Fr. Joaquin Bernas talks to the military

During the martial law years, the guest of honor and speaker at the annual general meeting of the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association (PMAAA) was oftentimes the Commander in Chief. The same held true for the graduation ceremonies during March Week. After awhile, there was nothing particularly new or stimulating about the speeches although the presence of the President ensured wide coverage by media and the attendance of self-important personalities. Today, the Commander in Chief continues to be the guest of honor at PMA graduation rites. But in the case of the PMAAA annual general meeting, there has been a shift to nonmilitary personalities as guests of the association.

In January 2005, for the first and only time, alumni of the Academy chose as their guest speaker a man of the cloth, Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, a Jesuit priest and one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution. He was an excellent choice. In those days, there was much talk about re-establishing “civilian supremacy over the military,” as if to stress some kind of superiority by one sector over another. Perhaps, after years of martial rule, some people felt the need for such emphasis to be made. It was Father Bernas who debunked this fallacy of “civilian supremacy over the military.”

In his address, he pointed out that the 1987 Constitution, Article II, Section 3 states that “Civilian authority is at all times, supreme over the military. The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory.” Father Bernas divided the provision into two parts. The first part, consisting of the first sentence, he designated as the “civilian authority” clause; the second part consisting of the second sentence, he indicated as the “mark of sovereignty” clause.

He began with the first part. “I think that it is often misunderstood. And when it is misunderstood by high-ranking civilians, things can get messy. You will note that it speaks not of ‘civilian supremacy’ but of ‘civilian authority.’ That is important because in our constitutional system, authority can only come from law. The rule of law means that no official, whether civilian or military, can claim any power that has not been given to him or her by law. Much less can he or she claim power that runs contrary to law.” He summed it up by saying that civilian authority is nothing more than supremacy of the law.

Going to the second part, “the mark of sovereignty” clause, Father Bernas emphasized its positive aspects. For him, it singled out the military as the guardian of our people and our territorial integrity, and “ultimately, of the majesty of the law.” He then quoted Gen. Douglas MacArthur, “We of the military shall always do what we are told to do. But if this nation is to survive, we must trust the soldier once our statemen fail to preserve the peace.”

Father Bernas also talked about professionalism, breaking it down into two components. The first is technical expertise. He said that one cannot be considered a professional soldier unless “he has learned the art of war and of arms, unless he has learned how to command and how to obey. Unless he has learned the intricacies of civilian-military relations, and in an age of inter-disciplinary needs where a soldier is often called upon to do civilian work in building society, a soldier has to learn more than what is needed to win in battle. It is to the credit of the Philippine Military Academy that its graduates are also highly capable of becoming civil servants.”

The other half of professionalism is “an intangible value which is not easily defined. We call it character. Technical expertise joined with character makes for professionalism. Technical expertise without character can result in a monster.” He then posed several questions. How do you build character? How do you sustain character, once the individual is thrown into the real world of power, politics, and privilege? Ever so delicately, he suggested that PMA graduates are currently grappling with the problem of not just building character but also of sustaining character.

What can be done about the problem? Father Bernas said that there are no easy, and much less guaranteed, answers. “But in my experience, there is no better instrument for the formation and sustaining of character than the power of example, especially the example of those who have achieved notable success. Thus, living an exemplary life is a responsibility of all, but especially those who have attained seniority.” That day, we learned more from Father Bernas than from any previous speaker of the alumni association.

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