Magdalo no longer able to recruit new members AFP

MANILA, Philippines – Rebel soldiers are no longer a threat to national security, the military said yesterday.

Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said five years after Magdalo soldiers occupied the Oakwood apartment building in Makati, no new personalities have sprung up to lead another uprising against the government.

“From the view of the military we can say that we are quite confident in saying we have a very professional Armed Forces of the Philippines who would not just support destabilization attempts, we know our role, our primary role is (defeating) insurgency and addressing the various threats, we do not engage in partisan politics,” he said.

Soldiers now think twice about joining military uprisings after they saw the harshness of the military and civilian justice systems in punishing those who took part in the failed Oakwood mutiny, Torres said.

Most military officers, who were tried and convicted for their part in that uprising, have been discharged from the military service and later released after seeking pardon from President Arroyo.

Some of these former military renegades were later assigned to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

Magdalo ringleader former Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala is now doing church work, while his classmate Milo Maestrecampo is engaged in small livelihood projects in his hometown in one of the Negros provinces. – James Mananghaya