Marines welcome separation from Navy

THE leadership of the Philippine Marine Corps has welcomed proposed bills in both chambers of Congress to transform the Marines into a separate major service under the Armed Forces of the Philippines ( AFP).

Maj. Gen. Alvin Parreño, Marines commandant, on Friday said they are in favor of the move made by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte and Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara proposing the Marines to be separated from the jurisdiction of the Philippine Navy.

Both Alvarez and Angara are reservists in the Marines.

Parreño pointed out that they are not aiming to be a huge unit like the Navy, the Philippine Army and the Philippine Air Force, despite the bills authored by Alvarez and Angara in the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively.

“We do not intend to be a big unit… and we don’t intend to compete for resources from any other branch of service [ in the military],” he said in a text message to reporters, when asked if he is eyeing an expansion of the Marines once it becomes a separate branch of the military.

“There will be a transition and we are still preparing for it,” Parreño added.

He cited the Corps of Royal Marines in the United Kingdom with only 8,000 men despite being a separate service of the UK military.

The Philippine Marines is a 7,500- strong unit under the Navy and the AFP.

Parreño explained that the Marines is replenishing its battalions with more soldiers deployed across the country

“We have this table of organi are aiming to add more men to our battalions since it has a small chief said.

Alvarez and House Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Fariñas filed House Bill 7304 or the Philippine Marine Corps Act this week that also seeks the establishment of Marines headquarters in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

turning the Marines into an independent military branch, saying the Marines could play a crucial role in protecting the country’s territorial waters.

The AFP at present has three major services— the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, which are traditionally headed by a three- star general belonging to each command.