Civilian Supremacy & a Maverick

Saturday, 05 March 2011 07:49

Written by Malou Tiquia

BSA3 will be naming his second Chief of Staff by Sunday, 6 March 2011 in a swirl of hard and deep soul searching not only for the officer corps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, but also among the foot soldiers and the plebes of the once hollowed institution known as the Philippine Military Academy. For us ordinary mortals, we just hold on to hope (again). Hoping BSA3 picks the right soldier and officer and hoping that the appointee will have the fortitude to pursue reforms in how the Armed Forces operates as well as pursue security, peace, and nation-building.

One conclusion we can derive from the Senate hearing and the foot dragging of institutions in Le Affaires Garcia and Ligot is that the constitutional precept of civilian supremacy over the military is only good in paper. In the Senate hearing, not one of the previous National Defense Secretaries were called. It’s like there is a huge divide between the DND and the AFP and that the SND appears to be just a titular head. The incumbent remains eerily silent on the sordid details of conversion, diversion, and corruption among generals and comptrollers from their GAA allotments, Intel and even foreign provided fund such as the UN peacekeeping fund. And I thought these issues have been dealt with by the Reformed the Armed Forces Movement and the Young Officers Union. But I guess not.

Interestingly, the Garcia caper blew strong and went wild as we neared the 25th Anniversary of EDSA I. Consuming on its path a former Chief of Staff and Secretary of National Defense Angelo Reyes and having former Chiefs of Staff lining before the Senate to one-by-one say they didn’t know and never benefitted from the “pasalubongs” or “pabaons.”

Garcia, Ligot and his family grew thick skin and glaringly invoked their rights against self-incrimination, with some periods in the Senate hearing becoming too incredulous with all their pleas and explanations. That’s why in this country the truth hurts because nobody wants to say the truth. The Senate should stop swearing witnesses cause lies are peddled as truths. How can Senators stand the lies? How can they allow such behaviors? And we are not yet looking into how the Ampatuans got the cache of firearms and ordinance they had, if only relevant institutions pursued the information unearthed by the Senate in the death of Ensign Philip Andrew Pestano. The late Pestano reminds us that smuggling, gunrunning, and protection rackets abound in the military. Are the perpetrators in jail? No, they are not and the case is dragging because of individuals behaving like gods.

We romanticize the military with their crisp uniforms, medals, battle scarred stories and such words as contained in the PMA’s honor code and probably to a certain extent their role in EDSA I, but let us not embrace revisionist attempts to redefine EDSA I for from the very start had the people not trooped to EDSA, there will never be an EDSA I. Without the people massing, it would have been a bloody seize of power. But Marcos was able to contain the commando-like attack, due mainly to a flaw in the design of RAM, and the rest no one knew would occur. Not Marcos or Enrile and Ramos, nor the opposition or Cardinal Sin had the inkling that the people will embrace the military as a defensive move after years of violating the people’s collective right to freedom.

There were few instances of civilian supremacy in the AFP. During the Marcos presidency, the National Defense Secretary was Ernesto Mata then Juan Ponce Enrile. Though Enrile remained DND Secretary in the Aquino I administration, former Chiefs of Staff followed him, a revolving door practice carried from administration to administration. Ileto, Ramos, De Villa and Abat were the DND secretaries of President Cory. The next civilian was Secretary Orly Mercado and then again a series of retired Chiefs of Staff. Then we had Avelino Cruz, Norberto Gonzales, and Gilberto Teodoro. Do they know the goings on? If yes, what did they do? If not, why? The incumbent, though a retired military officer, is said to be not in the core of influence of the highly closed officer corps for allegedly lacking field experience.

The sordid details of corruption in the Philippine military should be remedied by doing institutional and procedural reforms, which should go deep into the mistah culture. Probably, the former civilian DND Secretaries can join hands, “para sa bayan” to craft legislation and make the AFP attune to the needs of the time. They were there by the side, leading generals and field troops. Policy wise, they were center and in command to pursue reforms and yet we have Garcias and Ligots. There should be no disconnect, the same framework as that of the DILG and the PNP, if indeed there is civilian supremacy.

Searching for the maverick to be Chief of Staff also means commitment to implementing the findings of the Davide and Melo Commissions and all other commissions that studied the military establishment. The maverick should stump the likes of Garcias and Ligots in the military. The maverick should put a stop to conversion. He should put closure on all things pending that gives the AFP less of a professional organization and more like a gang of thieves – from adopting politicians, to reforming the PMA curriculum, to generals involved in elections to rights violations, to gun running and acting as members of the private armies of warlords to engaging in illegal activities from drugs, carnapping, kidnapping, and the likes.

The maverick should remember Ensign Pestano’s stirring reason for returning to his duty and his boat…”para sa bayan.”#

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites