops. We can and we have provisions, but it is the gesture, the show of concern by the different sectors of the society. We feel that the soldiers will be more inspired in doing their job and duty for the country.”

In accepting the offer of the businessmen, Yano acknowledged that such will help boost the morale of Filipino soldiers realizing that the war against the lawless is not a battle on their own.

Mayor Lobregat also stressed that the donation (of rice, sardines, noodles, bottled water and toiletries) was a manifestation of support to the Philippine armed forces, particularly those who have risked their lives and limbs for the protection and safety of their fellow Filipinos, and the security of Mindanao, and such, city’s Chief Executive said, comes from the citizens of Zamboanga.

“This show of appreciation comes from the heart and it comes from the citizens of Zamboanga for all the valiant efforts that our troops are undertaking,” Lobregat stated.

“Our AFP is running after the criminals and is enforcing. There is no Sunday or holiday and there is no ceasefire even in times of peace, in times of Ramadan because we will not attain peace if we allow criminals to go scot free,” he added, commending military troops.

“We are solidly behind you, we have one country, one flag and one AFP,” Zamboanga’s mayor pronounced.

Yano, the country’s first AFP Chief of Staff from Mindanao and the Zamboanga Peninsula,.expressed appreciation to the Zamboanga City government under Lobregat and the Filipino-Chinese businessmen in Zamboanga for the continuous support to the government troops, adding that the boxes of goods will be distributed proportionately to the soldiers deployed in Zamboanga’s neighboring areas such as Basilan, Jolo, and Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay.

“It is not the quantity (of the donations) but the gesture and the show of gratitude”.

“The same activity has been done in Davao City, General Santos City and Cagayan de Oro. All are donating goods in different forms. We are not accepting cash for the benefit of our soldiers,” Yano said.

The ceremony was witnessed by Western Mindanao Command chief Marine Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, Philippine Marines Corps Commandant Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, Naval Forces Western Mindanao Combined chief Admiral Emilio Marayag, 3rd Air Division Chief Maj. Gen. Hernani Perez, J3 Chief of Operations Brig. Gen. Rudy Segovia, and other military officers.

From the City Government, the Mayor’s entourage included Councilors Rudy Lim and Rey Candido, City Social Welfare and Development Officer Francisco Barredo,

Zamboanga Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Inc. was represented by its officers Wee Siong Ben, Eddie Cheong, Tessie Sebastian and Mary June Bugante, among others.

Adding significance to the occasion was Zamboanga Archbishop Romulo Valles.

"We're not fighting this war alone but we get the overwhelming support from the civilian populace in this endeavor," Yano, a former Task Force Zamboanga commander, said. (Frencie L. Carreon)