U.S. troops presence Taps for RP military?

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.