Puno Mohadji and the Death of a Filipino Patriot

Post war traumatic stress. That's the explanation given by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in explaining the cause of death of a Patriot, Col. Caldeo. This 1983 cavalier died, allegedly, by committing suicide. His family and mistahs said that he was disturbed by what happened between him and his superiors during the Puno Mohadji incident against the bandit group, Abu Sayyaf.

That Puno Mohadji incident was some of the defining moments of the Philippine Army. First, it was both a victory and a defeat. Caldeo's unit suffered serious casualties yet inflicted major damages on the Abu Sayyaf. They were'nt able to save the foreign hostages, though.

I distinctly remember the Sipadan hostage crisis because I was assigned there as a television reporter. I spent a considerable amount of time covering that incident. Like my other colleagues, it was a career-defining moment. Sandra Aguinaldo of GMA 7 and I spent some time at Helen's lodge which is in the heart of the city of Jolo. That place is just a few meters away from the Jolo Cathedral where some years back, a priest was killed. So, like the rest of the police and military there, we were also under constant threat from the civilian supporters of the ASG. There were reports that the ASG would conduct kidnappings of foreign and local journalists. Fortunately, I was not kidnapped. But the ABS-CBN crew was.

In Isabela, Basilan where Col. Caldeo was assigned, the tension was also palpable. The ASG unit there was reportedly a ferocious lot. Trained in Afghanistan, these ASG fighters vowed to resist the incursions by the "mushrikuns" into their territory.

My colleague Alvin Alburo, who now writes for GMA 7, saw that battle first hand between Caldeo's group and the ASG. Jun Veneracion (who was then a ABC 5 reporter) and another GMA7 reporter also were there, when some of the soldiers were beheaded by the ASG. I think (if my memory serves me right) about 15 soldiers died during that Puno Mohadji battle. Accounts say that the group of soldiers were ambushed when they were walking along a shallow river bed between two hills. Without air support, the soldiers did not stand a chance against the insurgents.

That battle was a major defeat. And it was a humiliating one.

After Puno Mohadji, the Army and the Philippine Marines suffered a series of defeats in the theatre of war in Mindanao. Hundreds of soldiers died in Mindanao already. It was not superior firepower that defeated these soldiers.

They were defeated due to the inefficiency of their superiors which affected their morale.

Whatever AFP Spokesman and 1983 baron Col. Daniel Lucero would try to picture it, the AFP of today is demoralized and fragmented. It has been politicized by Mrs. Arroyo and her ilk so much that it has been turned into their private army.

Proof? Look at what ex-General Jovito Palparan did just recently. He occupied a mining firm in Bulacan using the resources of the AFP, soldiers of an Infantry battalion assigned there. In what authority, you may ask? None but his!

Palparan's act shows how generals and ex-generals treat soldiers--they're their personal security force, their own private armies.

Palparan is a disgrace to the profession. If he's a Cavalier, his mistahs should immediately summon the courage to oust him from their class. Imagine, somebody without authority using the resources of the state for his own personal gain?

I am totally disgusted by this Palparan guy. He thinks that he's so powerful that he can use the AFP as his prop. Without his soldiers, will Palparan stand a chance against the New People's Army? I doubt it.

Palparan shows us how abusive someone can become given the license to kill enemies of the state.

This shows you how shabby our military has become since this administration took charge. Where's the professionalization of the ranks. Mrs. Arroyo?

You and your propagandists call for the military to remain apolitical and the Patriots to stand their ground against you. Yet, you and your mafia continue to abuse and use the military for your own personal power trip!

Where, oh, where are the Patriots whom the people love? Where are the True Cavaliers whom we, the People, supported and sacrificed our hard-earned monies just to hone them on the fine ideals of Truth, Honesty, Integrity and Honor?

Where are the others who will stand against this evil regime come what may? Where are they who will sacrifice their lives and their futures to correct the wrongs of this administration? Has corruption totally erased idealism from their hearts?

I shudder to think of other Col.Caldeos taking their own lives because they think they're helpless in abatting the continued slide towards disgrace of the military. Don't take your own lives, true Patriots of the New Generation. No.

Do something. Don't sulk in your chairs or in your camps whenever you see something wrong with the organisation. Exhaust all possible means to change the defects of the system. Then, you'll realize that these wrongs are symbols of a bigger problem, that of a system so corrupt and so decrepit that it makes you puke.

Don't puke. Do something. Stand up, you Patriots of the New Generation. Take charge. Act now.

You'll be doing it for the people. You'll be doing it to secure the futures of your children.

The loss of such fine gentlemen and officers like Col. Roberto Caldeo should stop now. The loss of such corrupt men like General Jovito Palparan should begin.