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.