INTRODUCTION OF THE GUEST SPEAKER, MAJOR GENERAL RONNIE EVANGELISTA, COMMANDER OF THE CRS, AFP By Rotarian Roy Golez Rotary Club of Manila meeting, 7 September 2017, New World Hotel, Makati

INTRODUCTION OF THE GUEST SPEAKER, MAJOR GENERAL RONNIE EVANGELISTA, COMMANDER OF THE CRS, AFP

By Rotarian Roy Golez

Rotary Club of Manila meeting, 7 September 2017, New World Hotel, Makati

President Jimmie, fellow Rotarians, ladies and gentlemen:

The Armed Forces of the Philippines is trained, manned and equipped for two battles. \

One is against internal and external threats using boots on the ground, air, sea and ground assets.

The other is the battle for the hearts and minds of the population for no conflict, no war can be won without the support of the population. Cesar, Alexander, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Aguinaldo, MacArthur, Marking, Blackburn, Magsaysay all knew about the battle for the hearts and minds.

Our guest speaker today is the commander of the Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or CRS, AFP which is the frontline command in the very crucial, strategic and never ending battle for the hearts and minds of the population. 

Major General Ronnie S. Evangelista comes with the highest qualifications for the position. He is a boots on the ground warrior with a strategic mind that understands the pulse of the people.

He is a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, Class of 1986, who rose to the star rank by handling both combat and strategic assignments. 

A proven warrior, he held various positions in the Special Forces Regiment (Airborne), Philippine Army, from a young lieutenant to becoming Regiment Commander of the Special Forces.

He is well schooled, to hone his strategic mind. He finished his Command and General Staff Course at the AFP Command and General Staff College in 2004. He also obtained the Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in Fort Bragg, USA and the Joint Transition Course and Joint Professional Military Education Phase II at the National Defense University, also in the USA. And most impressive, he holds a Master in Public Administration degree from National College of Business Administration.

I checked the Facebook page of the CRS, AFP and indeed the CRS has been really busy under his leadership as the FRONT LINER IN THE BATTLE FOR THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF THE PEOPLE. 

The CRS has numerous activities and projects to (1) boost the morale of the soldiers and their families; (2) Promote Interfaith solidarity and harmony - especially with the Muslims; (3) Promote inter-service and interagency harmony; (4)  solidify the relationship between the Commander in Chief and the members of the AFP (5) Help in the fight against violent extremism; (6) National Peace Consciousness; (7) Reaching out to the NPA, to surrender and give peace a chance and totally abandon the armed struggle; (8) Symposium on Climate Change, the AFP being an important arm on facing the challenges of Climate Change; and of late (8) information campaign on the Marawi situation and start of rehab mode with the AFP in the frontline.

A good communicator, the CRS under his command uses regular radio, virtual TV and social media  and has a program: ANG INYONG ARMED FORCES.

And now he is with us to tell us more about the AFP and the Marawi situation.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Commander of the Civil Relations Service of the AFP, Major General Ronnie Evangelista.