Addressing a meeting of the Rotary Club of Clark Field, Reyes lamented the "lax and uneven enforcement of our laws" and urged the Arroyo administration to enforce laws "quickly, resolutely, and without any hesitation whatsoever."
"In this country, we have tipped the balance too far in favor of individual freedoms and not enough in favor of public order," he told the group of local businessmen.
"This is a sure-fire recipe for anarchy and chaos, and we see that happening today."
Laws, however, must be applied evenly, Reyes said.
"As you all know, when a law is not enforced, it is as if it is not there. When a law is not enforced for some, it is difficult to enforce on others. That essentially is the foundation of injustice. And injustice is often the basis for the dissolution of civil society," he stressed.
"Putschists must be immediately court-martialed, terrorists or insurgents must be captured or killed, drug-dealing, bank-robbing, and kidnapping syndicates must be eliminated, criminals must be caught and jailed, corrupt civil servants must be charged and punished, even errant drivers must be dealt with."
To command respect, the government must "reinvent" itself because of perceptions that "public service today is almost synonymous with inefficiency and corruption."
"This, I have personally experienced, is often the result of outdated processes and the intrusion of partisan politics in the public service," said Reyes, who served as armed forces chief before he was appointed defense secretary by President Arroyo in 2001.
"To correct this, we must drastically overhaul bureaucratic procedures and allow the career civil servant to perform his function effectively without undue interference from politicos."
For one, government transactions must be made more transparent to curb corruption, he said.
"You might say that this is not possible, but I say it is. We can do this today if we wanted to, because the (Internet) has made full transparency possible: all actions and transactions of government can be made accessible via the (Internet), and this will not only make processes move faster but it sill also make it difficult for vested interest groups to unduly influence these actions."
Reyes was referring to his stint as defense secretary in the Arroyo administration. He resigned a month after the July 27 failed mutiny by the so-called Magdalo group of disgruntled soldiers.
Better enforcement of laws will improve the local business climate and, therefore, attract investments and create jobs, said Reyes, who is believed to be eyeing the Senate in the May elections.
It will also help create "conditions that will allow our entrepreneurs and businessmen to compete successfully in a technological world where borders no longer exist."
He batted for "more variable forms of labor compensation in lieu of fixed wages" to increase productivity and improve competitiveness.
"Certainly, to compete with lower-wage countries like India and China in business process resourcing, we will need to be more creative in our approach to compensating labor," he said.
Reyes resigned on Aug. 29 shortly after mutinous soldiers took over a ritzy condominium in the heart of Makati City’s financial district in protest over alleged corruption in the military.
The mutineers accused Reyes and resigned military intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus of masterminding the bombings in Mindanao to frame the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as a terrorist group and eventually get more US funding for Mrs. Arroyo’s anti-terrorism campaign.
They also accused the military leadership of selling weapons and ammunition to rebel groups, as well as planning bombings in Manila in a bid to extend Mrs. Arroyo’s stay in power through martial law.
Corpus and Reyes deny the accusations. Corpus resigned a week after the mutiny.
Reyes said he resigned to spare the Arroyo administration criticism and to preserve the "confidence of our people in the Filipino soldier."
He warned that "a well-organized and well-funded effort by certain forces to bring down our democracy through massive disinformation and political agitation" existed.
Although Reyes did not elaborate, Malacañang has accused the camp of deposed President Joseph Estrada of trying to destabilize the Arroyo administration.
Mrs. Arroyo replaced Estrada, who was ousted in January 2001 by a military-backed popular uprising.
Reyes was then chief of the armed forces. Mrs. Arroyo has been hounded by an image of political instability that depended on the military’s loyalty ever since she appointed Reyes to the defense portfolio.
Rumors of restiveness in the military following the mutiny prompted Mrs. Arroyo to meet with top military officials to make sure they stayed in line. The military swore to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law.