Not brute force, but a caring hand

Tomorrow (Tuesday) the Philippine Air Force marks its 67th founding anniversary at Clark Air Base, Pampanga, with the Commander in Chief, President Aquino, as guest of honor. It was on July 1, 1947, that the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC) was redesignated as the Philippine Air Force, marking its accession as a major service command of our Armed Forces. This was the result of Presidential Proclamation No. 397, which was signed by President Cory Aquino in April 1989 on the basis of a recommendation submitted by the PAF chief at that time, Maj. Gen. Jose de Leon Jr.

There are differing opinions on this issue of changing the anniversary date from May 2, 1936, to July 1, 1947.

This is my take.

For those not too familiar with Air Force history, it was on May 2, 1936, that the test flight of a Stearman biplane was made by an American, Lt. William Lee of the PAAC. This signaled the start of flight operations of the organization. The idea of celebrating the birth of the PAF by linking the event with the test flight of a foreign pilot is a bit difficult to comprehend. Perhaps this is all part of the colonial mentality that influenced many of our actions in the past and that we must constantly strive to change and to overcome. We need to rediscover our roots if we are to finally understand ourselves.

A similar situation that requires serious review and study has to do with the anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. At present, we celebrate AFP Day on Dec. 21 each year to coincide with the day in 1935 when the National Defense Act was passed by the Philippine Commonwealth. And yet our historical records show that as far back as

March 22, 1897, our revolutionary leaders had established an Armed Forces with Gen. Artemio Ricarte, who used the nom de guerre “Vibora,” as captain-general. This rank corresponds to the present-day AFP chief of staff. Thus, Ricarte is considered the first in a long line of AFP chiefs, with Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, the current head, as No. 44.

By the way, unless some drastic change is suddenly initiated by our national leaders, we shall soon witness another rigodon in the “revolving door” concept of leadership that distinguishes our Armed Forces from those of other nations in the region. Next month, on July 20, General Bautista retires from the AFP, marking 56 years in the military service, with the last 18 months spent as AFP chief.

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“Haribon” stands for haring ibon and, in English, means “king of the birds.” It refers to the Philippine eagle, considered the largest in terms of length among existing eagles. It is also one of the rarest and most powerful birds in the world. In 1995, President Fidel Ramos issued a proclamation declaring the Philippine eagle as the national bird of the country.

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In the PAF, the “Haribon” or King Eagle is Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Delgado. He does not preside over a powerful force. And there is some truth to the painful joke that the organization he heads is mostly air with little force.

But today the PAF is deeply involved in humanitarian and disaster relief operations. We may not have the jets to deliver powerful blows to an incoming enemy, but we are building up our resources to assist our people facing the most difficult aspects of climate change. On display at Clark Air Base tomorrow are some of the latest helicopters recently acquired to augment our fleet of air assets that will benefit the poorest of the poor and the weakest of the weak in our society. These will also be used in support of internal security operations that require constant vigilance and immediate action on the part of our

Armed Forces.

Last Saturday, in line with another PAF tradition that shows the strength and cohesion of the organization,

Lt. Gen. Antonio Sotelo led Air Force retirees who were honored for their services in the past. Like the recent “Night with the Air Chiefs,” the practice of honoring retired Air Force personnel has served to nurture and to foster a greater feeling of camaraderie and friendship among airmen. To my mind, no other major service of the AFP, or even the Philippine National Police, has these customs and traditions.

On the occasion of their 67th founding anniversary, we salute the men and women of the Air Force under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Delgado!

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For the benefit of my friends at the Department of

Foreign Affairs who have expressed concern over the whereabouts of the sword of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, his granddaughter informs me that the sword is kept at the Aguinaldo home in Kawit, Cavite. Now perhaps we can redouble our efforts to secure the bells of Balangiga. If we don’t continue to press for the bells, nobody else will do it for us. The least our American friends can do after we just made available military space for their use “without rental or similar costs” is to return the bells. This rent-free land arrangement is one of several provisions contained in the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement signed by

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and US Ambassador Philip Goldberg during US President Barack Obama’s visit last April.

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San Antonio, Texas, is better known as the home of the San Antonio Spurs, the current NBA (National Basketball Association) champions, who recently dethroned the

Miami Heat after three straight wins in the championship playoffs.

For many PAF personnel, including myself, who were sent to the United States for specialized training in the past, San Antonio was the entry point to prepare us for our stay in that country. Lackland Air Force Base is one of several military installations in the San Antonio area used for training purposes. In our case, we spent almost six weeks at Lackland in an English-language course that provided us with more of a grand vacation that included visits to Nuevo Laredo and

other tourist points south of the border. We were mixed with Iranians, Turks, Thais, Indonesians, and Koreans, who may have envied us because of our familiarity with the language. At that time, the basketball franchise had not yet reached San Antonio, and the Alamo was the main attraction of the city.

Incidentally, San Antonio Spurs basketball coach Greg Popovich is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Class of 1970. Recently, he received the US Air Force Academy Distinguished Graduate Award for his achievements in the field of sports.