Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. looked sincere when he was caught on camera saying there were talks among active and retired military leaders about ousting Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. out of Malacañang. True or not, it’s worth our time digging it.
It must be said that from 2016 to 2022, the Philippine National Police and AFP found true care from the government when former President Rodrigo Duterte increased their salaries, gave them brand-new equipment, and supported them all the way in their fight against terrorism, rebellion, drugs, and criminality. They became real heroes in the eyes of Filipinos. Duterte’s term was the height of Glory for our uniformed men. Their profession was utilized to truly ‘Serve and Protect’ the people.
Under PBBM, it's another story. When he became President, he immediately asked for hundreds of billions from government coffers for his Maharlika Investment fund. A fund no one knows for sure what it's all about. Meanwhile, he wanted our Military and Policemen to start contributing to their retirement pensions. It was perceived as blaming the men in uniform as a threat to the fiscal stability of the government. It demoralized our men in uniform and triggered early mass retirement, especially among high-ranking officers. They laid our lives for us, now we treat them as problems.
Our men in uniform became irrelevant under PBBM. The Commander-in-Chief's priority was not about solving rebellion, drugs, criminality, and corruption. He favors jet-setting, watching F1 races in Singapore or posing for pictures with Western leaders rather than sitting with our Generals to discuss solving criminalities and maintaining internal peace and order.
PBBM administration is the complete opposite of what he promised during the election: An independent Foreign Policy, Build, build more, and affordable food prices. From being the rising and most admired Asian nation during Duterte, the Philippines is now back as an American Puppet supporting the United States War agenda in the South China Sea.
While the US Forces were coming in and out of Philippine territory unrestricted, our weak Philippine coast guard was being used as bait to the Chinese mighty coastguard under the watch of American drones and spy planes of the US.
The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East were all seen as proxy wars of the US against Russia and Iran. If the Philippines continues to let PPBM lead the way, we will find ourselves at war with China. A war the Philippines cannot win but is needed by the US to maintain its world hegemony.
Therefore, Gen. Brawner's statement has a solid basis. Our men in uniform have reasons to talk about ousting the sitting President. If the House of Representatives and the Senate are sleeping on their duty to remove a President who is leading this country to a US Proxy War, we cannot blame our men in uniform for entertaining ideas of extra-legal means for what they think is best for the country.
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The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of The Lobbyist.
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