Two weeks ago, the nation marked the 71st anniversary of the Fall of Bataan, a day dedicated to the memory of our veterans who fought alongside American soldiers in a campaign that from the start had already been written off by Washington. The United States’ secretary of war, Henry Stimson, put it thus: “There are times when men have to die.”
In November last year, I wrote an article titled “Brand-new PMA ‘sup’ retires in five months.” Last Thursday, Lt. Gen. Irineo Espino relinquished his post as Philippine Military Academy superintendent after barely five months on the job.
Don’t tangle with mothers, particularly mothers protecting or looking for their young. Those who do will live to regret it—if they live, that is.
“You can seal truth in a grave. But it will always break free.” Easter hammered that truth over the last 2,000 years. Before Easter 2013, did the entombed truth about journalist Jonas Burgos’ abduction start to emerge in a Court of Appeals decision?
President Aquino’s decision to adopt the findings of a special inquiry by the National Bureau of Investigation into the Jan. 6 killing of 13 men in Atimonan, Quezon, should make a dent on the culture of impunity that has been fostered by the wider culture of violence and human rights abuse in the country. Agreeing with the report that the deaths were a result of summary execution and not a shootout, the President ordered the filing of multiple-murder charges against the police and military personnel involved.
The still fragile peace situation in Muslim Mindanao was seriously threatened by the abduction and enforced disappearance of Sheik Basher Mursalum, an Alim or Muslim scholar, last Jan. 22 by suspected operatives of the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime and the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force. Sheik Mursalum was on his way home to Barangay Labuan, Zamboanga City. Until now, he is still missing. The western Mindanao police and the head of the Task Force Zamboanga have not acknowledged custody of the victim.
Notes on Philippine Military Academy homecoming activities: Vice President Jejomar Binay who also serves as the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) was the guest of honor at the PMA alumni gathering in Baguio City during the weekend. As I mentioned in an earlier column, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas was the guest speaker at the PMA Alumni Annual General Membership meeting held at Camp Aguinaldo last month. Roxas is an honorary member of PMA Class 1984 while Binay belongs to PMA Class 1998, members of whom are marking their Silver Jubilee this year.
This is a reaction to Ramon Farolan’s column titled “The PMA ‘mystique’” (Inquirer, 1/28/13). Farolan says, “It would be in the national interest if we could revive military training programs so as to be able to attract more of our youth. National security is the responsibility of all, not just a few.”
Last SaturdaY, the Philippine Military Academy held its annual general membership meeting at Camp Aguinaldo with Interior Secretary Mar Roxas as guest of honor.
One of the more inspiring and ritual-filled events of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is the change of command ceremony that is part of a broader body of military customs and traditions. This particular ceremony marks the transition of leadership at the major levels of command of the AFP and is generally presided over by no less than the commander in chief or the defense secretary.
I am a retired master sergeant from the Armed Forces of the Philippines. I served the AFP from 1951 to 1981.
Here are some recollections and caveats that came to mind after the Jan. 6 encounter/shootout/rubout (?) at a police checkpoint in Atimonan, Quezon, that claimed the lives of 13 people, among them policemen and soldiers, who were traveling together in a convoy. Of the police officers and men, plus the backup members of the Armed Forces that lay in wait at the checkpoint that fateful night, only their leader sustained gunshot wounds.
