U.S. troops presence Taps for RP military?

Jose Ma. Mentelibano, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Asia News Network, Manila

The debate on the provisions of the Balikatan exercises which are part and parcel of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) has distracted us from addressing the crux of the problem -- the Armed Forces of Philippines (AFP)'s inability to eliminate the dreaded Abu Sayyaf group after two continuous years of focused operations against it.

While the Abu Sayyaf bandits have been earning sporadic attention from national media since the early 1990's, it was their intrusion into a Malaysian resort island called Sipadan which catapulted them into global prominence. Taking European hostages from the resort and bringing them into the Abu Sayyaf's stronghold in Philippine territory brought International media into frenzied coverage of what eventually turned out to be a tragic comedy serial.

From April of 2000 till today, a sturdy band of Muslim brothers has brought a whole Armed Forces into national and international ridicule. Thousands of men, tons of ammunition and millions of dollars of ransom money later, we are still where we began. The Abu Sayyaf is allegedly on the run, allegedly again with only a handful of members left, and with but a couple of hostages unreleased. Two presidents have been made to sing the same tune by the same military leadership, both times promising the Filipino people and the world of nations that the Abu Sayyaf will be pulverized.

It is the greatest accomplishment of the country's military leadership that it managed to convince its former commander-in- chief, Joseph Estrada, to initiate an all-out war policy in Mindanao, bankrupt the national treasury in the process, and end up having hostages freed after a scandalous ransom procedure. Of course, the accomplishments do not stop there. The war in Mindanao left hundreds of thousands of refugees, Christians and Muslims alike, wallowing in dazed misery at their misfortune. It also devastated the economic landscape of an already destitute people.

The same military leadership was, by a miracle, no less, able to deftly escape the tide of change when it chose to avoid bloodshed, their own included, and desert one commander-in-chief in favor of his soon-to-be replacement. Well, that was Estrada's own fault for not replacing a military leadership for being helpless against a band of bandits. He paid for that mistake dearly, and has all the time in, of all places, a military hospital to rewind a bitter history.

The tragic comedy graduates to a higher dimension when a new commander-in-chief takes the place of a betrayed one. Preferring to give more weight to a last-minute defection than the history of a failed military policy and shameful performance against kidnappers, the novice president makes her first decision as military commander-in-chief by retaining the same military leadership. Then, at the first opportunity, she promotes them!

The brouhaha about the Balikatan exercises distracts the Filipino people into useless and aimless debate regarding sovereignty and Terms Of Reference. This debate should have come when the VFA itself was being considered for ratification. The opportunity to adopt the highest patriotic and nationalistic stance was overridden by the economic exigencies of the moment and by the need to survive politically. As a result, the VFA was ratified over the valiant objections of a few senators. Today, only the finer points of its implementation is subject to negotiation.

And while nationalists of different persuasions, politicians with contrasting agenda and media practitioners and outlets scramble to inject their views to a despairing public, the unresolved issue of incompetence and corruption in the military leadership is conveniently relegated to a small and neglected corner.

Using the very desperation of the Filipino people which they caused by their dismal performance and suspect integrity, the military leadership has managed to steer public support toward a move which will institutionalize incompetence and allow questions of corruption to be unresolved. A nation and people brutalized by the crimes of the Abu Sayyaf think little of slights to dignity and independence. Instead, they overwhelmingly wish in their hearts that the bigger American soldiers and their superior technology will obliterate the bandits.

The tragedy is that the Filipino soldier must continue to live with the shame that he cannot perform. The tragedy is that the Filipino soldier cannot erase the suspicion that corruption in his organization caused kidnappers to get away with it -- loot and all. It is humiliating when surveys showing the Filipino public overwhelmingly in favor of American intervention in our internal security affairs affirms our loss of faith on our AFP's capability and integrity.

All is not lost, however. There are some who cannot bear anymore the twin shame of incompetence and suspect integrity, who cringe in shame as their institution fails the people they are sworn to protect. Their minds and hearts reverberate to the chanted mantra of "courage, integrity, loyalty." They are eager to prove their mettle despite their weak leadership, and we must pray that they have the opportunity to recover their pride at the soonest possible time.

From these few, and the growing number of patriots among a deeply frustrated and often afraid people, a new social and political perspective is emerging. It needs only to convince the Filipino youth to discard conditioned subservience and dependencies and become the core of a new Filipino society founded on internal strength, strong moral ethics, and equitable opportunities for all.

From the rubble of a tragic comedy must rise the spirit of a renewed and strong nation.