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A Study of Corruption in the PN
Topic Started: Jul 3 2007, 10:54 AM (953 Views)
seWer Rat
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amateur sewer cleaner

http://corruptioninthephilippinenavy.blogspot.com/

excerpt:

INTRODUCTION


On 26 May 2001, Abu Sayyaf bandits kidnapped 20 persons from Dos Palmas, an up-scale resort in Palawan. The next day, a joint task force was formed to conduct pursuit operations (PDI, 27 May 2001). On 28 May, a reconnaissance plane spotted the kidnappers’ group aboard three boats approaching the Mapun Island Group (MIG)(PDI, 28 May 2001). Immediately, four navy patrol crafts were dispatched to conduct a naval blockade on the island. Then finally on 31 May, Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Sabaya claimed that they have slipped through the naval blockade and are now in Sulu and Basilan (PDI, 31 May 2001). Presidential Spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao quickly forgave the Navy for its ineffectiveness when he said: “the gunmen’s boats had top speeds of 40 knots, way beyond the capability of the Philippine Navy. Using that type of craft they would have eaten up the wide expanse of Sulu Sea between Palawan and Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi (Mapun) in five hours” (PDI, 28 May 2001). Tiglao further stressed: “The biggest problem really is the Philippine Navy has few patrol boats. There are plans to increase the number of these patrol boats” (PDI, 28 May 2001). These statements coming from the presidential spokesperson clearly signified three things: First, is the cluelessness of the GMA Administration as regards the true situation on the ground and its total reliance on sanitized information given by the AFP leadership; Second, is its ignorance on the capabilities of its navy; Last, is the GMA Administration’s penchant for tolerating grossly incompetent acts of the AFP, in this case the Navy, due to her political indebtedness to it for being primarily responsible for installing her as President of the Republic.

The kidnappers actually used motor launches (lancha) that run a measly 12 knots as seen by the Air Force reconnaissance plane and reported to the Western Command. This probably explains why the kidnappers reportedly took two days (and not 5 hours as Tiglao said) to travel from Dos Palmas to MIG. Besides, the kumpit (fast motor boats used by smugglers in the South), while it is true that it can run up to 40 knots (without load), it is never used for prolonged sorties as it easily runs out of fuel. Its reported fuel consumption is approx 500 liters/hr at speed of 40 knots. For it to traverse Dos Palmas to Mapun and eventually to Basilan, they would need space for at least 10 drums of fuel aside from the space that the kidnappers and hostages would occupy. For a sleek boat, which measures no more than 60 feet, this is impossible unless they had a convoy of at least 5 kumpits, which is totally unheard of, and costs around P25 million.

The four navy patrol crafts should have successfully blockaded MIG, which only has a land area of approximately 30 square nautical miles (n.mi.), had they been deployed correctly. Each craft has a navigational/surface search radar that has an effective scanning radius of 6 n.mi.. This means that if properly positioned, the four patrol crafts’ radar sweeps should have overlapped at least at the middle, thus covering the whole MIG upto 3 n.mi. off the coastlines. However, as it happened the Task Group Commander in charge of the blockade, relying heavily on intelligence reports, positioned all four crafts 1n.mi off Tandatao Pt of Mapun mainland at 500-yard intervals thus minimizing their surface search capabilities. The Naval Special Warfare Group team that landed in the area supposedly to rescue the hostages found out that indeed one of the boats used was anchored near Tandatao Pt, but the kidnappers’ group was either in Pamelikan Is or Binlut Is, the northern islands of MIG and both were way beyond radar range from where the crafts were positioned thus, enabling the group to slip off to Basilan.

The escape of the Abu Sayyaf through the naval blockade was one tactical blunder that caused great humiliation and enormous costs to the country. To be simply ignored and forgiven by the President (through Tiglao’s statement) was a display of weakness as a Commander-In-Chief of the AFP. But the President could not have been that stupid and weak, as this gesture had showed. Thus, it is rather safe to conclude that, as mentioned earlier, it was her political indebtedness and fear of the AFP that prevented her from imposing sanctions lest she suffers the same fate as former President Estrada through another “withdrawal of support” by the AFP. These unfortunate political concessions, first demonstrated in the case of RAdm Guillermo G Wong AFP during the PN leadership crisis that occurred in February 2001(to be discussed later in this paper), while it would favor certain officers, could further deteriorate the Navy, and the AFP.

While it would seem that the incident cited above has dwelt more on incompetence and ineffectiveness, this paper will show that this is just one manifestation of the ill effects of corruption in the Navy. More specifically, how corruption made this incident even possible to happen in the first place.

Through the years, the Navy top brass have always raised the issues of obsolescence and shortage of operating assets of the fleet to cover for the Navy’s ineffectiveness. But is this really the case? Or, is it simply caused by an institutionalized corruption that exists in all levels and in all areas of the organization? If so, then what is the cost? How could this problem be solved? These are the questions that this paper intends to answer.

In going about the discussion, a brief look at the history of the Navy will be necessary to appreciate its importance and relevance to the country. Other basic facts about the organization will also be laid down to provide the necessary backdrop to the main subject of the paper.
To avoid criticism, write nothing, say nothing, do nothing, BE NOTHING.
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gagamba
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there was really hard facts about this report? kong may konting realibility man sa news na to it's very disgusting. sana barilin na sa Luneta ang mga involve. :fire:
Life is short. Make the most out of it...
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spearhead
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DoctorNO, Your Neutral Observer.
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Nakakainis lang pakinggan at mabasa ang mga ganitong balitang kagaguhan. Puro kurapsyon talaga nangyayari sa AFP!
"Men of War must learn the art of numbers or he will not know how to array his troops." - Plato

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City Hunter
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In my opinion this problem isn't confined alone to the PN. All agencies, departments and service branches are plagued with this.
Command is about authority, about appointment to a position. Effective leadership is different. It must be learned and practiced in order for it to rise to the level of art. You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader. You can certainly command without that sense of commitment but you cannot lead without it; and without leadership, command is a hollow experience. .. a vacuum often filled with mistrust and ignorance.

Gen. Eric K. Shinseki
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spearhead
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DoctorNO, Your Neutral Observer.
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alana talaga... kung gusto talaga natin makakita ng pagbabago sa bansa natin, dapat maghumpisa sa sistema ng gobyerno natin, dahil kung hindi, aabutin na naman tayo ng taon-taon dahil ang mga tao sa atin ay nagkakanyakanya. kelangan natin ay epektibong sistema ng gobyerno, mga bagong laws at bilisan (dito kasi sa palpak nating sistema eh napakabagal nilang gumawa ng laws, puro dada kasi, di tulad sa parliamentary mas mabilis), at baguhin ang sistema sa edukasyon.

kung di nyo gagawin yan another 6 yrs nanaman kayo magrereklamo after ni PGMA, at siguradong sigurado ako, dahil wala nang naging presidente tayo na walang reklamo at gustong i-impeach agad para lang matanggal sa pwesto! ang kurapsyon di talaga mawawala yan, pero mababawasan ng husto yan kung kikilos lang at magkakaisa ang mga tao sa pinas na magkaroon na ng bagong parlyamentong gobyerno.

Pagginawa nyo lahat yan, hindi lang PN officers ang magbabago, lahat na susunod.

:thumb:
"Men of War must learn the art of numbers or he will not know how to array his troops." - Plato

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