45 graduate in the 15th Executive Course on National Security
POSTED BY: Rulino
DATE POSTED: 2009-11-11
23 October 2009 - A total of 45 senior managers, local chief executives and practitioners graduated from the 15th Executive Course on National Security (ECNS) held at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) in Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
Speaking during the Closing Ceremonies, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said “National security is not just about fighting the communists or checking the rebel movements in the South. It is about the total well-being of our people.”
The ECNS, designed for local chief executives, senior military and police officers, government officials and private sector leaders, is an intensive 5-day course focused on the theory and practice of national security.
Secretary Gonzales told graduates that the three key factors that will usher the country towards First World Philippines are leadership, vision and system.
Secretary Gonzales called the ECNS graduates “the ‘special’ group of Filipinos who have at least an understanding of what is wrong with us”. He challenged the graduates to have “the responsibility of taking some leadership and attempt to inform our people that things are wrong”.
As the government’s highest center for education and training on defense and security, the NDCP, through its Defense Management Institute (DMI) usually conducts the ECNS twice a year. But for 2009, the DMI conducted a third session due to the overwhelming number of nominations.
Since 2000, more than 700 civilian executives and military and police officers had participated in the ECNS.
The 15th ECNS graduates represent 14 government agencies and private institutions. Speakers include members of the NDCP Academic Board Professor Florian Alburo, Dr Amelia Ancog and Dr Segundo Romero; Atty Sedfrey Candelaria of the GRP-CPP-NPA-NDF Negotiating Panel; Executive Director Ronald Flores of the Office of Civil Defense; Dr Florentino Hornedo of the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School; Fr Romeo Intengan of the Center for Strategic Studies; Commissioner Roque Magno of the Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners; Ms Teresita Quintos-Deles of the International Center on Innovation, Transformation and Excellence in Governance (INCITEGov); Former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Atty Christian Monsod; and Dr Gaudioso Sosmeña of the Local Government for Development Foundation (LOGODEF). Dr Nestor N Pilar, NDCP Vice President for Academics, was the Course Director.
NDCP President Commodore Carlos L Agustin AFP (Ret) said, “The 15th ECNS allowed participants to embark on an experiential approach to learning in a degree far greater than its predecessors.”
Utilizing a combination of classroom-based lectures and table-top exercises, the 15th ECNS was designed to expose participants to different modes of learning. Participants visited key security sector agencies namely, the National Security Council (NSC), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) General Headquarters, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) National Headquarters.
“Literally and figuratively, the nation is submerged in flood waters, in an ocean of corruption. Lots of these things are of our own making and therefore, man can unmake it,” said Rizal Vice Governor Frisco San Juan who spoke in behalf of the class.
“The presentations we just saw and heard are the rays of hope that light our path”, Vice Governor San Juan said.
Through the DMI, the NDCP undertakes extension programs consisting of short- and medium-term courses, seminars, workshops, conferences, lecture series and forums on national security. Tasked to extend the reach of the College, the DMI is one of the three institutes under the Department of Research and Special Studies (DRSS). (Eljay Bernardo)
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