Thank you Secretary Teodoro for your introduction.

Troop commander, please give "Tikas pahinga."

General Esperon, former AFP Chief of Staff; General Yano, our new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; members of the Cabinet; members of the Diplomatic Corps; Speaker Nograles and the members of the Legislature; Senator Enrile, both senator and former Secretary of National Defense; Senator Dick Gordon; Governors; Congressmen and women; Mayors; General Ibrado, the incoming Commanding General of the Philippine Army; Vice Admiral Calungsad; Lt. General Cadungog; PNP Chief Avelino Razon; the Unified Commanders, almost all of whom are new in their commands; our new Vice Chief of Staff and the Deputy Chief of Staff; ladies and gentlemen.

General Esperon, I speak for everyone in congratulating you and thanking you for a job superbly done!

General Yano, Congratulations and welcome to a job so tailor fit for you!

Subok na natin ang kakayahan nila General Esperon at General Yano. We have known and worked with these two gentlemen for years. They are outstanding leaders in the finest tradition of our Armed Forces. The men and women of the AFP are doubly fortunate to have been well-led by Jun Esperon and to have a man of Alex Yano’s character and talent leading them into the future.

General Esperon, your leadership has helped our country realize its key security objectives. You came to your job well-prepared. Hero of Rajamuda, rescuer of many of the Dos Palmas victims, one time outstanding alumnus of the Philippine Military Academy. Indeed, well-prepared for leadership. Your credentials, your legendary audacity and your extensive background in both staff and field positions. And may I say, showing all of these excellence in performance at a time especially when as a widower for many years, you had to be what we all women try to be – a supermom. You had to try to be a superpop because you had to raise very young children at a time exactly when your career was taking off, and that challenge in your private life I think contributed to the excellence of your work in public life. (All of these challenges in private and public life prepared you for the challenges you faced in the transition of the AFP into a solid and truly dependable Armed Forces.

The Communist as you have said, the Communist rebels, had been spending years as a low level threat and as you started your watch, I said, it is time for their destruction and violation of human rights to be put to rest so that the nation can move ahead. The Communist rebels had been impeding the progress and development of a number of rural areas. They are responsible for a wide range of human rights abuses. And so I said, during your watch that if we are to become a first world country, we have to put a stop to their ideological nonsense and their criminal acts once and for all by 2010.

And may I say, Jun, you have done well in leading the AFP’s charge towards this mission success. Congratulations!

We have heard it in the citation given to you for your award today. We have heard it in your own tour of duty summary that you gave today. Indeed, going by the results of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008 with so many an unprecedented number of guerrilla fronts dismantled and many others downgraded we have every reason to be optimistic about Alex Yano’s tour of duty.

All insurgency parameters are on the downtrend, from NPA numbers plummeting to a historic low to firearms now not many more than the rebels themselves.

You have done this because of many reforms you made. You revitalized the CMO. You organized the AFP National Development Support Command to pursue grassroots upliftment efforts across the country all in the interest of expanding the AFP solidarity with the people while at the same time dismantling the support networks of the enemies of peace.

You and I, and I am glad Alex Yano too has said, that the frontline against terrorism begins with alleviating poverty, which is exactly what we are focused on. And in Mindanao, where you served for so much of your career, you have proved the value of our paradigm for peace through – and you used the term in your address – the use of both hard and soft power. What you have done there is quite unique, particularly against the backdrop of other trouble spots in the world where hard power alone has been struggling. With your leadership of the Armed Forces, we have been able to meld together confidence building measures grounded on strong interfaith dialogue and cultural awareness; investments in economic and basic infrastructure development; and mutual security arrangements to keep the peace in Mindanao.

Under your leadership, indeed, we have had success in fighting terrorism. Our country is vastly improved in terms of safety, security and economic growth, particularly in the southern part of the country. Your experience in Mindanao before you became CSAFP served you indeed well. Your daring exploits and your victories in Basilan especially have helped you make the right decisions about Mindanao.

You established the EASTMINCOM and the WESTMINCOM. You rationalized the forces and resources there, that is why over the last few years we have made important captures and eliminated key figures of the Abu Sayyaf and the JI terrorists who in fact you named in your own Valedictory address. Yes you have hit them hard and most important you have hit them with success. Congratulations!

Not only did you use your Commander’s prowess, not only do you use your managerial capabilities of organization but also your care for the men that they should be well-equipped and wellcared for.

You worked tirelessly to have unprecedented amounts released for Armed Forces modernization, for AFP housing, and increased hazard pay and subsistence allowance.

And not only have I been so comfortable having you as commander in chief, I have full confidence in the men and women of our Armed Forces who are loyal to our Constitution and to our nation. The dismal failure of destabilization attempts underscore just how out of touch the plotters are with the mood of the nation. The nation wants peace, order and stability - not more political shenanigans.

Ninety-nine percent of our military men and women are good, upstanding and loyal patriots, fighting to protect our country everyday. Where there are rogue members of the military – and indeed, General Esperon you used the word rogue members in your speech – where there are those involved in adventurism or in human rights violations, you have substantiated your commitment to let the wheel of military justice roll smoothly. You have shown that no one is above the law, even as you support and as you have repeated in your address, the support of the pardon of a number of Magdalo officers who have shown remorse and utmost potential for rehabilitation.

As my last act as Commander in Chief of CSAFP Jun Esperon before I stood up as we were sitting down while Alex was still beginning his job as the new CSAFP my last approval of General Esperon’s recommendations is to approve his recommendation on the Magdalo soldiers.

And now we have General Yano. Indeed, in the term of Jun Esperon – the fight against the communist insurgents snowballed so much which is the reason why many of the officers in the field said, let’s keep General Esperon at least for awhile so that this snowball can really be sustained, the momentum will not be stopped. And so, I extended the term of General Esperon for three months. I would have if I could extend it all the way for the three years that we’re allowed to have a Chief of Staff but General Esperon himself said that it would be better to have a short extension, announced from the beginning of the extension the choice of his replacement so that there can be a smooth phase in, phase out so that even if in General Yano’s time we are giving him a whole new slate of field commanders, the phase in and phase out has been so smooth and seamless that this snowball will turn into an avalanche by 2010. We hope.

General Yano says, he doesn’t know the rhyme or reason behind his being chosen as AFP Chief of Staff. Well, there is one thing that we call meritrocracy. General Yano you were highly recommended by the Defense and AFP top brass, and even by the Cabinet. And more importantly, you were clearly voted by the Team AFP itself in my discussions with many field officers owing to your reputation as a soldier’s soldier, a no-nonsense combat leader, simple and frugal as you want the whole AFP to be during your tour of duty, and one with a heart. Now you know why you are AFP Chief of Staff.

You have had a glittering career, that’s why I made you Army chief, to begin with. And before that, that’s why I appointed you head of the Southern Luzon Command whose jurisdiction covers the government priority areas for counter-insurgency operations comprising CALABARZON, MIMARO and Bicol. And before that, you played a crucial role in curbing terrorism in Mindanao and a crucial role also in a peaceful solution to the Kabatangan standoff.

As chief of the AFP, you are expected to bring the AFP modernization to new heights. You are expected to bring the anti-insurgency campaign as I said, from it’s snowball to an avalanche towards the defeat of the rebels by 2010.

Under your leadership, as you have rightly foreseen as guardians of our security and a pillar of the rule of law, the AFP shall play a central role in countering forces hoping to exploit the global clouds in the horizon driving up the cost of oil and rice, to advance their agenda of violence and lawlessness.

Thank you for foreseeing that. Thank you for being prepared for that.

And as we have all celebrated today, you are the first Army Chief and the first AFP Chief to come from Mindanao. That’s why the first speaker from the House of Representatives from Mindanao is here to wish you well and the entire, almost the entire officialdom of Mindanao, almost all the governors, congressmen, mayors of Zamboanga del Norte, the ARMM Governor are here. Buti na lang nandito si Congressman Celeste to represent Pangasinan to see off General Esperon.

We count on you therefore to help bring lasting peace to your native island of Mindanao.

Peace remains within reach in Mindanao. We have made huge progress across the board, as General Esperon said in his tour of duty report, in terms of stability, peace, order and goodwill. Yes, there are political dynamics and we are working to sort them out. But I can think of nothing more desirable for the people in Mindanao and our nation than peace during our administration. And hopefully peace during the tour of duty of the son of Mindanao as CSAFP. It would really be such a wasted moment if our Muslim brother did not take advantage of our dedication to this effort and conclude a peace deal in the next few years.

In all of these, in all of the important missions that you have to accomplish, General Yano, the national leadership is behind you, behind you and the Armed Forces in your important mission. We will support you with resources and political will, to provide you the wherewithal to do your job.

To keep our troops’ morale high, a 10 percent increase in base pay is coming this year.

To complement the AFP’s capability upgrade program and further improve counter-insurgency, as has been mentioned by General Esperon, R1 billion has been allocated to finance the Kalayaan Barangays Program.

As we improve the security of parts of the country that have known some degree of violence, we are able to develop quickly the economy of those areas. When we ensure that, we ensure a lasting peace and order that ensures that security is no longer an issue. Yes you have said in your speech General Yano, that you realized that development is primarily a function of the economic team but you also realize that you have enumerated the role of the AFP in contributing to development and to fighting poverty.

In other words, ‘Magaling na Kasundaluhan Laban sa Kahirapan.’ I know that the AFP will rally behind the new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces in its mission so crucial to bringing us to the first world in 20 years.

And so Alex, I congratulate you and I wish you well in your important role of leadership. And to Jun, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If I extended your term by a few months, one of the reasons why I am happy to do that was that we were able to have your daughter get married in Malacañang Park where she spent many of her young years when you were my PSG Commander. This just shows how important family is and how important it is for us to be one family -- the family of the Filipino people.

Have a well-deserved vacation, Jun. Hurry back to serve our people again.

Alex, congratulations!

Mabuhay kayong lahat. Thank you.