Ex-ISAFP chief assumes NCRCom top post

MANILA, Philippines – The newly installed commander of the military’s National Capital Region Command (NCRCom) yesterday vowed to intensify intelligence-gathering operations against terrorists, which poses the biggest security threat to the country’s capital.

After being sworn in as NCRCom commander, former Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces chief Maj. Gen. Arsenio Arugay said their forces would also intensify counter-intelligence operations against terrorist elements to prevent attacks in the metropolis.

“The threat that I see more now is terrorism so we need to improve intelligence and counter-intelligence operations,” he said.

Arugay said they would focus on terrorism because the threat posed by rightist and leftist elements has “greatly diminished” due to legal actions taken by the military leadership against rebellious factions in the AFP involved in past destabilization attempts.

“Intelligence is the heart of all operations, it is not so much on the combat (aspect). Intelligence would support our civil military operations,” he said.

Arugay, who replaced Maj. Gen. Fernando Mesa, said military adventurists would always try to grab power, but he assured the public that the seat of government would remain secure.

“There is always the chance as long as they persist but we are not going to give them that opportunity,” he said.

Arugay also vowed to use an amount of force that would be “advantageous” to the government when they deal with such attempts, because he believes there is no overkill in addressing security threats.

“You should never fight on equal terms, otherwise you run the risk of being defeated,” he said.

The NCRCom was established shortly after rebel soldiers staged the failed 2003 Oakwood mutiny. Initially, its purpose was to secure the seat of political power and the center of the country’s economic activity, but later on, it was also tapped to respond to disasters and other crisis situations.