A soldier’s duty beyond politics

In an era when politics often dictates governance, they say that few public servants remain steadfast in their duty, untainted by personal ambitions or partisan loyalties. One such individual is National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, a man whose dedication to the Republic transcends administrations and political affiliations. NSA Año is not a politician. He is a professional soldier who has spent 38 years of his life in the service of the nation, defending democracy, maintaining security and upholding the rule of law. His career speaks for itself – he has held the most critical security posts under three different administrations.

Under president Noynoy Aquino, he served as Commanding General of the Philippine Army. Under president Rodrigo Duterte, he rose to become chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and later secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). Today, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., he serves as National Security Adviser and director general of the National Security Council (NSC).

The track record is seemingly proof of one thing: his loyalty is to his country, the Constitution and the duly elected commander-in-chief, whoever that may be. Evidently, Secretary Eduardo Año has consistently upheld his integrity and commitment to service, guided not by personal interests but by duty to the republic.

Unlike many in government, Año does not play politics. He does not seek power beyond his mandate. He has no ambitions for elective office. His guiding principle has always been to follow the chain of command and uphold the Constitution. This is the reason why any attempt to link him to political maneuverings is not just absurd, it appears to be a deliberate mischaracterization of his role.

Take, for example, the controversy surrounding the recent arrest and turnover of former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Año’s participation at a Malacañang meeting last week was solely to ensure that the situation did not escalate into a national security crisis. His concern was the stability of the country and nothing more. He did not orchestrate the implementation of the ICC warrant and his role was strictly within the bounds of his duty: to maintain order and national security.

Just the other day, Major General Antonio Parlade Jr. also made a very important point on his social media post reminding us (his readers) not to lose sight of the real enemy. The enemy, as Parlade says, is NOT the government as a whole  and that the real enemy is the CPP and their tentacles in government and, if we are not careful, the government will bring everyone into the fray.

Major General Parlade says that he does not believe that Secretary Año is part of a core group that planned the arrest of FPRRD. Knowing Año personally, Parlade stated how he knows him to be a professional soldier, since they both became commanders in Southern Tagalog at the height of insurgency in the area. Together, Año and Parlade worked as intelligence practitioners as well.

Parlade solidly stated that Año’s loyalty to the flag is beyond reproach. This is why, as the general  explained, we have been successful with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict because he knew how General Año fought to push the agenda, which is to END communist armed conflict.

As National Security Adviser, General Año continues to give advice as it is his duty, as Parlade further explains, to do so as a soldier to this administration, which makes DILG Secretary Remulla correct in calling him a professional and a good soldier. More importantly, and as Parlade states in his post, what the President does after an advice is given is entirely dependent on him and what or how Secretary Boying Remulla implements it from these instructions is also entirely up to him.

More importantly, to accuse Secretary Año of disloyalty to the former president because he was wrongly dragged as a core planner in this event is, as Parlade says, rather unfair. Furthermore, Parlade said that we owe so much to Secretary Año as to why this nation has survived to this day.

In the midst of division, NSA Año remains steadfast in securing stability and upholding national security – a soldier’s duty indeed. So let’s focus and not lose sight of the real enemy since, as Major General Parlade says, after all, it takes a whole-of-nation to do so.