The AFP will prove detractors wrong—Gonzales

“OUR armed forces will come out clean and more loved and respected by our people because of the role they will play in the 2010 elections just as they have been doing so in Maguindanao.”

With that statement, Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales yesterday reaffirmed his full confidence in the professionalism of the military and reiterated his full support for a new Memorandum of Agreement between the defense-military establishment and the Commission on Elections.

“We have decided to put the the AFP at the full disposal of the Comelec because we want the poll body to accomplish its job in 2010,” Gonzales said, pointing out that the poll body had always employed the AFP in the past, particularly in election hot spots.

Gonzales said the decision in 2007 to limit the role of the military in electoral exercises because of the 2004 controversy “strengthened rather than erased doubts” on the integrity and non-partisanship of the military. “We want to correct that.”

Gonzales emphasized that the role of the AFP in elections will be defined by the Comelec. “It will really be up to the Comelec. Our armed forces will follow the orders of the poll body.”

The defense chief also clarified that the new MOA was yet being drafted. “There are no details yet.”

Gonzales added that the AFP would probably have a major role only in known election hot spots where the police would need the military’s support.

“Beyond helping Comelec ensure that the 2010 elections would be credible and reflective of the true will of our people, we want to show that the AFP is the true guardian of our democracy,” Gonzales explained.

“For the longest time, the communists and their allies have been casting doubts on the integrity and professionalism of our armed forces. We will prove them wrong in May, “ Gonzales declared.

Gonzales reiterated the need to confiscate loose firearms and dismantle private armed groups to check their impact on elections.

He said this was the only way the nation could give meaning to the deaths of those slaughtered in Maguindanao. “If we become successful in this campaign, then the victims of the Maguindanao massacre will have not died in vain.”

Synchronized ARMM and 2010 polls proposed

DEFENSE Secretary Norberto Gonzales yesterday proposed the advancing of the election for the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, synchronizing it with the national and local elections in 2010.

Gonzales said an early election for ARMM is needed to firm up the peace and order that Martial Law has started to establish not only in Maguindanao but also in the entire autonomous region.

The removal of the Ampatuans from their government posts will create a vacuum of civilian leadership in ARMM and this vacuum is better filled up by good Muslim leaders rather than the clan’s Constitutional successors who are most likely its allies, Gonzales said.

“It’s about time there is change of political leadership in Muslim Mindanao,” Gonzales said. He noted that the Ampatuans have ruled not only Maguindanao, but the entire ARMM with absolute power for many years.

Changing the political leadership in Muslim Mindanao will herald a new era of democracy in the region now that local warlords are being checked starting with the Ampatuans, Gonzales pointed out.

The defense chief said the move will also impact on the peace process in Mindanao as it will give Muslim rebels the opportunity to bring their advocacy in the electoral arena rather than remain in the battlefront.

“I would like to encourage the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to think ahead, consolidate its constituency and compete democratically,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales stressed that the government campaign to end warlordism in Muslim Mindanao will go beyond Maguindanao and the Ampatuans. He said that government security forces will continue efforts to retrieve loose firearms and dismantle private armed groups even after the lifting of Martial Law in Maguindanao.

AFP, DND, COMELEC to work together for clean and orderly 2010 polls

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines will be at the “full disposal of the Commission on Elections to safeguard the sanctity of the 2010 elections.”

This was the agreement arrived at by the top officials of the Department of National Defense, together with the AFP, and of the poll body in their dialogue yesterday at the COMELEC building.

Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, the AFP officers and COMELEC commissioners led by Chairman Jose Melo also agreed to work out the details of the cooperation, particularly the role that AFP would play in the forthcoming elections.

Gonzales said the military is needed to check armed groups and goons, which have tremendous negative impact on elections in the country. He pointed out that the Maguindanao tragedy has put this major problem of the country into perspective.

He said there are at least 132 private armed groups and around one million loose firearms in the country. “This will have a big impact on the 2010 elections if left unchecked. It will subvert the true will of our people.”

Of the one million loose firearms, no more than 200,000 are in the hands of all rebel groups in the country combined, Gonzales said.

Gonzales noted that there has been a pattern of daily political killings in the country even before the election season. “This is linked to the issue of loose firearms,” he said even as he added that the country’s intelligence sector is monitoring heavy purchase of weapons by local politicians.

Gonzales is concerned that the firearms acquisition is happening even in provinces previously not known for armed goons and warlords.

“We committed the full support of the AFP to the COMELEC and we are happy that the military’s offer was fully appreciated by the COMELEC. Chairman Melo said COMELEC needed an environment that would allow the agency to do its work, and we assured him the military was very willing to provide them that,” Gonzales said after the closed door dialogue.

Reminded by reporters that the military is seen by some sectors as an instrument for cheating during elections, Gonzales said “This is our chance to prove them wrong.”

“The role of the AFP in 2010 will be up to the COMELEC. We will show that the AFP is the true protector of the people and of our democracy, especially during elections. Our military will safeguard the sanctity of our electoral process,” Gonzales emphasized. He reiterated that one of his major thrusts as defense secretary is to change the image of the AFP. (30)

END WARLORDISM!

END WARLORDISM!

THE Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas condemns in the strongest possible terms the Ampatuan (Maguindanao) massacre in which some 60 people were slaughtered, around half of them members of the media and many of them women. The barbaric violence jolts us to the dark reality that in some areas of the country, there is virtually no state as warlords rule by terror with their private armies. The darker truth is that national politicians help these warlords rise in power and maintain their power by seeking alliance with them to access the votes that the latter can command during elections. The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) represents the worst of areas in the grip of warlords.

The Ampatuan massacre also highlighted the danger of arming civilians for helping fight rebels without the right orientation, proper training and effective supervision. Reports point out that among the some 100 armed men who perpetrated the unimaginable crime were members of civilian volunteer organizations (CVOs) armed and mobilized by the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police to help government in its anti-insurgency drives. These civilian volunteers’ involvement in the mass slaying confirms fears that many of militiamen end up being part of warlords’ private armies. Our security forces, which are overextended, need the support of the citizenry in pursuing their manifold missions. The building of military reservists and other auxiliaries is in line with the building of citizens’ army which is mandated by our Constitution. However, if armed civilian units are to be effective support guardians of democracy—and not otherwise—they should be properly motivated, adequately trained and well supervised.

The Ampatuan massacre should serve as a wake-up call for the nation to start putting an end to warlordism. Doing so requires swiftly bringing the perpetrators of the heinous crime to justice, disarming the CVOs and rethinking the proper role of civilians in the government’s anti-insurgency campaigns, and working towards dismantling all private armies. The loud outcries against the mad violence in Maguindanao, both inside and outside the country, provide a favorable environment for the nation to strike against warlordism. There is an urgent need, in particular, to bring back government in ARRM where people do not trust government because its face are the warlords.

PDSP Secretariat
2 December 2009

Danilo “Danny” R. Yang

Nasawi sina Ka. Danilo “Danny” R. Yang, Ka. Manolo Barcenas, at Ka. Brando de los Santos sa isang emboskada sa Barangay Bautista sa San Pablo City kagabi, 24 Hunyo 2009.

Si Ka. Danny Yang ay No. 1 Konsehal ng San Pablo City at Pangulo ng Councilors’ League ng Laguna. Si Ka. Manolo Barcenas ay Barangay Chair ng Barangay Santiago 2, San Pablo City. Si Ka. Brando de los Santos ay security ni Ka. Danny.

Napuruhan ang isang tumambang sa kanila, at may dalawang sugatan na ngayon ay tinutugis ng AFP at PNP.

Makabayani ang buhay nina Ka. Danny, Ka. Manolo at Ka. Brando, ganoon din ang kanilang pagyao.

Ipanalangin natin ang kanilang walang hanggang luwalhati sa piling ng Panginoong Diyos.

Ipanalangin at alalayan natin ang kanilang mga iniwang mahal sa buhay.

Itaguyod natin ang kanilang pakikibaka, hanggang sa tagumpay.

“Tandaan ninyo: malibang mahulog sa lupa amg butil ng trigo at mamatay, mananatili itong nag-iisa. Ngunit kung mamatay, ito’y mamumunga ng marami.” (Juan 12:24)

“Sa mga tapat sa iyo, Panginoon, ang buhay ay di nagwawakas, kundi nagbabago lamang; pagkasira ng tirahang makalupa ay naghihintay ang tahanang makalangit sa kabila.” (Prepasyo I para sa mga Yumao)