LEGARDA PUSHES FOR SYSTEMS INTEGRATION OF DEFENSE AND SECURITY ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS IN THE COUNTRY

True to her word, four-term Senator Loren Legarda once again puts defense and security education on top of her legislative agenda. Legarda proposes to establish the Philippine Defense University System, through Senate Bill No. 498, to ensure a holistic, integrated, and comprehensive defense and security education that is attuned to the current national security requirements.

The measure aims to link defense institutions through a more comprehensive and integrated system to prevent functional overlaps and curriculum fragmentation without disregarding individual mandates and operations. The institutions covered by this measure include the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), the Command and General Staff College (CGSC), the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), and the Special Intelligence Training School (SITS).

As an alumna of the NDCP and the CGSC, Senator Legarda underscores the critical role of defense and security education in molding strategic leaders and decision-makers in national security practice.

“I will continue to be your champion because defense and security is part of my system as a member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) family,” she said. The Senator believes that support to defense and security leaders through education and research will make them more responsive in their constitutional mandate to protect and defend the country and the Filipinos.

In 2017, she supported the creation of the Philippine Center for Excellence in Defense, Development and Security (PCEDS), the nexus for research and public dialogue on strategic and security issues lodged in the NDCP, the launching of the Executive MNSA, and the construction of academic buildings and quarters, among others.###