Marines’ lack of discipline is worrisome - DEMAND AND SUPPLY

How can business confidence recover? It is bad enough that Erap’s continuing claim to the presidency may be upheld by the Supreme Court. Now, the Marines are threatening a coup, forcing the Chief of Staff to sack a reform minded Admiral.

Just when I thought it was alright to trust the military, this thing with Admiral Wong happened. Perhaps I should take back the nice impressions I had of the military top brass, which I wrote about just last Friday. But I stand by what I wrote. This is different bunch of officers who are more attuned with the country’s social and political situation. But they may have become "too civilian" for comfort.

I am particularly worried over the lack of leadership shown by outgoing AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes. With barely a month to go in his tenure, he has decided to take the easy way out and effectively punished the good guy, Rear Admiral Willy Wong. After the Mindanao war, the Abu Sayyaf and EDSA 2, I would have thought Gen. Reyes was made of sterner stuff. As it turns out, he is just another bureaucrat worried about his personal career.

As far as I could gather, Admiral Wong is an exemplary officer, the kind who should be role model for the top brass. He is a "leadership by example" kind of guy, long before President Arroyo made that the battle cry of this administration. Talking to him a week ago gave me a good impression of today’s brass.

The Admiral was trying to clean up his command. There were procurement practices within the Marines that the Admiral thought, should be more transparent. In particular, he was bothered by a deal involving combat helmets that turned out not only overpriced, but were out of specifications. Not only were the taxpayers cheated, the helmets did not protect the soldiers and have resulted in deaths in the battlefield.

Okay, the Admiral has the charms of a bull in a china shop. But that shouldn’t have mattered much to a supposedly tough and disciplined group like the Marines. The Marines know they are obligated to protect democracy but they should expect no democracy in the Marines.

Publicly, they must follow their commander’s orders and that commander is Admiral Wong. They have problems with Admiral Wong’s leadership style, that is something to be threshed out internally. Not ventilated in media with an ultimatum to the General Headquarters to get Wong out or else. That Wong wanted to reform the system and they are resisting it, is worrisome.

So, Admiral Wong gets canned for doing a good deed. What happens next time another commander wants to clean up procedures involving handling of funds within the Marines? Will the Marines again call a television reporter to air their gripes in public? Will any disgruntled military unit henceforth call TV Patrol to help them oust a commander they dislike?

Actually, I am embarrassed that a reporter in a network I am associated with was instrumental in doing a number on Wong. I am not sure the scalawags in the Marines will be so brazen if they didn’t have media support. A more one sided report I haven’t seen in my many years of journalism. At least we made up for it by giving Wong a full hour in the ANC program On Line. Gene Orejana more than made up for the lapses of our Patrol reporter.

If all you watched was TV Patrol, you wouldn’t have realized that the substance of the problem was the suspected anomalous handling of government funds that Wong wanted corrected. You also would have thought Wong was so heartless as to deprive seamen of their sea duty pay without reason. Actually, the only seamen who can no longer receive sea duty pay are those who are already land-based because their ships were decommissioned.

What we need from General Reyes is a call for an all out investigation of Wong’s suspicions about anomalous purchasing practices in the Marines. What we got was a statement from the General saying there is nothing wrong with the Marines. General Reyes says the Marines are not being pampered and they are not out of control. The turn of events looks like coddling to me.

In fact, the Ombudsman should now get into the act and conduct an independent probe. Or is the Ombudsman as intimidated of the Marines as General Reyes is? Or, is there more to it than General Reyes is ready to tell us, you know, like the Marines really did threaten a coup? Rather than canning Wong, shouldn’t these marine officers be court martialed instead?

It is also difficult to accept the General’s explanation that "in the question of the individual against the institution, the individual must give way." You do not protect the institution, in this case the Marines, by allowing them to get away like spoiled children brandishing weapons of war. What happens the next time the Marines can’t have their way? As far as General Reyes is concerned, he probably thinks that’s the problem of his successor.

What cherished traditions are the Marines protecting? The tradition of corruption the Admiral wants to change? The Marine officer corps have corrupted their honored traditions by making them nothing more than blind fraternity loyalty, right or wrong, against everyone who is not a Marine officer. That’s no different from the code of honor of the Bahala Na or Sigue Sigue gangs.

As for Admiral Wong, he impresses me as a good and sincere man, a real officer and a gentleman. He should be just the kind of person the President should consider for sensitive assignments that demand the utmost trust and confidence. Instead of allowing Wong to float, he can be used to advice Pem Domingo, the President’s anti graft chief, as a consultant on how to fight military corruption.

As for General Reyes as Secretary of National Defense, after how he handled the Wong case, I think the President should perish the thought. She needs someone there of sterner stuff. Not one who is easily intimidated.

Over rated

Here’s something from Dr. Ernie E.

Over drinks one evening two gentleman were having a discussion about the charms, or lack there-of of the supermodel Cindy Crawford.

"I say she’s highly over-rated," said one "Take away her eyes, her lips, her legs and that figure, and what have ya got?

"My wife" said the other with a heavy sigh.

(Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected])