To win peace, send corrupt officials to the frontlines
I used to firmly believe that a military option—or the recourse to guns and bombs—to address the country’s persistent problems of insurgency is counterproductive. I have written letters to editors in the past, expressing my opinion that ideological conflicts have to be resolved through honest and sincere peace talks, if only to avert bloodbath and avoid further casualties, civilians and combatants alike. I have maintained that militarization can’t appease, but can only fuel, the people’s growing misery and disillusion which are mainly brought about by our government’s insincerity, if not ineptness in curbing corruption and straightening out its priorities.
With the recent developments in Mindanao, however, where various armed factions continue to evolve and resort to violent struggles despite existing peace negotiations, I could not help but do some rethinking myself. I am beginning to realize that we can’t possibly make peace with a bunch of bandits or any armed groups that would rather fire their guns than lay them down on the negotiation table.
And as peaceful solutions to the Mindanao problem continue to elude us, a military option cannot be forever ruled out. This, even if it would entail lots of risks and human sufferings, and result in mounting numbers of displaced families, war widows and orphans. Not to mention the billions of taxpayers’ pesos that would be dissipated in protracted armed hostilities. But rather than having big chunks of public funds getting lost in high-level corruption (“Napoles”-style?), we may as well give more funds (out of our “honorable” lawmakers’ pork barrel) to the military to help sustain an all-out war against terrorism and recidivism.
So, let’s give war a chance? But first, let’s train, feed and pay our brave soldiers well. Give them, or at least those in the frontlines, the necessary support services and logistics. Supply them with effective war machines—not guns that jam or helmets that crack or attack helicopters that crash—at the most crucial moments. Their leaders in the military and government must lead by example—ably and honorably—if only to keep our soldiers’ morale high and sense of patriotism intact.
Or better still, we send all undesirable elements of our society, led by our corrupt politicians and troublemakers, to the battlefields and right there have themselves finish each other off.
Only when these people vanish from the face of the earth can our country see the dawn of real peace and prosperity.
—MANUEL A. COLLAO,
