AFP's new military force in Metro Manila activated Thursday

MANILA, Philippines - A new military task force that will secure Metro Manila and will replace the Armed Forces National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) will be launched Thursday.

The inauguration of the Standing Joint Task Force NCR will coincide with the retirement of Maj. Gen. Tristan Kison, the incumbent commander of the NCRCOM.

The deactivation of the NCRCOM is in line with the Defense department’s planning guidance, which seeks to restructure the military to ensure the efficient use of resources.
Maj. Warden Zamora, spokesman of the NCRCOM, said the Standing Joint Task Force NCR would have the same functions as that of its predecessor.

He said the task force would also support the Philippine National Police in maintaining order in the metropolis. The task force would also secure the government’s seat of power and would also serve as an anti-coup unit.

Unlike the NCRCOM, which is handled by a three-star general, the Standing Joint Task Force NCR will be led by a one-star general.

“The Standing Joint Task Force NCR will be composed of the officers and personnel of the NCRCOM,” Zamora said.

Col. Manuel Ramiro, the deputy commander of the NCRCOM, will serve as acting commander of the task force.

The task force will report directly to the Armed Forces General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo.

Zamora said there are plans to transform the task force into a national maneuver force, which will deploy soldiers to areas that need additional troops.

The plan is to incorporate troops from elite units like the Joint Special Operations Group and the Light Reaction Battalion in the task force in 2014.

“But these are just plans and nothing is final yet,” Zamora said.

Under the Defense department’s planning guidance for 2013 to 2018, troops that used to belong to NCRCOM would be placed under a new unit called Northern Command (Northcom).

Northcom is expected to handle all military forces in Luzon except those in Palawan, which will still be under the Western Command. The Defense department wants Northcom activated by next year.

NCRCOM has been tasked to curb uprisings in Metro Manila and to support disaster response and civil disturbance management efforts.
 
It covers 16 cities, one municipality, and 1,695 barangays with a total population of around 12 million. The unit is based in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City and is tasked to secure the seat of the government.

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Alexis Romero | The Philippine Star | July 11, 2012 | Article Link

Joint task force to replace AFP's metro command

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is creating a joint military task force that would protect the seat of the national government in line with the scheduled abolition next month of the National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM).

AFP chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa said the soon-to-be formed joint military outfit will be headed by a one-star general instead of a two- or three-star general.

“From two, three-star general, siguro magiging one-star general na lang. But still this is in [the] roundtable discussion,” Dellosa said, referring to the NCRCOM's deactivation and the setting up of a new unit.

Dellosa, meanwhile, clarified that the anti-coup unit will not totally go, but only being trimmed into a lean military outfit.

Under a new set up, which Dellosa also said is still under study, the unit is only being downgraded and will have a new name.

“It will no longer be an area command but it will still be based at the NCRCOM... but under a new name,” Dellosa said.

He added the joint military task force will be put in harness in July, upon compulsory retirement of NCRCOM commander Maj. Gen. Tristan Kison.

The NCRCOM was created into an area command in Oct. 13, 2003 or two years following the ascension to power of then President and now detained Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

As the former National Capital Region Command (NCRDC), the unit figured prominently in defeating at least nine coup attempts against the then administration of the late President Corazon Aquino, mother of President Benigno Aquino III.

During the Arroyo regime, the unit was largely credited in defending and securing the seat of political power from military rightists and civil society groups.

Composed of Army, Air Force and Navy personnel, NCRCOM has operational jurisdiction over the entire Metropolitan Manila and nearby provinces.

At present, the soon-to-be deactivated NCRCOM has more or less 1,500 personnel on top of other friendly units from the Philippine National Police (PNP).

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Jaime Laude | The Philippine Star | June 11, 2012 | Article Link

AFP to deactivate anti-coup unit

MANILA, Philippines - After abolishing its development arm, National Development Support Command (NADESCOM), the military will deactivate next its anti-coup unit National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM), sources revealed yesterday.

Military sources said NCRCOM might be scrapped upon the retirement of its commander Maj. Gen. Tristan Kison.

A graduate of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class ’79, Kison will hang up his uniform on July 12.

“Talks are rife that the NCRCOM would be deactivated after General Kison bows out of the service,” a senior military officer told The STAR.

Another source confirmed plans to deactivate NCRCOM this year but revealed there is no formal order yet from the higher leadership. “As long as there are no orders (calling for the scrapping of NCRCOM), we will continue to do our duties,” the official said.

The plan to abolish NCRCOM is in line with the Defense Planning Guidance 2013-2018 issued by the Department of National Defense (DND) last year.

The planning guidance aims to incorporate “hard but necessary” force restructuring measures to ensure the efficient use of military resources.

Under the plan, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR, troops under NCRCOM would be placed under a new unit called Northern Command (Northcom).

Northcom will be activated in 2013 and will handle all military forces in Luzon except those in Palawan, which will be under the Western Command.

NCRCOM covers 16 cities, one municipality, and 1,695 barangays with a total population of around 12 million. The unit based in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City is tasked to secure the seat of government.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. could not confirm whether NCRCOM would indeed be deactivated in July.

Burgos, however, assured the military’s mission would not be jeopardized by the restructuring plan.

“We will make sure that the safety and security of the public will remain a primary concern. In case we decide to replace a unit, we will make sure that its responsibilities will not be left out,” Burgos said.

On Thursday, the military abolished NADESCOM, a unit that formed partnerships with private groups to implement development projects in far-flung areas.

The deactivation of NADESCOM came as the military is implementing security plan Bayanihan, which was supposed to focus on development projects. 

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Alexis Romero | The Philippine Star | May 7,2012 | Article Link