Drenched in Sulu

Philippine Daily Inquirer, Tuesday, February 15, 2011

President Aquino holds a dialogue with soldiers in the rain at Camp Teodulfo Bautista, Jolo Sulu, on Friday. The President earlier distributed food packs to 300 families displaced by recent flash floods that destroyed some P100 Million worth of property in two Sulu towns.

US Navy ship visit

Philippine Daily Inquirer, Monday, February 14, 2011

The Philippine Marines band welcomes the USS Blue Ridge to Manila yesterday. Last here in August 2010, the flagship of the US Navy's Seventh Fleet is on a routine four-day port call and will conduct civic-military activities in the country.

Aquino boosts morale of government troops in Jolo

By Roel Pareño
The Philippine Star, Saturday, February 12, 2011

ZAMBOANGA CITY ,Philippines – President Aquino braved the rain to talk to Marines in an open court in Jolo, Sulu yesterday morning, in what was described as aiming to boost their morale amid allegations of corruption in the military.

Aquino, clad in a blue polo shirt and denim pants, commended the soldiers for their prompt response at the height of flash floods in the capital town of Jolo that killed six people and displaced thousands last week.

In the brief meeting at the headquarters of the 3rd Marine Brigade in Camp Teodulfo Bautista, Aquino lauded the soldiers for being pro-people, showing they were not just for combat operations.

Aquino announced an increase in the soldiers’ combat pay from P250 to P500 plus monthly and promised that military equipment such as aircraft and seacraft would be upgraded for their mobility.

He also vowed to provide the soldiers with personal combat equipment and free housing.

Earlier yesterday, Aquino, accompanied by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman, was briefed by Jolo officials led by Mayor Hussin Amin on the extent of the damage wreaked by the flash floods.

Aquino later distributed relief goods to the displaced residents before meeting the Marines. He flew back to Zamboanga City on his way to Manila.

Aquino in Tarlac

Manila Bulletin, Wednesday, February 9, 2011

President Aquino (Left), accompanied by Defense Secretarry Voltaire Gazmin (partly hidden), inspects the Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) for Disposal at the Crow Valley Gunnery Range, also known as the Tarlac Military testing Ground, in Camp O'Donnell in Tarlac last Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011. The President ordered the explosive experts to ensure the safety of the communities around the camp during disposal operations today, Feb. 9, 2011. Also in Photo is Rear Admiral Alexander P. Pama (right), 32nd Flag Officer in Command, Philippine Navy. (Malacañang Photo)