Three years into the President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presidency, there’s a noticeable pivot in the focus of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) from internal defense to external defense. The AFP now concentrates on external threats to the nation, leaving the responsibility of internal defense to the Philippine National police (PNP). So, what prompted this paradigm shift? Quite simple really. Love him or hate him, there is no denying that during the watch of former President Rodrigo Duterte, the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Law and the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) were the needed missing ingredients to finally end this more than 50 years insurgency nonsense.

Buenaflor, L. Jr. (2024, June 24). A paradigm shift. Panay News, pp. 6, 15.