Military men in the government

Alarm has been raised lately over President Duterte’s appointment of former military officers to Cabinet and other high positions in the government, including: Eduardo Año to the Department of Interior and Local Government; Delfin Lorenzana, Department of National Defense; Hermogenes Esperon, National Security Adviser; Roy Cimatu, Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Ricardo Jalad, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council; Nicanor Faeldon, Bureau of Customs; Alexander Balutan, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office; Ricardo Visaya, National Irrigation Administration; Jason Aquino, National Food Authority; and Danilo Lim, Metro Manila Development Authority.

Despite the hue and cry from the usual alarmist quarters, I do not think these appointments were made in preparation for the imposition of dictatorial rule or the setting up of a military junta by the President. To me, there is method in the seeming madness of his appointments. He needs to put decisive men in key government agencies that deal with the crucial ills besetting our society, and which agencies are also perceived to be run by either inept or corrupt officials. Consider these appointments: Three men are to deal with disorder, drug addiction and criminality; two with revenue leakages; two with poverty and food insecurity; two with environmental degradation and frequent disasters; and one with the intractable Metro Manila problems. The DILG post is supposed to deal, too, with noninclusive growth and local territorial underdevelopment.

I think the President’s primary basis for selecting military men is the assumption that they are leaders who are goal- or result-oriented and trained to act boldly and with dispatch. They are deliberate men trained to win battles and to shun “paralysis by analysis.” Also, military officers, such as the graduates of the Philippine Military Academy, are trained in engineering and in construction work, for instance, and engineers are trained to observe what is called the critical path analysis that strictly schedules the completion of a structure by phases. Failure to meet project completion deadlines could result in compromising a military plan.

To me, the President’s state of mind resembles that of the American patriot Thomas Paine in 1776, when he rued the colonists’ attitude and cried out, “These are times that try men’s souls.” This was the first statement in 16 pamphlets Paine wrote that rallied the wavering American people to unite and fight to gain their
independence from Great Britain. To
Mr. Duterte, these are trying times indeed amid the political, social, economic and environmental ills tearing our country apart. He wants to recruit men with a mirror-image of himself to get things done quickly amid an apathetic population bereft of a siege mentality and a sense of urgency.

I’ve observed in dismay so many local government leaders spending money to produce land use and development plans that are
either implemented at a snail’s pace or just gathering dust on their shelves. But I’ve also seen decisive and strategic leadership marked by swift and strict implementation of plans. There was Richard Gordon’s tenure in the Subic Freeport, Bayani Fernando’s in Marikina, Edward Hagedorn’s in Puerto Princesa, Mr. Duterte’s in Davao City, and Victor Corpuz’s in eastern Panay.

Even now, except for the eastern Panay highlands that are being denuded again after Corpuz left, signs of order can still be seen in the local areas that the other leaders had governed. In Subic, there is no need for traffic lights and motorists simply follow the rule of “first to come, first to go.” In Marikina, there are no hawkers blocking the sidewalks. In Puerto Princesa, city spaces are clean and even schoolchildren report litterbugs to the police. In Davao City, there are no loitering smokers poisoning the air in public places.

It is my prayer that the military men tasked by the President with even greater responsibilities will derive inspiration from the performance of these personalities.
Meliton B. Juanico, a retired professor of geography at UP Diliman, is a licensed environmental planner and is active in consultancy work in urban and regional planning.