Election Views & Historical Notes

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 21:15:02 -0400
From: Feliberto "Guy" Camacho, PMA '65
E-Mail: 72254.2613@COMPUSERVE.COM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Subject: Election Views & Historical Notes
To: ACF@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM


If I can recall, the first PMAyers who made it in national or provincial politics were Congressmen (Rep) Bart Cabangbang '38 of Bohol (Congress 1949, 53, 57, 9th placer in 1963 senatorial race), Frisco San Juan '45 of Rizal (in the 60Õs), and Lucas Cauton '38 of Ilocus Sur (in the 60's). In the post-martial law days we have Reps Eduardo Ermita '57 of Batangas, Cav Gutang '56 of Cotabato, Cav Paredes '71 of Kalinga-Apayao?, Gov Aguinaldo '71 of Cagayan and Sens Biazon '61 (now 2-termer), and Gringo Honasan '71. (Alex Aguirre, Number One of '61 lost his senatorial bid when Pong Biazon won the first time).

In this recent election, we have congressional candidates Arnulfo Acedera '63 of Pasig, Guillermo Ruiz '63 of Ilocus Sur, Cav Aquinaldo '71 of Cagayan; gubernatorial candidates Ildefonso Dulinayan '63 (re-elect) of Mountain Province and Zubia '71 of Aurora; senatorial candidates Lisandro Abadia '62 and Pong Biazon '61; and finally ex-presidentiable Renato de Villa '57. Who else?

The initial 'success' of pre-martial law cavalier-politicians (CAVPOLs) may be credited largely to their individual merits and credibility as local leaders in their respective constituencies. Bearing the trademark of bonafide WW II heroes they campaigned on traditional platforms of government fiscalization and eradication of corruption.

On the other hand the candidacies of Ermita, Gutang, Paredes, Honasan and first-timer Biazon occurred when people were in a state of gratitude to the military for their contribution to the 1986 Rebolusyon ng Masa. In particular Gringo, inspite of (or due to?) his 'coup-lokohans' won the ÔadmirationÕ of the people by continuously projecting his Edsa Hero Image, enhanced by his Rambo personality and folksy humor. With logistics and moral support from his mentor, ex-defense minister JP Enrile, his slogan to reform the Armed Forces won him the hearts and minds not only of the Military Young Turks but also of the masa.

Did we hear also that he became Forbes Park's favorite fugitive, shuttled between safe houses in Mercedes Benzes? No doubt, he can challenge Erap's popularity with B-movie fans! (VP-elect Gloria Arroyo, Subic American mestizo Dick 'Flash' Gordon, former Fort Bonifacio detainee and incoming Defense Minister Orly 'Now Detainer' Mercado, whichever US-schooled Osmena, and other 2004 presidentiables and pretenders take notice.) If any movie-biography will be produced about Gringo (ala Iginuhit ng Tadhana, Madaling Araw, or The Years of Living Dangerously) I will apply for distributorship in Ontario!

One thing very noticeable in the latest batch of CAVPOLs is the number of ex-CSAFPs (RSDV, Biazon, Abadia, Acedera, never mind that FVR is the outgoing CIC). Do you notice also that there are no PMAyers from class '51 to '55 who ran for provincial or national office, even in the past? Why? Just musing aloud. In the case of the first PMAyer who ran for the presidency, could it be that he lost badly because he had no specific accomplishment to show like, for example, the successful prosecution of collusive and recalcitrant PC officers, or say, the eradication of corruption in the AFP, or the complete destruction of the MILF. Sure, he did a very good job as Overall Disaster Coordinator, but who would credit that as a presidentiable accomplishment?

As I have gleaned from casual conversations, people perceived him as an FVR clone more than anything else and that was ironic. Perhaps that label, partly of his making, was his handicap. He could have quit the defense post, say in 1996, and replaced Erap as head of the Presidential Anti-Crime Committee and drummed up something really BIG. [Side question: Why of all people does it take a civilian official to put wayward cavaliers behind bars? Let's talk about this issue some other time.] Of course this is all hindsight now. And we all know that Sir Rene was too much of a gentleman for his own political sake. We all wish him well. On the other hand, without an independent political machinery (down-to-the-grass roots organization, 'pahaba-an ng lubid' logistics, experienced cast of supporters) his running was wishful thinking. Without an alternate plan in case FVR would not endorse him, he could have executed a graceful retreat (a Bataan pull-back maneuver like running for senator instead) so as to be able to fight another day. Or, he could have worked out a suitable alliance. On second thought, what Batangueno since General Malvar would think of retrograding while in the thick of battle? Ay 'ala eh. Just musing aloud again. Politics is indeed like the conduct of war.

We ought to review Clauswitz, Jomini, Lao Tze, Kama Tzu. I suppose the Fort del Pilar Department of Military Arts could demonstrate how to relate military campaigns and geopolitics to Philippine political campaigns. Just a footnote for historical reference, Douglas MacArthur, USMA 1904, did not commit the mistake of going in the bullring and not readying himself to take the bull's horn with his own hands.

Remember, MacArthur refused the Republican draft in 1952 despite his seemingly overwhelming popularity, thus paving the way for Ike Eisenhower, USMA 1917 to become a two-term president. But who knows, another CAVPOL may take up the Kennon Road Uphill Challenge or KRUC (no reference to reptilians abounding in the congressional swamp). Recognize the omen: 1917-1904=13; also 1970-1957=13. Gringo Honasan has also 13 letters.

Verify Nostradamus' quatrains to confirm and be ready to march! Alerta Katipunan, pagmulan sa Loakan, sa Edsa ang labanan, sa Malacanang ang hantungan. Lest we forget, it is of no value to court the blessings of Cardinal Sin (who proposed, which God did not dispose) that an 'all of the above' endorsement of the LORD's candidates (Lim, Osmena, Rocco, De villa) would perform some sort of a logic-defying 'buy four, take-one' miracle!

Up to now he does not realize that every time he meddles in politics, Manalo's INK and other non-Catholics gravitate on the opposing side much like Leytenos sucking-up with Madam. (Pavlov's principle holds true on humans too.) Oh well, discerning God's plan for the only Christian country in Asia is an impossible human task, let's put it that way. Perhaps, somebody ought to advise Mike Velarde to endorse candidates, dead or alive, to His Eminence for fast-track beatification so as to gain more heavenly intercessory support, never mind that 50% of Filipino priests are about to denounce their celibacy vows! What about campaigning for 50% of ACF's Lurking Battalion denouncing their hermitical vow on the pain of embracing celibacy in lieu of those priests? Then they can be beatified.

This brings us to some rejoinders to the statement of Nelson Navarro. I do not share the observation that the negative perception of ex-military candidates in general the was main the reason for RSDV's losing. Logistics was a big factor. The real George Patton (step aside Bernie Patino '67, un momento por favor) would have not risked the Third Army going into 'the Bulge' if he was not convinced that he had the logistics, barely catching up with his blistering pace. But didn't the strategists of RSDV plan to match at least 10% of Erap's or JDV's war chest (something like P10 Billion or $250 Million), or was it their assumption that had FVR anointed RSDV, the same pork barrel used by Lakas-NUCD would have been available too? Then, that would have been playing the same traditional politics, hindi ba? There must be some lessons that we all can learn from RSDV's exercise before we get a copy of Martin Bionat's book.

Meanwhile, given the same Nelson Navarro (who used to sleep, when I went on long weekend flights at then Nichols Air Base, on my bunk at Narra Hall in Diliman when I was rooming with Eric Baculinao, then Chairman of UP Diliman Student Council and editor of The Collegian, after the term of a certain Miriam Defensor who was also the Corps Sponsor), I'm inclined to take it when he said," It would seem Filipinos want make-believe soldiers more than the real thing in office" to mean (#1) that before it was Marcus Edralinus that the people 'wanted' (circa 1965, 69) and he was a make-believe soldier; but when they were given the choice of a real soldier such as De Villa, they didn't vote for him. Why? [Class '98: Why & why until you reach Margie Moran becoming a cabinet member.]

However, coming from a former Kabata-ang Makabayan Maoist, now turned Makati-based political analyst, Navarro's statement seems ambiguous if not misleading. Or, did he mean (#2) that the people wanted Erap - the second most incredible make-believe soldier after his idol of course, the champion of poor damsels in distress whether sobre or sobra ang toma, having played more than a hundred and one times the role of a tough guy fighting against the enemies of justice - instead of RSDV or Alfredo Lim who are the 'real thing' (lest we forget that the 'real McCoy' is frozen).

Navarro, then, was just stating the obvious - that 39.99% of Filipino voters are myopic, fickle-minded, amnesia-prone and gullible to 'anting-anting' and legends. Very true, including my folks at home in the province. Because when the stomach growls the mind becomes impervious to the logic of the inteligentsia! At least, with make-believe fairy tales like 'Nora Encantada' or 'Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang' one can dream all he wants.

And all of us need to have dreams before we can fight for them, right? On third thought though, Navarro may have hinted (#3) that FVR was a real soldier whom the people did not really want in 1992, but who somehow breasted the tape. This is all but academic now to Miriam's brother, the Athletic Sword awardee of '69. Does Navarro's observation hold true as well for ex-senatoriable Boy Abadia vis-a-vis the likes of 'make-believers' Ramon 'Agimat' Revilla, Tito-Vic-Joey Sotto and Robert 'Mr PBA' Jaworski. [Pick your choice from # 1 to 3 and justify.]

Going on, I would like to express some reservations about the statement, "Unless this issue - the cause or reason for this negative perception on military officers , , , and what is being done about it - is addressed, all our talk about taking a direct hand in improving the Philippines will be of no value." While the agenda of the ACF includes the quest to identify all problems under the sun confounding the Filipino nation and to suggest solutions to these problems, we can be content if we can properly identify the problems surrounding the shortcomings if not failures of the AFP, then including the PC, from the post-war period to the present and how those shortcomings continue to bedraggle the credibility of the present AFP and PNP. After all, the mission of the Academy did not say anything about "successful pursuit of a political career". Not yet anyway.

With the end-purpose of archiving our collective analysis, this on-going exchange of views will be ACF's accomplishment and contribution to the sobriety and redemption of the military and police establishments, which will redound to the security and stability of the country. Hopefully, we will be able to demonstrate or allude to certain principles of professional conduct, wise or otherwise, for the benefit of the present and incoming generations of cavaliers as lessons to live by while in the pursuit of a successful military carreer. Hopefully too, they will be more mindful of each other's actuations and open to criticisms, even those coming from their juniors.

Because, if all present-day soldierly action and re-action are based alone on the so-called dictum of following absolutely the chain of command, right or wrong, legal or illegal, moral or immoral, then why should it be necessary that the PMA's curriculum include liberal arts subjects such as the humanities, history, literature, western thought and philosophy? These subjects are precisely included in the curriculum to inculcate a broad understanding of human nature, values, rights and a recognition of human dignity, all of which should ultimately enable the graduate to carefully think and make informed decisions, and have the moral courage to see them through.

We did not enter the academy to become robots, did we? That the present episode is a sequel to previous episodes complicates and blurs our visions, given our biases, frustrations and passions, not to mention that we too, ACFers and PMAyers in general, may have our own skeletons in our closets. Painful as it may be we shall take the high road of historical approach in analyzing our country's ills for there is simply no other way. All right (sir) then, how can we make an "assessment of the situation regarding the people's perception of the military," or "conduct a study of a problem that seems to be crying out for a solution," or "probe deeper into why the masses', and it seems also businesses' and intellectuals', perception of the military is such that they don't want people formerly in uniform to hold office," or "address the problem if we are not certain of our facts?"

How can we do all these if we do not first expose the defects of the (whole) system, if we attempt to hush-up the truth and pretend that 'everything is back to normal'. Let's review what Dr. Joey of Calamba wrote in his dedication of Noli: To My Countrymen: "In the catalogue of human ills there is to be found a cancer so malignant that the least touch inflames it and causes agonizing pains; afflicted with such a cancer, a social cancer, has your dear image appeared to me, when, for my own heart's ease or to compare you with others, I have sought, in the centres of modern civilisation, to call you to mind."

"Now, desirous of your welfare, which is also ours, and seeking the best cure for your ills, I shall do with you what was done in ages past with the sick, who were exposed on the steps of the temple so that the worshippers, having invoked the god, should each propose a remedy." To this end, I shall endeavour to show your condition, faithfully and ruthlessly. I shall lift a corner of the veil which shrouds the disease, sacrificing to the truth everything, even self-love, for as your son, your defects and weaknesses are also mine. - Europe, 1886." (Leon Ma. Guerrero's translation).

How I loved to hear Col. Guillermo Reyes recite passages from Noli/Fili, particularly about the scene when Maria Clara and the other chicks were wading in the stream, lifting up their skirts, unaware that Fr. Salvi was ogling and salivating behind the thickets. He was celibate though, unlike that profligate* Fr Damaso. (*Term I'm borrowing from my compadre Boy Maligalig '69.)

Like the worshippers at the temple desirous of finding the cure for that dreaded disease, we seek reforms to our political, economic and justice systems and their institutions so that our country will be politically stable and economically viable, while our elected leaders and their surrogates will be persevering and prudent about discharging their functions. The key word is ACCOUNTABILITY which is so badly missing, not even hinted at, in the Academy's mission statement. Because without accountability the justice system simply won't work; and if the justice system doesn't work all other systems will fail. Then we have revolutions, di ba? So Nelson Navarro, more power to you, sir! Or would you prefer Ka Nelson instead?

Greetings to you all ACFers on this centennial of the Kawit Declaration of Philippine Independence! Mabuhay ang bagong nahalal na El Presidente! Abaw gid, meron din tayong mga kaibigan na malapit sa kanya. [Long live Erap! We got cronies too trying to keep him sober.]

Guy Camacho