NATIONAL Intelligence Coordinating Agency Director General Ricardo de Leon stressed the need for academic programs that nurture responsive and capable leaders.

In his speech during the Alumni Homecoming of the Philippine Public Safety College Master in Public Safety Administration and Master in Crisis and Disaster Risk Management programs, De Leon urged the school to keep inculcating national discipline, love and patriotism to build more modern-day leaders.

“The foundations of knowledge and skills you have received have empowered you to make a positive impact in our nation and the world,” he said.

De Leon, the former president of PPSC, said the institution has pursued academic programs that empowered and equipped individuals with the vital skills, knowledge, and leadership qualities.

“I would like to veer away from the word ideology, but it is really the ideology. When we will have that kind of national discipline, when we have that love and patriotism already inculcated until we are now sure of the national identity of the Filipinos, I think we can go farther,” he said.

He cited the MPSA and MCDRM as examples of innovative approaches to governance and disaster management, which he had initiated during his presidency.