MILITARY INTERVENTION

The supposed plan of GMA to perpetuate herself in power via OPLAN: Blue Moon reveals that for a particular political bloc to take-over the reigns of government, it would need the support of the military.

I hope those people who want GMA out, but 'without' military involvement, realize the naivete of their stand. Either we "get" their support, or she does. As it is, she seems to have the edge.

This is not to say, that people's fear of the military is baseless, for we are all familiar with their 'reputation'. However, if we are to find the right person whom they respect and would follow orders from, I believe we can have a military who will not only be our protectors, but more importantly, our liberators.

Abnormal situations require abnormal solutions...

AN APOLITICAL MILITARY?

Are we that naive to believe that the military should be apolitical, whose support should not be solicited even by the very people they have sworn to protect?

This administration, naturally, would favor this because they know that without the military's support, we don't stand a chance of removing Arroyo from power. She knows this first hand because she was a beneficiary of the military coup in 2001.

People who harbor this sentiment are as hypocrite as Gloria!

The usual call for soldiers to "follow the chain of command" is in itself a political order favoring only those in power.

Being an armed organization, the military would always be called upon to act. now, my question to these people is: on who's side would you rather see them fight?

GORDON'S DICK

The first rule of the game is "do not give in to the terrorist's demands".

So how come Senator Gordon appeared - initially and for some time - to be in-charge of, much less, part of the crisis committee handling the ICRC kidnapping case? His statements came out as if he was giving out the orders. At one point, he even sounded like a spoiled brat who wanted his playmate banished from a game - when Gen Sabban was not following his "directions".

He repeatedly said that it was not his choice if he was the one being contacted by the Abu Sayyaf. Yet, he was obviously 'elated' by the 'importance' accorded to him by the terrorists. As someone who has presidential plans for 2010, he cannot deny that he has a lot of free mileage to gain from the on-going media coverage and even after this incident. How much part sincere and part acting he showed during all these, we will never find out.

We can say that this case was handled 'by the book', except that it was from the book of must nots!

We know that in cases like this, only the designated negotiator is allowed to communicate with the perpetrators. His being the national chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross makes it the more reason why he must not be allowed to deal with the abu sayyaf because he is an affected party.

If he was truly concerned with the lives of the hostages, he should have given-up his supposed direct line with Albader Parad to the designated government negotiator, instead of trying to play the hero himself. He is not even a certified hostage negotiator, in the first place. He shouldn't have stuck his dick where he musn't.

As a result, the other side used the gullible Gordon, who can be blamed for the group's escape from the military cordon. If its true that he was fooled into believing that he was talking to Parad, when in fact he wasn't, this makes it more embarrassing for him.

From that moment, the responsibility for any dire consequence that would befall the hostages should fall hard on Dick's lap.

BRIG GEN DANNY LIM

OFFICER AND GENTLEMAN

On the night of July 28, 2001, a house located in Sitio Naposte, Barangay Amomokpok, Ragay, Camarines Sur, where several NPA rebels were allegedly staying was raided by elements of the Philippine Army’s 42nd Infantry Battalion.

Four suspected NPA guerrillas were killed during the ensuing firefight while another one, in his early teens was captured. His name was Mathias Rafael Padilla Din.

Din came from a well-to-do family from Northern Philippines. In fact, his mother is a sister of Rep Carlos Padilla. He was a 2nd-year Engineering student and scholar of the University of the Philippines – Diliman, when he was captured.

For the people of Ragay the news wasn’t really the encounter between the AFP and the NPA or the resulting body count, for they were already used to such violent incidents. What surprised them though was the capture of a rebel suspect – alive and unharmed!

Later, they would find out that faithful adherence to the AFP’s “Rules of Engagement” was being strictly observed upon orders of the 42IB’s new Commanding Officer, Colonel Danilo Lim.

As a prisoner under then Col. Lim, Din was never maltreated nor abused. It was Danny Lim himself who contacted the boy’s parents informing them of his condition and whereabouts. Upon his capture, the boy was emaciated and so weak that Lim suspected he either had typhoid or malaria. True enough, when he was brought to the Ragay District Hospital, he was found positive for malaria and was given the proper medication and treatment.

While in camp, he ate three meals a day on the same table with Lim, who even had his men fetch water from a distant source, for Din's personal hygiene use.

When the boy’s parents arrived at the Battalion Headquarters based in Ragay, they were welcomed inside the camp and were even allowed to stay until he was transferred to the Camarines Sur Provincial Jail, upon the court's order.

This short anecdote, from among the many throughout his career, exemplifies the true character of Danny Lim and what he stands for. His professionalism earned for him the respect of both, civilians and soldiers, which remains up to now.


(Written by Juan Manuel Del Gallego, former Secretary to the Mayor of Ragay, Camarines Sur, where the Headquarters of the Philippine Army's 42nd Infantry Battalion was based from 1998-2002.)

RISE AND FALL OF GREAT NATIONS

This caught my interest:

US-like-USSR-will-crumbleRussian-envoy


At different points in world history, nations fought for conquest giving rise to empires such as those of the Persian, Ottoman, Mongolian and Roman, among others. These countries were once masters of the world who invaded/ruled other countries for wealth and resources.

We also have Spain, France, Portugal, etc., as examples of what were once "world powers". And of course, we have the USSR in recent memory.

However, aside from their rise to power, they also have another thing in common - their fall.

If this "pattern" continues, the chances of seeing the US fall will be high.

Then it won't be a question of who, why or how, but WHEN.

WHAT IF

This is not meant to malign the heroism of Ninoy Aquino. His selfless act brought together the once passive people to topple the dictatorship. Because of our hatred of everything associated with the Marcos family and their regime, we accepted the findings of the Agrava Commission, lock, stock & barrel.

But what if:

a) the results of the investigation of Agrava Commission were flawed?
b) Rolando Galman was really the gunman?
c) the well-known businessman was the mastermind?
d) only a part of the conspiracy was uncovered?

The only way to bring closure to this would be to re-open the investigation on the assassination. With the aid of hi-tech investigative methods, absent at the time, we will be able to find out the truth and put the issue to rest, finally.

Question is, are we willing to rewrite our history?

START OF THE (S)ELECTION PROCESS

No matter how hard they try to deny it, the campaign for the 2010 Elections has already begun. And the earlier we accept this reality, the better it would be for us, in terms of being able to seriously scrutinize each candidate whose names are being floated.

We can now start looking, not only at the potential candidate's track records, but more importantly, dig deep into their backgrounds. Aside from the general campaign platforms and usual rhetoric we hear from them, it would also be important to know more about who their advisers and contributors are; their current finances, businesses and investments, including those of their immediate family.

These sets of information will say a lot about their true intentions; the strength of their political will and their capacity to govern a morally-bankrupt bureaucracy.

Transparency must be invoked by us.

As usual, we have to rely on media for our source of genuine information. I say genuine because a lot of the information that will come out will be part of their propaganda. It goes without saying, therefore, that we should be careful in choosing our medium of information, as we should be, in choosing our next leaders.