MORE and more legislators are joining in the clamor to make the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) the fourth branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the three being the Philippine Army, the Philippine Air Force, and the Philippine Navy under which the Philippine Marine Corps belongs as an infantry unit, with an estimated strength of 9.500 active service personnel.
The call to institutionalize the Philippine Marine Corps as a separate branch in the Armed Forces of the Philippines formally began with House Bill No. 7304 authored by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez which he, together with Congressman Rudy Fariñas, filed on March 6.
This was the day before they both were to be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments as full colonels—Alvarez joining the Marines, Fariñas choosing the Judge Advocate General Office (JAGS). The bill was read on First Reading that same day at the plenary session of the House of Representatives.
Also on the same day, Senator Sonny Angara filed a counterpart bill, Senate Bill No. 1731, “An Act Establishing the Philippine Marine Corps, Defining its Powers and Functions, and Appro- priating Funds Therefore.” On March 13, Senator Nancy Binay filed a similar bill establishing the Philippine Marine Corps—Senate Bill No.1741.
Speaker Alvarez and Congressman Fariñas propose to establish the PMC as “an armed uniformed service, amphibious in character; distinct, autonomous, but complementary to the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, as an independent branch of service of the AFP.”
In a Facebook post. Sen. Angara said, “After their heroism in Marawi and past battles, it’s high time that we reward and recognize the achievements of the Philippine Marine Corps through its institutionalization.”
“We are in favor,” PMC Commandant Maj. Gen. Alvin Parreño said.
So are other Marine officers. Marine Col. Adolfo Albalate laments, “some officers of the AFP are looking at us as a se cond Army and not as an amphibious force, as can be seen in the way we are deployed. But I can’t blame them because, to be honest, we still don’t have an amphibious capability due to several reasons as mentioned in the bill.”
An Army officer has a different view. He said that what the country needs is just to enhance and not to enlarge the AFP.
Ret. Brig. Gen. Orlando de Leon countered, saying “Isn’t the Army recruiting 20,000 more soldiers? Now, that’s what we call enlargement….In contrast, the Marines is not a new creation, it already exists, and its numbers are there for everyone to see.”
Finally, he said, “Let us put it this way…. the Army cannot project ground power towards the sea, neither can the Navy project naval power towards land…. let the Marines do it for you.” BEEN THERE, DONE THAT / JOSEPHINE JARON
