PMA Classes Clash over AFP anomalies

A source revealed that several PMA classes are now "warring" amongst themselves. The reason? The fund anomalies which are slowly destroying the military and police institutions. Several PMA presidents have been called to mediate. But, it seems that certain things are difficult to end especially when the in-fighting concerns money. 


And there are several calls for junior officers to replace the current crop of Generals at the helm of the AFP. This group thinks that the corruption will end if they will replace the generations of Generals now occupying sensitive posts in the military.


A new reform movement has now been established, basically seeking the much needed reforms within the AFP and of Philippine society. The objective---seize power from the old guards and push for a peaceful transition. If the Powers are unwilling to make the leap peacefully, then, an open conflict will definitely happen.


Of course, like any other revolution, this one will definitely pass the eye of the needle. Is the administration ready for a challenge? Brace yourselves, guys. The bimbang is just a few steps away. 

Sirs, where are the good men?

The corrupt

The joke that went the rounds again this week is this...from the Philippine Military Academy to the Philippine Millionaire's Army. What had happened to our cavaliers?


Former Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes is set to be investigated further on allegations of former Colonel Rabusa that he received 50 million pesos from the AFP boy's club shortly after his retirement. Rabusa said, this is already a "tradition" in the AFP--that monies from major service units are re-aligned and amassed into what Senate president Juan Ponce-Enrile said was the AFP's "slush fund"and given to high-ranking military officers. 


The "slush fund", which amounts to 40 million every month, is sourced through different means. The fund is supposed to fund the Chief of Staff's activities, pay off media and several people and given to the C-S (Chief of Staff) after his retirement. 


Several sources say, the AFP as an institution is so corrupt that it is now the main stumbling block to progress of the Filipino People. I believe them.


Soldiers have lost hope that the institution will ever be changed. The oft-repeated line right now is "don't grumble now. wait for your turn."


It seems that all institutions of governance have turned from bad to worst. Graft and corruption have seeped into all levers of governance. And why is this so?


Is it because of low pay? Is it because soldiers and high-ranking officers receive no benefits? I doubt it. 


I think one of the reasons is the lack of sustaining indoctrination among the soldiers. Soldiers have to be properly indoctrinated.


They have to be asked why they want to be soldiers. Many of them would definitely answer that the reason is poverty--they want to escape the vicious claws of poverty that afflicted them and their families, and the only means is to go to the PMA and study.


Okey, that's fine, but there's something terribly wrong with this. They see the AFP, the establishment, as an economic body, not a service unit of the government.


Soldiers become soldiers not to become rich or wealthy, but to be defenders of the people. Soldiers want to become soldiers because they have this desire to serve the People. 


I think this all started when Ferdinand Marcos, transformed the AFP into his personal army. Cronyism replaced professionalism. High-ranking military officials were given perks, treated like petty millionaires and petty kings, and pampered by the dictator. For over fifteen years, this became institutionalized. 


Yet, look at the flipside, we were given twenty five years to reform the AFP and this was the slogan of the Reform the Armed Forces of the Philippines who became RAM before---reform. What had happened?

Reformers all...but where are those reforms?

RAM founder Senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan even became a legislator--and was given the powers to reform the very institution he so fought for all his life. Honasan became a legend within the change agents in the AFP, but what happened? 


Several laws and life-altering orders were made specifically to change the very organization, but the culture of impunity and the values remained the same. The soldier remained committed to a desire to live a life of plenty out of the dire poverty of the people.


Honasan's classmate, Major General Carlos Garcia (member of PMA Class 1971) is now even tagged as the main or chief promoter of graft and corruption. 

Where are these good men in the background?

Deep-seated are the problems of the institution and it even worsened after the dictatorship. What needs to be done?


Where are the good men who defended the country with their selfless love? 


Where are the good men who became soldiers out of their patriotism?


Where are the good men who would risk their lives for the people and expect nothing in return? Are these men relegated to the barracks?


Some would say---we produce good cavaliers but the corrupt system made them lose their focus.


Crap.


The soldier has the responsibility of correcting the wrongs of the system. The soldier has the right to change the system. If that very system is the institution they belong to, these soldiers, true soldiers of the Filipino People, have every right in them to unite and storm the barracks with their righteous cries.


Like any other institution, the Armed Forces of the Philippines needs a shot in the arm. The AFP needs drastic reforms, particularly in values. 


What the Filipino People need are people who would sacrifice their lives out of love of country, not of money.


What the Filipino People need are soldiers who would stay true to what they promised to live by---COURAGE, INTEGRITY AND LOYALTY. Where's patriotism, sir?


Is it courage to strike a deal and amass monies from the public coffers and have the courage not to talk about it?


Is it integrity to abide by the rules and traditions that mold evil men than good men?


Is it loyalty to the powers-that-be that live off from the monies of an ever-suffering people? Let me publish here what Jose M. Crisol, a PMA'er from Class 42 wrote and published in the PMA website.

Courage ! Integrity ! Loyalty !

By JOSE M. CRISOL, PMA '42

There are three words that are deeply entrenched in a cadet's heart, three words that he zealously guards against defilement and pollution.

These three are: COURAGE, INTEGRITY, and LOYALTY. They are not cold and meaningless abstractions. They are not merely words. They are beacon lights that illumine the way as the cadet journeys toward the goal of his ambitions.

They form the vertices of the triangle that bind the limits of the sphere of his conduct. This triumvirate of manly virtues is the basic pillar of a cadet's character.

A failing or a weakening of one eventuates in the collapse of the moral make-up of a cadet. Each in conjunction with the other two acts as a moral fortress to safeguard the cadet against the onslaughts of the vicious and corruptive influences of the world.

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.