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| Scandals involving PMA graduates; What is the military academy teaching? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 30 2004, 09:04 AM (3,406 Views) | |
| flipzi | Nov 30 2004, 09:04 AM Post #1 |
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Editorial : What is military academy teaching? Updated 11:22pm (Mla time) Nov 29, 2004 Inquirer News Service Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the November 30, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. RECENT irregularities and scandals involving graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) bring up the question of the adequacy and relevance of the education our future military officers are getting at the PMA. Are they being educated and trained for service to country and fellowmen or for self-aggrandizement and service to self? And then again, the education they are getting may be good, but the examples some of their elders are setting may be far from ideal. Instead of setting an example of honor, service and duty, many of their elders are showing that deceit, dishonesty and corruption pay great dividends. Instead of pursuing the ideal of service, many officers are lusting after power and pelf. The example of recently retired Major General Carlos Garcia, who is accused of amassing unexplained wealth totaling P140 million, is the worst of several cases involving PMA graduates. Garcia is not the only one who is alleged to have made millions at the expense of the taxpayers and to the detriment of the enlisted men who subsist on starvation rations, wear tattered uniforms and worn-out shoes, carry rusty, old rifles and wear substandard helmets and "bullet-proof" vests. Garcia just had the misfortune of getting caught, largely because of the simple-mindedness of his wife. Other generals and colonels must have amassed fortunes of their own in the past and are still amassing them today. The generals' and colonels' raid on the public treasury began during the martial law days when the dictator Ferdinand Marcos coddled high-ranking officers because he needed them to prop up his martial law regime. The examples set by the generals seem to have prompted lower-ranking officers to start their own "rackets." Corruption has become a way of life in the upper echelons of the military. Because of the example at the top, it is not surprising that no less than the valedictorian of PMA Class 2004, Second Lieutenant Rolly Joaquin, was caught switching the tag on a compact disc so that he could get a 50-cent discount at the commissary in Fort Benning in Georgia. Joaquin had seen his elders get away with grand theft in the military and he probably thought that he could get away with a comparatively much lesser offense. But he did not reckon with the fact that the situation is not the same in the United States, where strict adherence to the law is the norm, and especially in a disciplined military. What a pity! What waste! Here was a brilliant PMA graduate who had a promising career ahead of him, educated at the expense of P2.1 million in taxpayers' money, throwing away everything, all for a paltry sum. He could have become chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines later in his career, but he chose to follow the bad example of some of his elders. An example of the deeds not matching the words taught at the academy. The case of Major Ferdinand Ramos is different. No one is disputing that what one's sexual preferences are and what one does in the privacy of the bedroom is not the government's or the military's concern. But it becomes a public concern when it affects an officer's work in the military. Homosexuality is not a crime, but it is an offense for a superior officer to force a subordinate soldier to do certain sexual acts, whether they are "normal" or "abnormal." The officer has moral ascendancy over the subordinate; he should exercise such ascendancy for good and not for evil purposes. How low the PMA has fallen in its standards and to what depths has it plunged in the public esteem! It used to be known as the alma mater of strong men, courageous men, men of integrity, virile, virtuous men, but now it has become a breeding ground of many corrupt, materialistic, power-hungry officers. The PMA curriculum may have to be reexamined and restructured to remedy flaws that may be discovered and to make it more relevant to the needs of the times. It has to instill a sense of honor, duty and service in its graduates, whose education is paid for by the taxpayers. The military is supposed to serve and protect the people, not to steal from them. The PMA graduates now occupying high-ranking places in the military have to be constantly reminded of its motto: Courage, Integrity and Loyalty. Courage, including moral courage. Integrity, meaning the highest sense of honor and honesty. And loyalty not only to the PMA but, more importantly, to the country and its people. More than a restructuring of the PMA curriculum, a thorough reform of the officer corps, which is composed mostly of PMA graduates, may be called for, so that they will set a good example for the young ones. One teaches better not just by precept, but by example. http://news.inq7.net/opinion/index.php?ind...blished_site=25 ================================================== This one may hurt our soldier's feelings, but it should be taken with an open mind. The only way to stop these from taking the headlines and editorials is to vanquish these acts of disgrace from ever happening ... ... so that no such issues like what this editorial is trying to point out, will again disturb the conscience and morale of our beloved soldiers.  :thumb: :thumb: for whoever wrote this editorial. ... BTW, please let me add this one. Most soldiers view such statements as nothing but just a part of the ploy to destroy the AFP from within. It is a fact that this strategy is being employed now by the Reds to defeat the AFP. They even published such plan in their own media network. The AFP nonetheless must not see all of these scrutinies as just part of the Red's black propaganda. The issues aren't baseless and we have to address and resolve these completely. The issues sprouted from something. THE DISGRACEFUL AND DETESTABLE ACTIONS COMMITTED BY SOME WAYWARD SOLDIERS ARE WHAT'S REALLY RUINING THE AFP. This is what's really destroying the AFP from within. The criticisms are there not because we want to ruin the AFP but rather the people just want to remind the AFP that they aren't doing the right thing. Fortunately, there are still men in uniform who understand what the people are trying to tell them. Like what Gen. Abu, the AFP Chief himself has mentioned, as how a tabloid reporter put it in his report,.. ... "leak all issues or acts of corruption to the media so that we, the soldiers ourselves will be compelled to refrain from doing these things which ruin our image." It's good that you have Gen Abu leading the bewildered and almost dispirited soldiers. In fairness to them, let's stick to our goal of helping the AFP pull itself through... ...and not in anyway force it to become part of those who want to destabilize the govt.  Alamid edit: Changed yellow highlighting to blue. Nothing else was altered.
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 " Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them! - Art. II Sec 1, Philippine Constitution " " People don't care what we know until they know we care. " getflipzi@yahoo.com | |
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| adroth | Dec 30 2004, 05:39 AM Post #2 |
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COLONEL LINKED TO DESTABILIZATION PLOT HUNTED DOWN http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/hl/hl101523.htm MANILA, December 29, 2004 (STAR) By Jaime Laude - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has ordered the search and arrest of an Army colonel linked to an alleged destabilization plot against the government. AFP chief Gen. Efren Abu gave the order yesterday to bring back Lt. Col. Oscarlito Mapalo to the AFP Headquarters Support Service (HSS) at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, where he is restricted to camp, for breaking the military chain of command last September. Mapalo, who along with another Army officer allegedly conspired to overthrow the government, disappeared last Dec. 21 after he supposedly duped his two military guards while under the custody of the AFP-HSS. He has failed to report back to his custodian, Brig. Gen. Alexander Alco, HSS and Camp Aguinaldo base commander. AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Alexander Yano however stressed that the Armed Forces only wants to account for Mapalo. "Mabigat naman yata iyang manhunt (Manhunt is too strong a word)," Yano said. "He (Mapalo) was not even placed under arrest but only under restriction." Mapalo has accused the military leadership of favoritism in the enforcement of the military promotions system. He even filed cases against officers in the Army promotions board before the Office of the Ombudsman. A member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1979, Mapalo was linked to the supposed plot to topple the government during the burial of former presidential candidate and actor Fernando Poe Jr. on Dec. 22. Mapalo and another equally controversial Army officer, Col. Jose Gamus, a PMA Class ‘76 graduate, were earlier reported to have been arrested while planting a bomb at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Ortigas Center in the wee hours of Dec. 22. Mapalo is closely identified with deposed President Joseph Estrada while Gamus campaigned openly for the presidential bid of Poe, Estrada’s bosom buddy, in the May 10 elections. The 65-year-old Poe, who died of a massive stroke two weeks ago, was a movie icon who nearly unseated President Arroyo in the May elections. Malacañang has confirmed reports from Camp Aguinaldo that two Army colonels were being questioned for taking part in the alleged destabilization attempt. AFP chief information officer Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual earlier said the military is continuously gathering information to determine the extent of the destabilization plot that was planned on Dec. 22. Police and military were placed on heightened alert during Poe’s long funeral march, which ended with no untoward incident taking place. Following Poe’s peaceful and orderly burial, Pascual said the AFP leadership immediately ordered the lowering of the security alert status from red alert to white status. He expressed belief that the military foiled the purported destabilization plot after things went back to normal at around 5 p.m. last Wednesday after Poe’s interment at the Manila North Cemetery. The Philippine National Police also lowered its alert status — from full alert to heightened alert. |
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| jedi knight | Dec 27 2005, 03:56 PM Post #3 |
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i think it's too much of a generalization if you would blame the entire institution for the fault of some of it's graduates. there are still PMA graduates who are still steadfast in their profession. a glaring parallelism is the priesthood, why is no one blaming san carlos seminary or ust seminary for wrongdoings of some priest? if i may cite the following graduates, perhaps, we can be more enlightened. maj. gen. fortunato abat (class '51) - he was the commander in mindanao when the mnlf started their rebellion in the 1970's, he was credited for saving the republic. he lost a son in the war against insurgency. brig. gen. mariano clemente (class '62) - he made a clean-up of he logistics command, thus, getting the ire of the corrupt people there, framing him for corruption which was eventually dismissed by the courts. radm. guillermo wong (class '69) - former pn foic who managed to rid the navy of so much corruption and red tape (mentioned in the trillanes papers) col. arturo ortiz (class '79) - credited for disbanding NPA fronts in negros, thus, winning the medal of valor in the process. col. ariel querubin (class '79) - once YOU member, yet, he won the medal of valor in leading his battalion against milf fighters in 2000. lt. col. alexander balutan (class '83) - a soldier's soldier, as documented by the probe team as he is living within his means, enjoys being a soldier and earned the monicker "mandirigma" for his exploits in the battlefield. lt. col. custodio parcon (class '87) - credited for rescuing abu sayaff hostage anthony biel, medal of valor awardee. maj. cirilito sobejana (class '87) - medal of valor awardee, his right arm is severely damaged due to wounds sustained in fight against the abu sayaff. hope these men would be a source of inspiration for all of us. |
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| Wushu | Dec 27 2005, 06:54 PM Post #4 |
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it doesn't matter if the pma produces more good men than bad.... one bad egg per batch is bad enough.... the pma is not a simple university or a seminary that churns out the occassional 1diot or two..... a bad egg from the pma can cause a lot more damage than a simple graduate from a civilian school....... remember, these men are given command over many men, and given weapons and awesome authority in the name of the republic.... it is also an undeniable fact that many of its young graduates (and even cadets, based on some of their posts) have shown a tendency for "messianic" thinking, or thinks that civilians should be subservient to military power..... obviously, there is something wrong...... |
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| jedi knight | Dec 28 2005, 09:44 AM Post #5 |
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point well-taken, however, abolishing the institution would not be the answer, what maybe needed is a very comprehensive approach in dealing with the problem such as proper implementation of the basic law of the land. yes, i agree with you that some of them has messianic complex, what did our government do? re-integrate them in the AFP with full previleges and some even holding public office. for me it's a total overhaul of the institutions not just the academy. |
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| Wushu | Dec 29 2005, 06:46 PM Post #6 |
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maybe have separate academies for army, navy, airforce? reasoning of the americans kasi para hindi pare-pareho magisip mga sundalo nila..... anyway, i think they need more ethics, more laws, and yes even history of coups.... kaya naman tanggalin ang messianic thinking e, with the proper indoctrination..... isa pang problem is the "love your own, protect your own" mentality.... kaya nga inintegrate nga ulit yung mga ungas e hehehe isipin mo nangholdap ka tapos push-ups lang parusa sa iyo tsktsk.... |
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| jedi knight | Jan 2 2006, 09:26 AM Post #7 |
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it may be an answer however, if you think of the economics, our government may not be able to afford running different academies for the major services. besides, we have a small armed forces compared to that of the u.s., just imagined producing 50 air force officers in a year, yet there are no planes to fly! |
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| Pendejo | Jan 5 2006, 11:02 PM Post #8 |
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"t is also an undeniable fact that many of its young graduates (and even cadets, based on some of their posts) have shown a tendency for "messianic" thinking, or thinks that civilians should be subservient to military power....." I agree with this undeniable fact. Civilians who cannot deliver good government ought to be shot. |
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| scuttlebutt | Feb 6 2006, 07:58 AM Post #9 |
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just an old PMA joke: cadet1: alam mo ba na may bading raw dito sa PMA? cadet2: ganun ba? cadet1: oo cadet2: sino? cadet1: gusto mo ba talagang malaman? cadet2: sino nga ba? cadet1: kiss muna.... |
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| Noki01 | Apr 17 2006, 02:18 PM Post #10 |
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 Have you watched the PMA class of 2006 graduation?2 graduates did not rendered a salute to PGMA. hihihihih 
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