ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
BusinessMirror
www.businessmirror.com.ph
A broader look at today’s business n
Saturday, March 25, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 161
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
P25.00 nationwide | 18 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
ARMY’S MAJOR LEAP TO MODERNIZATION PA trains, gears up for contemporary warfare with ‘Salaknib’ exercises
PERSONNEL from the Multi-Launch Rocket System Battery of the Army Artillery Regiment (AAR) and the US Multi-Domain Task Force conduct a subject matter expert exchange at AAR Headquarters, Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, on March 16, 2023. PHILIPPINE ARMY
W
By Rex Anthony Naval
HILE the government puts the finishing touches on the projected end of the more than 50-year campaign against the communistled insurgency, the Philippine Army (PA) started to focus more on its territorial defense mission as it celebrated its 126th founding anniversary on March 22, 2023.
A FILIPINO soldier tests the Javelin Anti-Tank Weapon during the subject matter expert exchange (SMEE) activity held at Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) headquarters at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, on March 15, 2022. PHILIPPINE ARMY
This shift has taken a keener focus now considering the ongoing slugfest between Ukraine and Russia, which saw both sides for the past year fielding massive fleet of tanks, mobile infantry and artillery, jet fighters and bombers and even the fast and deadly cruise missiles in a bid to get a decisive and bloody edge on the battlefield. In the Philippine setting, the PA’s shift to the modern modes of warfare involving the use of modern anti-tank missiles, guided artillery and rocket systems and helicopter operations was aided by American support, with the United States Army in the Pacific (USARPAC) playing a huge role in this initiative. Incidentally, the PA and USARPAC are now conducting their annual “Salaknib” exercises, which run from March 13 to April 4. Salaknib (shield in Ilocano)
BRAWNER: “Indeed, there is much more we can learn from each other, and much more that we can do together, in the interest of Indo-Pacific security and wider security regional connectivity.”
is an annual Army-to-Army exercise geared at strengthening the interoperability of Filipino and American soldiers. Earlier, PA chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said Salaknib will help the force in its shift from internal to territorial defense.
FILIPINO soldiers stand during rites at the 126th founding anniversary of the Philippine Army at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. AP/AARON FAVILA
A US Army Pacific soldier demonstrates use of the Counter-Small Unmanned Aerial System (C-sUAS) to Army Artillery Regiment (AAR) personnel during the subject matter expert exchange at the AAR Multi-Purpose Facility, Fort Ramon Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija. PHILIPPINE ARMY
“Indeed, there is much more we can learn from each other, and much more that we can do together, in the interest of Indo-Pacific security and wider security regional connectivity,” he said. The drills formally opened at
Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, which is home to the PA’s Army Artillery Regiment, Army Aviation Regiment, Special Forces Regiment, and the 7th Infantry. Brawner and US Army I Corps commander Lt. Gen. Xavier Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.4510 n JAPAN 0.4162 n UK 66.9366 n HK 6.9375 n CHINA 7.9740 n SINGAPORE 41.0332 n AUSTRALIA 36.4114 n EU 59.0031 n KOREA 0.0424 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.4959 Source: BSP (March 24, 2023)