The ATR is a long-term 18-year transformation and governance program. Its primary purpose is to transform the PA into a better, more dynamic, more capable, and more professional Army committed to its mandate of serving the people and securing the land. It aims to advance and institutionalize good governance and performance excellence; provide a long-term basis for the organizational and capability thrusts of the PA; and to establish, maintain, and synchronize the various reform initiatives. In short, the ATR expresses our earnest commitment to pursue a genuine transformation program founded on good governance and performance excellence.
By adopting the PGS and implementing the ATR, the Army has already carried out the critical steps to institute reforms based on the principles of good governance and performance excellence. Firstly, the PA has defined its governance charter which sets and defines the strategic direction that the organization wants to pursue. It starts with the clearly defined and easy to remember core values of “Honor, Patriotism, and Duty”. It acknowledges its mandated mission which is “to organize, train, equip, deploy, and sustain ground forces in support of the AFP mission”. And, it provides a sharper edge to its stated mission by stating the core purpose which is “serving the people, securing the land”. On such foundation, it sets forth a vision that the PA is committed to actualize: “By 2028, to become a world-class Army that is a source of national pride”.
Secondly, the PA has provided more flesh and has given more heft to this governance charter by crafting a strategy map which outlines the strategic objectives of the ATR and defines the interrelationships among these objectives. The strategic objectives are organized into the strategic perspectives of stakeholder support, logistics and finance, human resource, internal processes, and constituency as well as three strategic themes of good governance, organizational excellence, and operational excellence. The following are the thirteen strategic objectives outlined in the ATR:
1. To develop and communicate a brand image consistent with the Army’s Core Values;
2. To engage and partner with key stakeholders;
3. To institutionalize good governance;
4. To adopt best practices in resource management;
5. To recruit and retain the best and the brightest;
6. To continuously build and develop the character and the competence of our personnel;
7. To motivate our personnel through efficient and effective management;
8. To adopt and institutionalize best practices in management, operations, and support systems,
9. To build and modernize mission-essential capabilities;
10. To excel in ground operations;
11. To actively support in nation-building;
12. To be responsive to the needs of the AFP; and
13. To be a professional Army loved by the people.
Thirdly, in order to ensure that the strategic objectives are achieved and the 2028 Vision is realized, the PA has developed a performance governance scorecard translating the broad objectives into measurable items and actionable details that facilitate strategy execution, monitoring, and evaluation. The scorecard highlights the measures and targets which assess and track the success of the organization in attaining the ATR goals. Consequently, the PA has underscored the following fifteen strategic initiatives, which when implemented for the next medium-term (2011 – 2016), will lead to the realization of the 2028 Vision and the desired transformation:
1. Army Capability Development Program;
2. Enhancement of the Army Logistics System;
3. Institutionalization of the Army Resource Management;
4. Enhancement of the Doctrine Development System;
5. Enhancement of the PA Education and Training Management System;
6. Battalion of Excellence Program;
7. Enhancement of the Army Inspector General System;
8. Army Character Development Program;
9. Enhancement of the Army International Defense and Security Engagement Program;
10. Stakeholders Engagement Program;
11. Army Intelligence Capability Development Program;
12. Enhancement of the PA Health Service Support System;
13. Network Infrastructure Development Program;
14. Enhancement of the Reserve Force Development Program; and
15. Expansion of the Army Housing Program.
In sum, faced with the challenge of rebuilding a more cohesive military organization attuned to good governance and performance excellence, there is no more opportune time to start the transformation than now – to build a world-class Philippine Army that can truly be a source of national pride for all Filipinos. The ATR is a governance framework that seeks to transform the current processes and systems; and to integrate and synchronize the current programs and projects in order to realize the vision to become a “world-class Army that is a source of national pride” by 2028. The ATR provides focus to all our activities and challenges us to do the right things the best way we can.
The PA has put countless efforts in crafting the ATR. However, the completion of the transformation framework is only an indication that the real work is just starting. In order to realize the 2028 Vision, we need not only the commitment of the Army leadership but also the strong support of our internal and external stakeholders.
