MANILA — Officials of the Department of National Defense (DND) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and members of the diplomatic corps gathered for a golf event at the Camp Emilio Aguinaldo Golf Course last June 26.
Hosted by Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana, the DND-Ambassadors-Foreign Armed Forces Attaches (FAFA) Fellowship Golf was instrumental in enhancing interstate cooperation, particularly in soliciting the support of the international diplomatic community in addressing the foreign activities of communist terrorist groups (CTGs) through International Solidarity Works (ISW), which was presented during the event’s security briefing.
The golf “sports diplomacy”, which carried the theme “Following Through a Strengthened Alliance with Sports Diplomacy”, was attended by DND and AFP officials, ambassadors, charge d’affaires, and members of FAFA from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam.
“I hope that by playing golf today, we were able to achieve our goals, which I have compressed into four F’s – fitness, friendship, fellowship and, last but not least, fun,” Lorenzana said.
The activity was organized by the DND to direct peace and security efforts in strengthening camaraderie among stakeholders.
“Spending time leisurely, playing sports, getting to know people with similar interests, making friends and expanding our networks outside the confines of our respective workplaces (are) wonderful way(s) of spreading goodwill, promoting trust and building confidence, which are imperative in order to carry out our duty of ensuring the peace, security and stability,” the defense chief added.
Meanwhile, the event also included a security briefing on the overview of the Communist Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) conduct of ISW as one of the CTG’s overseas legal struggles, which was presented by the AFP Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence.
The AFP Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil Military Operations, Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade, previously reported that CTGs have been garnering resources from the ISW’s development programs and projects in the country unwittingly provided by the European Union.
Because of the transnational scope of the CTG’s activities, the “sports diplomacy” is relevant in advancing collaborative efforts with external alliances in ensuring peace and security.
For the latest updates about this story, visit the Philippine News Agency website
