The Department of National Defense (DND) is redesigning the reservist ''paradigm'' of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

"We are in the process of redesigning the reserve force based on the needs of time and not based on the old dated paradigms or plans that may not be valid anymore," Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said in his speech during the 44th National Reservist Week Culminating Activity in Camp Aguinaldo on Saturday.

"We encourage our reservists to help in formulating plans for our strategic development in the future because this is a collaborative effort," he added.

Teodoro said the DND has asked the Reservists and Retiree Affairs, J9 of the AFP "to design a future reserve force based on two things."

"One is to complement the regular force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and to have service continuity in the civilian parlance business process continuity So, that there is replication of functional, functional replications and duplication of functions, Secondly, in tapping the special skills, that each and everyone of you bring to our service," he said.

Teodoro stressed the importance of the development of a local base civil defence unit for disaster response.

"We have to build up our reserve force, hand in hand with building up non- military civil defense units particularly in order to secure our communities through the benefits of the laws of war that they not be combatants and targets for hostile action," he said.

"With that I have tasked the Office of Civil Defense to merge and synergize the development of the community based, municipality base, provincial base civil defence unit for local DRRM use to provide security, Disaster Risk Reduction, first responder capabilities, fire capabilities for communities where our military forces to include our reservist are deployed," he added.

In an ambush interview, AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner welcomed the revision of the military reserve force as he stressed that the country is "facing more challenges that are global in nature."

"We are giving attention not only for the reserve force in terms of reorganization but also the regular force, because we want to develop our total force. It means the regular force is not separate from the reserve force but we are one AFP so that in case of emergencies or any threats that will come to our country all of us not just the regular forces, and the reserve forces even the citizens of our country should get together, work together for the defense of our country and for the promotion of our national interest," he said.

"(Among) the problems that we are facing in our external defense or territorial defense... the issue in the West Philippine Sea, this is a unifying factor for the Filipinos because of this issue we unite as Filipino to defend our country because we only have one country and all of us have a stake in the security of our country," he added. Robina Asido/DMS