Malacañan Palace
13 November 2012

President Benigno S. Aquino III paid homage to the 43rd Founding Anniversary of the Office of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Sergeant Major held at the Heroes Hall, Malacañan Palace.

In his speech, President Aquino talked about the New AFP Modernization Bill. This bill covers not only the distribution of new military facilities but also the establishment of decent housing units for the families of the entire AFP community.

He said that 52,000 housing units will be constructed by the middle of 2013 and this will cover 20% of the 250,000 population population of soldiers and policemen. The actual housing target is 70% but there are also the informal settlers that the government needs to provide housing projects as well.

The President called on the AFP to forward him their requests about their needs and he will attend to these at the soonest possible time.

He also urged the entire Sergeant Majors present in the event to make sure that they will be able to share their knowledge to their successors.

“The measure of success is your ability to train your successor,” the President said.

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