New YOU?

Posted by Yvonne Chua 
PCIJ

IF no "constructive group" has emerged yet from the Armed Forces, it's because military intelligence is keeping a close watch on political dissent from the ranks since the political crisis started in early June, says former Army captain Rene Jarque.

Jarque, who served as special assistant to the Secretary of National Defense for defense policy and strategy before he left the service in 1998 to work as an executive abroad, also describes the AFP as "a confused organization," with officers and men harboring varying sentiments on the turmoil—from " inis (irritation)" due to red alerts that inhibit their movement to indifference or "walang pakialam" to concern "na sana maayos na ang gulo (hope all this ends soon)."

In a five-page analysis entitled "What's with the Armed Forces?", Jarque says the generals owe their positions to President Arroyo and have much to lose if she goes.

"The higher you go up in rank, the more compromises you have to make, the more you become involved in unethical conduct and corrupted by the system," the former Army captain says. "And many, if not all, of the generals and ex-generals have skeletons in their closets."

Meanwhile, the senior officers (majors to colonels) are "siguristas," what with their careers to protect. Some have also been tainted by corruption, notes Jarque.

But he believes there exceptions or those who may rise and lead the disgruntled junior officers and soldiers when the situation is ripe.

Jarque says the junior officers (lieutenants and captains) are the "most aware of the inadequacies of the government and the inept leadership in the AFP," as they bear the brunt of the battles against the rebels in the countryside.

Although this is where one would find the sentiment to be constructive or to intervene the strongest, he says at the same time the junior officers are too low in the chain of command to lead a "constructive" group and will be closely watched by military intelligence.

As for the enlisted personnel (privates, corporals and sergeants), Jarque says these are "economic soldiers" who are afraid to lose their jobs and more worried about day-to-day survival. "But if this group can be organized, they are a very powerful bloc," he says.

According to Jarque,  what is also keeping members of the armed forces from joining the fray is "there is no unity of command among the attacking forces."

"The battle lines though are not clear as it has presently many fronts with many warring parties and conflicting interests," he says.

He also identifies the involvement of leftist organizations in the opposition as a major factor behind AFP's  hesitation to intervene. Soldiers still perceive leftist groups as the "enemy of the state," says the former Army captain.

Last week, a manifesto purportedly issued by the Young Officers' Union (YOU) announced the group was breaking a 10-year peace accord to try and bring down President Arroyo.

Although YOU founders disowned the manifesto, saying the group was disbanded in 1995, they did not discount the possibility that disgruntled officers and men may have revived the YOU.

On the eve of Arroyo's state-of-the-nation address, another group claiming to be junior officers of the AFP and representing disgruntled soldiers expressed their support to calls for a "change in government."

Two men, clad in military uniforms, with armbands and their faces covered, appeared on a videotape sent to ABS-CBN. The videotape was entitled "Protector of the Filipino People."