The big subject amongst Senior Officers within the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) is the Amnesty Proclamation,restoring the law abiding status of the servicemen and officers involved in"Oakwood Mutiny*,"the" Marine Mutiny" and the"Peninsula Hotel Coup Attempt,"that is currently making its way through Congress after having been withdrawn by its author, President Aquino.Presidential Proclamations must gain concurrence by Congress before being implemented. This is almost aways an easy sell to Congress, but not this time. the main bone of contention is that the original Proclamation,#50,contained some important points that the Congressional Committee on Justice took issue with.
The main sticking point involved the "Admission of Guilt"which was not mandated on the proposed applications that were to be distributed.Congressional Minority Leader, Representative Edcel Lagman took great umbrage with 1 prospective applicant, former Brigadier General Danilo Lim, who at the time of the "Marine Mutiny" was the Commandant of the Marine Corps. who remarked under oath during his testimony that he does not consider himself guilty of anything, noting that the 1987 Constitution the AFP is the desginated,"Protector of the People,"and that as a Senior Officer he had no choice but to take a proactive stance with regard to the Administration of former President Arroyo. Taking his supposition a step further Lim cited Article#2, Section#3 which specifies this course of action even when it pits the military directly against the Government. In his line of reasoning the AFP serves the citizenry first and THEN the Government.
The issue of implied guilt, or the actual admission there of, dominated the nearly 3 hours long hearing.Rep.Lagman,in response to Lim referencing the 1987 Constitution asked Lim if he was at all aware of relevant case law, specifically, that the Supreme Court has ruled that the failure to offer an Admission of Guilt negates the possibility of Amnesty. Lim in return pointed out that there is also a precedent that says the diametric opposite,thus supporting Lim's own position on this matter. Rep.Lagman was referring to"Vera vs. People (1963) while Lim was referring to"Barrioquinto vs.Fernandez (1949)."In the former case the Justices ruled that when an applicant maintains one's innocence they are negating the commission of the crime for which they are then applying for Amnesty which is not only counter-intuitive but non-sensical as well. The latter maintains that amnesty is a societal act and there fore only needing a legal recognition and NOT a legal dispensation.
The Chairman of the Congressional Committee on Justice, Rep.Niel Tupas Jr.of Iolio is adamant that such an admission is absolutely neccessary where as, in Lim's corner is Secretary of Justice, Leila De Lima.Rep.Tupas said that "Barrioquinto" was overuled by"Vera."In the end however Congress wouldnt budge on the issue,with Rep.Tupas publicly vowing to rule in "the vein"of"Vera,"ergo telegraphing the verdict before even retiring to ajudicate the issue.Secretary De Lima steadfastly asserted her opinion and so it stood until President Aquino took a pro-active stance and withdrew his Proclaation intelligently considering that having to withdraw the document and retool it would be alot better than having the Proclamation rejected by Congress.
Congress expressed serious concerns over a couple of more very important issues; The issue of commencement was one that seemed to rile the entire Congress.Under the original incarnation Asylum would commence as soon as the President signed off on each application. Congress opined that it should only ever commence upon Congressional concurrence. As Senator Teofisto Guingona III remarked, it seems that President Aquino formulated Proclamation#50 using Proclamation#80 as a template. Proclamation#80* was authored by his mother, the late and former President Corazon"Cory"Aquino. At the time presidents possesed Legislative Powers, something that is no longer the case. Presidents must now gain concurrence from Congress, the sole entity holding Legislative Power.
A third stumbling block with the original version, Proclamation#50, is the ambiguous wording with regard to reinstatement and reinstatement benefits. In the original document, ajudication of this issue wasnt clearly outlined and so in the re-tooled document, amongst AFP personnel, only Enlisted Personnel and NCOs (Non Commisioned Officers) through the rank of Technical Sgt.are going to be permitted to re-enlist sans benefits. PNP personnel from the rank of PO1 to SPO3 were to be permitted to reintegrate,sans back pay and benefits. Personnel above the afore mentioned ranks, in both the AFP and the PNP, are banned from re-integration. However, those higher ranks will be eligible for both Separation Pay and Retirement Pay.
On November 25, 2010 the AFP announced its position on suggestions that the MDT (Mutual Defense Treaty) be reviewed. Adopted in 1951 by both the US and the Philippines it is the enabling mechanism for the controversial VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement,bi-lateral agreement between the US and the Philippines) which the opposition sees as a violation of the 1987 Constitution since, contrary to the prohibition of foreign forces on Philippines soil). The military says that it welcomes the review. The issue was first broached by Senator Joker Arroyo who says the agreement is not worth the onus borne by the Philippine People.
On November 24,2010 at AFP HQ, Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, AFP Cief of Staff, General Ricardo David announced that not only is he not dissolving the CAA (Citizens Auxiliaries) system but was increasing the pace of recruitment. He offered that he has primarily based his decison on the flood of requests he has received from. Mindanowan LGUs (Local Govt.Units).The CAA Programme is a localised Army Reserve that serves only witin its soldiers' municipalities. Of residence, unlike the formal Army Reserve which like its Active Duty counterpart serves wherever it is deployed.The Army currently has 2 CAA elements, CAFGU (Citizens Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit) and the SCAA (Special Citizens Auxiliary). Additionally the PNP (Philippine National Police) also have their own element, CVO (Civilian Volunteer Organization).
The next day, November 25,2010 in Barangay Salingcomot, Baganga, Davao Oriental Province, at 67IB (Infantry Battalion) HQ, 330 men from that battalion bolstered by select personnel from Davao Oriental Provinicial PNP detachnent began their training for PDTs (Peace and Development Teams) for eventual deployment in the municipalities of Manay and Taragon. The 14 day course will equip the men for CMO (Civil Military Operations) in 2 barangays in each of those 2 towns. PDTs have been extremely popular within 10ID's (10 Infantry Division) AOR (Area of Responsibility). Thus far they have been deployed within ComVal (Compostela Valley Province), a key NPA zone connecting Davao Region, the AFP's highest priority area for the last 4 years, and Caraga Region, another NPA innundated area. The PDTs have gotten rave reviews. In addition to ComVal Teams from 84IB have also deployed in NPA influenced districts in Davao City.
The afore mentioned deployment of PDTs from 84IB took place on October 28, 2010 with roughly 300 soldiers. Those Teams will be working in Toril and Tugbok Districts, 2 of the 4 districts in Davao City that are firmly under NPA control. Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte (who just stepped into that position after reaching his Term Limit as Mayor) long ago reached an understanding with the NPA's Leonicio"Ka Parago"Pitao. As long as Pitao relegated NPA activities to 4 outlying districts the Mayor would not act overtly against Pitao or the NPA. Apparently Vice Mayor Duterte taught his daughter Sarah Duterte Carpio, the city's current mayor, to reach this same working arrangement.
Shortly after Mayor Carpio took office in the Spring of 2010 she pulled all support for AFP COIN (Counterinsurgency) operations within the city. Davao City is ground zero in 10ID's AOR, indeed its HQ, as well as the HQ for EASMINCOM os located within city limits. Now that 10ID has turned its cheek so to speak and begun cottoning to modern doctrine, such as the over-emphasis on CMO as opposed to "blood and gore," Mayor Carpio is all sniles and handshakes with the AFP. I will save that interesting story for a later entry and only note that the Mayor presided at the initiation of those PDTs' deployment.
On November 22, 2010 in Barangay Poblacion, San Miguel, Zamboanga Sibugay, 35IB's 1stLt.Orlando Galutera was in a great mood, celebrating his birthday and was kind enough to invite 2 NCOs (Non Commissioned Officers) under him to enjoy a bottle on him. Cpls.Rolando Serencio and Rey Galarpe joined their superior at a table in the Barangay Hall and the fun began. Before too long Galutera was heard cautioning the 2 NCOs to go easy on the bottle which precipitated a loud argument. Onlookers were shocked as Cpl.Serencio grabbed his M16 and pointed it at the officer and asked him why he had placed a 3rd NCO on Restricted Duty earlier that day. Before Galutera could answer however Serencio blew off his head with a 3-Round Burst. Galarpe then grabbed his M16 as well and both men fled into the jungle.
On Friday, November 19, 2010, Lt.Gen.Raymundo Ferrer,CO (Commanding Officer) of EASMINCOM (Eastern Mindanao Command) was laterally transferred to command WESMINCOM (Western Mindanao Command) to replace WESMINCOM's Maj.Gen.Ben Dolorfino who having reached Mandatory Retirement at age 56 is leaving for greener pastures. Ferrer has 1 extra Star dye to his having been repeatedly passed over for the Chairman's seat. The long suffering Ferrer was CO of Basilan in 2004 when refused to play ball and hand Basilan to former President Arroyo. 2004 of course was the year that the "Hello Garci Scandal" took place in which a recorded call from then Pres.Arroyo to COMELEC (national electoral authority) Commissioner Garci in which she discussed cheating in Mindanao. Ferrer's reluctance relehated him to less than he deserved but loyalty from compatriots in the AFP kept him from being drummed out.
Of course, back in 2004 there was no EAS and WES, both were combined as Southern Command until 2006 when they were cleaved from Southern which was itself then dissolved. The thinking was that Mindanao had 2 major fronts, the East with the Communist Insurgencies (NPA, RPM-M) and the West with the Islamo-fascist Insurgencies (MILF, ASG/JI, Abu Sofia and KFRs). Indeed the separation of Commamds was a great idea so leave it to the AFP to now be seriously considering the re-combination of the 2 into 1 Commamd. Ferrer's replacement is Maj.Gen.Arthur Tabaquero who lest held Command of the National Capitol Region (Metro Manila).
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