Editorial: Fighting The Real Enemy

EDITORIAL
Fighting the real enemy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:40am (Mla time) 12/26/2007

MANILA, Philippines — As Walt Kelly’s cartoon character Pogo once said, “We have met the enemy, and they are us.” This, in a nutshell, is the problem facing the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Bravery, dedication, all the martial virtues are present, often to an extraordinary degree, in the officers and men of the AFP. The problem is that the AFP is also riddled with the corrupt, the greedy, the abusive and the stupid. And as for arms, for the protection of the state and our soldiers’ lives, the AFP never has enough, and what it has is both antiquated and poorly maintained.Aside from the experience in waging war gained by our troops during the bloody fights in Mindanao in the 1970s, in many respects the AFP remains bogged down in the past. Its armaments more often than not belong in World War II movies; its leadership structure is top-heavy; its tactics and methods rooted in the age of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, with its over-optimistic faith in a citizen army, instead of a purely professional force.And yet, from its grossly corrupt and bloated form achieved under martial law, the Armed Forces has gone a long way to redeem its institutional reputation. Rebels and putschists may have tarnished its image, but on the whole, our soldiers have adapted well to a republican regime grounded in civilian supremacy over the military. Our soldiers have proven themselves ours: they are the soldiers of the people and not of a clique that considers itself superior to the whole.Still the root cause of inefficiency and lack of morale remains: low salaries, insufficient benefits and antique weaponry.It was hoped that under President Fidel V. Ramos, an ex-general, the military would be given its due. What Ramos did, instead, was pay off old debts by filling the civilian bureaucracy with ex-military appointees. And then, during a time of relative plenty, he allowed billions to be earmarked for the modernization of the AFP — and then promptly ordered that the funds be diverted to “prestige” projects, such as the Centennial Expo, that have yielded nothing but scandal.Are we advocating guns before butter? No, but a nation that considers it necessary to maintain a standing army must give its soldiers the arms with which to justify their existence. In real terms, we do not have a real AFP, we have a glorified Philippine Constabulary. This is a situation that cannot be allowed to fester because it will result in what everyone fears: resentment and restlessness among the ranks. Our soldiers deserve better than what they’re getting. And they can serve better if they get what they deserve.We offer up this reflection because this is the time our soldiers get to go home, and enjoy, for once, peace and quiet away from operations in the field.By now the meager bonuses of the troops will have been spent, and many of our fighting men and women can only look forward to a new year saddled with debts, and without their fair share of benefits. Meanwhile, their officers play the political game, and party up in luxury.What comes nextAfter the fireworks, the drinking, the parties and toasts — what’s next? We are at a new beginning, approaching a new year, but we are the same people.We are not seers; it is not for us to predict what will be. But we can see what we will not be if we do not change certain things.There will be no hope for this country if its best minds continue to be sent abroad. If its young are reared by distant relatives, and grow rootless and wild in the process. If its population continues to grow unabated. If its millions continue to be deprived of decent homes, land on which to live and the just fruits of their labor. If their leaders continue to rob, steal and cheat to an extent that in the public imagination has already surpassed the larcenous record of Ferdinand Marcos. If its forests continue to be denuded, its rivers filled with filth, its air poisoned and its agriculture is kept backward by fighting land reform.