Module 6 – National Security

Introduction
In module 5, you have learned that environmental education prepared us to become responsive to our
surroundings regarding cleanliness and orderliness. Now, you are expected to be the stewards of the earth to protect,
preserve, and conserve our environment's natural resources.
In this module, we shall explore topics on national security threats and the youth's role in national security.
National Security is defined as the state or condition wherein national treasures such as territorial integrity,
sovereignty, people's way of life, and well-being are protected and enhanced. It is the requirement to maintain the
nation-state's survival through the use of economic military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy.
Intended Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this module, you are expected to:
1. Present country’s measures in ensuring national security
2. Suggest ways by which the national security can be addressed; and,
3. Propose activities to promote national security.

Preliminary Activity

In not more than 250 words, What can you say about China's deal with the current
administration about the islands in the Philippine West Sea? Use a separate paper for
this activity.

Now, let us explore on National Security

1. THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY

National Security is defined as the state or condition wherein national treasures, such as territorial integrity,
sovereignty, people's way of life, and well-being, are protected and enhanced. It is the requirement to maintain the
nation-state's survival through economic military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy. The measures
are taken to ensure national security include:
 Using diplomacy to rally allies and isolate threats;
 Maintaining sufficient armed forces;

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  Implementing civil defense and emergency preparedness measures (including anti-terrorism legislation);
 Ensuring the resilience and security of critical infrastructure; and
 Using intelligence services to detect and defeat or avoid threats and espionage and to protect classified
information.
In the Philippine context, as indicated by the NSC Permanent Secretariat, National Security is described as a
condition or state of being where the Filipino people's values, way of life, institutions, welfare, and well-being,
sovereignty, and strategic relations are protected and enhanced. The elements of National Security are the following:
Moral-spiritual consensus
 We must be propelled by a national vision inspired and manifested in our words and deeds, by patriotism,
national pride, and the advancement of national goals and objectives.
Cultural cohesiveness
 Our lives must be ruled by a standard set of values and beliefs grounded on high moral and ethical standards,
drawn from our heritage and embodying a Filipino standard and identity transcending religious, ethnic, and
linguistic differences.
Economic solidarity
 We must vigorously pursue a free market economy through responsible entrepreneurship based on social
conscience, respect for labor dignity, and concern for the public interest. We must perpetuate an economic
regime where people take command of their own lives, livelihood, and economic destiny.
Socio-political stability
 We must achieve peace and harmony among Filipinos, regardless of creed, ethnicity, or social station. The
government and the people must engage in nation-building under the rule of law, constitutional democracy,
and full respect for human rights.
Territorial integrity
 We must ensure our national territory's permanent inviolability and effective control by the government and
the state. This includes preserving our country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and its protection from
illegal incursions and resource exploitation.
International harmony
 We must pursue constructive and cordial relations with all nations and peoples, even as our nation itself must
chart an independent course, free from external control, interference, or threat of aggression.

Ecological balance

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  National survival rests upon the effective conservation of our natural environment in the face of industrial and
agricultural expansion and population growth. We must promote sustainable development side by side with
social justice.

2. INTERNAL THREATS

1. The main internal threat arises from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which, in open rebellion
against the government, has the avowed objective of establishing an independent Islamic state in the southern
Philippines. Hopefully, the peace negotiations would succeed in persuading the MILF and allied groups to join
the republic's framework's autonomy. Hand in hand with these security problems is the threat from the Abu
Sayaf Group (ASG), a small band of highly mobile terrorists with suspected links to international networks.
2. Communist Party of the Philippines (CCP)/ New People's Army (NPA)/ National Democratic Front (PDF)
during the past two years, there has been an incipient increase of underground activities in the urban areas
and a slight upward trend in isolated terrorist acts in the countryside.
3. Organized crime is a national security concern. The challenge of illegal drugs, in particular, has grown into a
significant threat to the national community. Drug use among the youth has risen alarmingly over the past three
years. The national crime rate is also exacerbated by the drug trade, which involves several crime syndicates.
4. Grave incidence of poverty is also a severe threat to national security, primarily because it breeds and abets
rebellion, crime, and dissent. Poverty incidence affects about one-third of Filipino families nationwide.
Consequently, the distribution of wealth has been skewed in favor of the wealthy minority.
5. Under this category, economic sabotage are underground activities such as counterfeiting, money
laundering, large scale smuggling, inter-oceanic poaching, and commercial dumping. This is being met
through vigilant economic intelligence and the strict enforcement of maritime and trade laws.
6. Graft and corruption have become another threat to our national security on a large scale. It saps the public
resources, undermines the civil service's morale, and affects quality service delivery. It has also become a
disincentive to investment.
7. Severe calamities cause serious food storages, abet hoarding, and profiteering and cause hunger, disease,
and deprivation.
8. Persistent environment degradation poses a long term security threat. The attrition of forests and
watersheds, air, land, water pollution, and proliferation of toxic substances cause sickness, death, and the
diminution of national productivity and well-being.

3. EXTERNAL THREATS
1. The multilateral dispute over the Spratlys islands is a source of intermittent tensions due to the build-up
of structures, believed to be military-oriented by some claimant countries in the area. This is a clear encroachment
in the Philippine EEZ, which is being met through a comprehensive diplomatic measures package.

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 2. The smuggling of firearms and contraband, illegal migration, and the occasional movement of a
foreign terrorist through the porous borders of our south-western frontier have elicited global concern.
Philippine law enforcement international police organizations, bilaterally and multilaterally to check these activities.
3. The effects of the currency crisis affecting the countries with the association of southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) are a cause of regional anxieties than aggravate political instabilities and socio-economic
dictations involving the most impoverished peoples.
4. The severe economic disparity between rich and developing nations keeps the world in a state of
instability and virtually on the brink of war in many places. Local or regional shortages of freshwater, arable land,
food, fisheries, and energy are already causing tensions.
5. Ethnic, religious, and cultural conflict pervades many regions and nations, including our own. It is
continuously exacerbated by mass poverty, limited access to resources, denial of human rights, lack of national
integration, and international issues.
6. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is a threat to global security. Nuclear materials
and technologies are more accessible now than at any other time in history. The relative ease of production of both
chemical and biological weapons has made these attractive to the terrorist.
7. Transnational organized crime has increased in the era of globalization. The international monetary fund
estimates that global drug trafficking now accounts for two percent of the world economy, excluding illicit capital
flight and money-laundering activity. There are links among drug trafficking, terrorism, smuggling of illegal aliens,
massive financial and bank fraud, arms smuggling, and political corruption.
8. Natural disasters and environmental issues will continue to permeate the global security agenda.
Humanity's global activities, particularly population growth, resource consumption, pollution, urbanization,
industrialization, desertification, and deforestation, will increasingly impact climate and weather patterns, strain
fragile ecosystems, and put more pressure on health and social support systems.
9. Cybernetic crime is a growing global threat, as experienced with computer viruses such as Melissa and
Chernobyl, which have attacked isolated or networked information systems through the internet or software carriers
and devices. Our government's vital decision-making processes are now electronically based and, therefore,
vulnerable to this threat.
IV. THE ROLE OF THE YOUTH IN NATIONAL SECURITY
"We are addressing youth today because youth have placed themselves on the top of the agenda."
- Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations
An article entitles "10 Ways Youth Can Make an Impact" provided the youth means to contribute to the country's
national security. It emphasized that youth engagement can bring about social change. It sends a message that the
youth don't have to wait to become adults to be significant and active members of society.
1. Know your rights. Read up, get informed, and practice your right!!
 The youth can maximize their rights if they are well-informed. The existing rights are only of value to the
youth if they are understood, observed, and used.
2. Learn about local issues.

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  What are the concerns plaguing your community? How are the concerns affecting you and your immediate
environment? Knowing the problem can lead to possible solutions and the youth's role in the grand scheme
of things.
3. Speak out.
 Don't be afraid to speak your mind online, through social media, and offline, gatherings, and meetings. Be
assertive and express your interests. Someone is bound to read or to listen to it. However, be responsible for
what you aired and support it with facts. Also, respect the views of others regardless if it agrees or disagrees
with you.
4. Network.
 There is strength in numbers. Reach out to them and learn their efforts and initiatives. It could pave the way
to bigger things for you.
5. Spread the word.
 Talk to your friends and family about the concerns and issues you see as important. You can provide a voice
to unaddressed issues, educate and influence the people around you.
6. Join campaigns.
 Be one with the people having the same vision and initiative as you. Create solutions and actions that can be
done in your community.
7. Host a youth summit.
 Learn and share your perspectives and views with peers as well as decision-makers. Schools and local
organizations can be of generous support to you in creating a forum for exchanging ideas. Bring together
different communities and understand what you have in common, as well as your differences in interests and
perspectives.
8. Use your creativity.
 Use your passion for the arts and your hobbies into a productive action towards your ideals.
9. Join/create a youth organization.
 Local youth organizations are great places to expand your knowledge and become an active member of your
society. If your community doesn't have an organization representing youth, create one. Be the trendsetter!
10. Be an inspiration.
 Believe in yourself, and follow your passion. Passionate youth will change the world.
SOURCE: https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/blog/2015/8/11/10-ways-youth-can-make-an-impact.html

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 ACTIVITY 1 CASE ANALYSIS
Instructions: Read the article and answer the questions given below. You can team up with your classmates for
more ideas and thoughts through telecollaborative learning (ex. Messenger, short messages service, emails, video
chat, voice calls, etc.). Write your answers on another sheet of paper.

Deliberate, Not Desperate:

The Philippines' National Security Strategy on the West Philippine Sea
By Julio S. Amador III and Edcel John A. Ibarra
There were arguments that the Philippine government should not have solely relied on international courts to manage
the country's most pressing national security concern: the maritime disputes in the West Philippine Sea.
Some commentators pointed out that the Philippines depended heavily on other countries (notably the United
States), that the government seemed complacent and lax in handling the disputes, that Filipinos could never retrieve
the West Philippine Sea, and that the country was lacking external security and losing in its strategy. However, these
commentators missed that filing an arbitration case against China formed only one part of a broader strategic
framework. Indeed, the traditional approach was not out of desperation but a deliberate component of the Philippine
strategy on the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippine strategy
The Philippines did not merely bring China to court. Even before filing the case, the government had already wisely
chosen to settle the dispute with an Arbitral Tribunal under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS), with a registry at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), rather than with the other
international courts listed by the Convention. Unlike in those other courts, states influence the judges' ad hoc
selection in the Arbitral Tribunal: disputants each choose one tribunal member and agree on the remaining three from
a closed list of potential members, for a total of five tribunal members. The Philippines naturally appointed a judge
who espoused an aligned jurisprudence. Meanwhile, China refused to participate in the entire process, thereby
relinquishing its privilege of appointing a judge. The President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
(ITLOS) appointed the other four tribunal members instead, as per UNCLOS. As it awaited the decision, the
government also enlisted the international community's help to make China abide by the eventual ruling. Since the
submission of the case to the arbitral tribunal in 2013, Philippine diplomats engaged their counterparts in their
countries of assignment to support the country's position. The Philippines created an international pro-compliance
constituency by asking for support that China cannot ignore now that the tribunal had released its decision. The
strategy had been historically tested: rallying the international community can tame intransigent states. In Nicaragua
v. the United States, Nicaragua successfully lobbied the UN General Assembly to resolve that the United States
comply with the International Court of Justice ruling.
Similarly, in Netherlands v. Russia, Greenpeace, on whose behalf the Netherlands filed a case at ITLOS, generated
enough international attention on the case, which pressured Russia to release the detainees eventually. Arbitration
fell under the legal track of the government's three-track approach to the disputes. The Philippines maintained

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 multilateral cooperation with regional stakeholders through ASEAN—the political track— and continued bilateral
discussions with China—the diplomatic track. Apparent failures in the political track (the failure of ASEAN to issue a
joint communiqué on the South China Sea disputes) and the diplomatic track (a stalemate in the bilateral
consultations with China on the disputes after the standoff at Scarborough Shoal) in 2012 had ultimately prompted
the Philippines to file the arbitration case in 2013, but this did not preclude it to continue engaging ASEAN and China.
Indeed, there had also been improvements on these two tracks. On the political track, ASEAN identified
developments in the South China Sea as a cause of regional concern in its joint communiqués since 2013. On the
diplomatic track, the Philippines maintained bilateral discussions with China on other, non-contentious issues. In fact,
in terms of economic relations, the Philippines' total trade with foreign direct investment from China's official
development assistance since 2013 had indicated no clear sign of deterioration. "The Philippine strategy on the West
Philippine Sea is, therefore, a comprehensive package of legal, political, diplomatic, and defense approaches."
The government's overall diplomatic strategy went with a defense plan as well. The Philippines embarked on
strengthening its defense relations with allies while improving its military capabilities. On defense relations, the
Philippines, among others, adopted the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States, agreed in
principle on the transfer of defense equipment and technology with Japan, and signed a strategic partnership
agreement with Vietnam. On defense-capability improvement, spending for the security sector had generally been
increasing since 2010 when President Benigno S. Aquino III assumed office. In fact, in 2013, real defense spending
exceeded three billion USD at 2014 prices for the first time in history. In turn, this growing appropriation allowed the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to continue modernizing its assets.
Filling in the gap in public diplomacy
Therefore, the Philippine strategy on the West Philippine Sea was a comprehensive package of legal, political,
diplomatic, and defense approaches, but, as noted above, Filipinos might not have necessarily viewed it as such. The
salience of negative perceptions pointed to a gap in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to communicate the
Philippine strategy on the disputes, a gap that could have been remedied through more public diplomacy. For its part,
the DFA had been keen to explain the legal approach to the domestic public. For instance, the department's
spokesperson had been going around the country to discuss the arbitration case with local stakeholders. Also, there
should have been efforts to support local government units—especially those that administer the contested areas—
and educational institutions to conduct information campaigns independently. There should have been a broader
presence in social media, too. In terms of content, the government's legal efforts could have been contextualized in
the bigger picture of the Philippine strategy because the connection might not necessarily have been automatically
construed. Ultimately, there should have been extra effort to convince the domestic public that going to arbitration
was the country's best option, as the alternatives—multilateral balancing through ASEAN, bilateral negotiations with
China, and, most significantly, military confrontation—indicated slim success at that time. Past efforts moreover
indicate that there are improvements on the political, diplomatic, and defense aspects. After all, the flexibility of the
Philippine strategy made it possible to pursue different strategies simultaneously.
Source: http://www.fsi.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2016-0714-Vol-3-No-9-Deliberate-Not-Desperate-PH-Strategy-on

GUIDE QUESTIONS:

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 1. How significant is the issue regarding safeguarding our national security? What are the essential
measures the Philippines is making to ensure our national security?
2. Do you agree with the measures our country is taking to ensure our national security? If yes, what are
your reasons to state that the country is on the right track? If no, what are your suggestions or alternative
measures to secure our national territory?

ACTIVITY 2
Instructions: propose and discuss at least ten (10) activities young people like you can implement to promote
national security. You can team up with your classmates for more ideas and thoughts through telecollaborative
learning (ex. Messenger, short messages service, emails, video chat, voice calls, etc.). Write your answers on
another sheet of paper and follow the given template below.
Objectives Strategies Time frame Participant Budget
1. 1. 1. 1. 1.

Case Study Rubric

Criteria (60-70%) (75-85%) (90-100%)
Points [12-12] [15-17] [18-20]
Conflict The student, through the analysis The student was only able to recognize The analysis provided demonstrates the
Identification [20] presented, has overlooked possible a single conflict from the case given. student's recognition of the multiple
conflicts from the situation provided. problems presented in the case.
Points [12-12] [15-17] [18-20]
Plan of Action [20] The plan of action given lacks The plan of action yielded some The action plan provided multiple specific,
clarity and direction. feasible plan in response to the problem measurable, attainable, and realistic steps to
cited. address the conflicts identified.
Points [3.00-3.50] [3.75-4.25] [4.50-5.00]
Deadline Document submission fell beyond The document is submitted one week The document is submitted within the given
Compliance [5] two weeks from the set deadline. later than the specified date of deadline.
submission.
Points [3.00-3.50] [3.75-4.25] [4.50-5.00]
Writing Style and The document follows a different Follows format. However, some The paper reflects no errors in terms of
Format [5] format and manifests multiple misspelled words and some spelling and grammar and has followed the
incorrect spelling and grammatical grammatical errors are present in the prescribed format.
errors. document.

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 RUBRIC FOR ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING EXERCICES

EXEMPLARY ACCOMPLISHED DEVELOPING BEGINNING

CRITERIA WEIGHT (4) (3) (2) (1)

Coverage 25% All required Most of the required Some of the required Most of the required
information is information is covered information is information is
covered, and well-written covered but missing and poorly
informative, and uninformative written
well-written

Organization 10% Proper formatting, Proper formatting with Some formatting Multiple formatting
sections clearly labeled sections errors or missing errors or missing
labeled, well sections sections
organized,
professional style

Grammar, 25% No errors Only one or two errors More than two errors Numerous errors
usage, distract from
mechanics, understanding
spelling
Quality of 40% Attractive, well Some details vague or Details somewhat Unable to find
information researched, non-supporting of the sketchy, do not specific details
informative, subject support the topic
supporting details
specific to the
subject

Summary
The first views national security as the protection of the nation's people and territories from physical assault. In this
sense, national security is equated with national defense, and the threats to a nation's security are perceived to
emanate from outside the country.
In addition to national defense, national security is now included in protecting vital economic and political interests,
the loss of which could threaten fundamental values and the vitality of the state itself. In this sense, national security
is the concern of the military and other departments and agencies as well.

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 Therefore, it means that national security is not the sole responsibility of the military but a combined effort of the
military and private sectors. The academe is not excluded from it. Through NSTP, the students and youth are to be
given lectures and training, which would help them be better reservists.

References
1. Mactal, J. (2019) Modular Textbook on NSTP 1-RA 9163 [25 Hour standard modules], Bulacan, Philippines.,
St. Andrews Publishing House
2. Dela Cruz, S. (2019) National Development via National Service Training Program (RA 9163) Common
Modules for CWTS, LTS and ROTC., Mandaluyong City, Philippines, Books Atbp. Publishing Corporation
3. Punzalan, M. (2018) National Service Training Program. Manila City, Philippines. Mindshapers Co., Inc.

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