Boracay casualty

Late last week, Col. Ricardo Morales was relieved of his post as commander of the 404th Infantry Brigade in Mawab, Davao del Norte. Originally, we had thought that the reason for his relief was that he had been pinpointed as one of the plotters in a destabilization move against the GMA administration.

He had been branded, initial media reports said, as "disloyal" or at least "unreliable," at a time when the Armed Forces were conducting loyalty checks of all their field units that could be utilized as the armed component of a putative coup attempt.

Was I wrong! I and, as it turns out, a lot of other people had uncritically swallowed the AFP line that the generals were assiduously protecting the Filipino people from another adventurist conspiracy to sow disorder in this country. You know what the sacking of Col. Morales was all about? Well, let me tell you.

Col. Morales had written a message to an e-mail group made up of graduates of the Philippine Military Academy. To begin with, most of us know what private e-mail groups are all about. Among my own many e-mail groups is one with my classmates from the Ateneo high school and college. I won’t say when we graduated because I don’t want to expose some my buddies who, relatively late in life, fancy themselves to be God’s belated gifts to womankind.

Anyway, these groups give individuals the excuse to sound off about everything under the sun, from random musings about politics and religion to unsubstantiated news about the latest cures to typical diseases of senior citizens which many of my classmates, indubitably, already are. It’s the ultimate in free speech, some of it not always intellectually or scientifically sound or, let’s face it, entirely responsible. That’s because, in my view, with lifelong friends or persons who have become indelible parts of one’s life, one has the inalienable right to say his piece and even make a fool of himself, if that’s his inclination. Some things in this life, I should hope, are still sacred.

So, apropos of what did Col. Morales unburden himself to his mistahs? Why, the military resort in Boracay, no less! Media reports quote Col. Morales as saying in his message: "The time has come for all good men to come to the aid of their society. The time for talking is over; the time for action is now. How can the 60-room resort in Boracay improve the AFP’s capability to fight (130,000)? Who determined this priority? We have hospitals without medicine . . . and they spend money for this resort?"

Col. Morales fumed: "That the top leaders in the AFP, especially the Marine officer (Note: Referring to Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Teodosio, chief of the Central Command, and brains of the Boracay resort project) who commands two Army divisions allowed this shows their insensitivity to the needs and suffering of the men in the field."

Unfortunately for Morales, the addressees of the e-mail included PMA alumni who are in top command positions in the AFP hierarchy, including the Army chief Lt. Gen. Generoso Senga, who forthwith recommended his relief. The soon-to-retire AFP chief Gen. Efren Abu, whose one notable contribution to the cause of military excellence is the construction of a P15 million sidewalk beside his office at Camp Aguinaldo – what was that about priorities again? – okayed his relief.

According to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan, Morales was relieved "for his lack of good judgment and indiscretion as a senior commander." Adan said: "As a responsible officer, he should have been aware that such message could reach the public, be misconstrued and subject to a lot of misinterpretation."

This military gobbledegook is code for two essential messages to Morales: First, he violated the rule of omerta, i.e. nobody says anything, much less anything critical, about a fellow military officer, even if it has nothing to do with military operations. Second, you don’t question the actions of your fellow officer, no matter how ridiculous, mindless or damaging to the military as a whole.

Put another way, your fellow officer, right or wrong. Note that even AFP chief Gen. Abu didn’t say or do anything about the Teodosio atrocity. All Abu said was that it wasn’t his project and he didn’t know anything, didn’t sign anything.

This is the sort of Three Monkeys policy (Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil.) which has made possible the sort of anomalies noted by the Davide and Feliciano Commissions including "conversion," the private titling of valuable Fort Bonfacio land by military officers, decrepit military "medical centers" and poorly equipped field hospitals, and obsolete or malfunctioning armaments.

It also made possible Gen. Carlos Garcia, Gen Jack Ligot, and who knows who else lurks in the netherworld of yet undiscovered military shenanigans.

The people should thank their stars that there are still officers like Col. Morales who speak out for the ordinary soldier. His question regarding priorities is the same one raised by several legislators and commentators including this columnist. It is a valid question in light of the stark contrast between the current state of the military and the rank idiocy of preoccupations of the top brass including concrete sidewalks, military museums, golf courses and . . . the Boracay resort.

Abu, Senga, Adan et al couldn’t even muster the courage to engage in an online debate on the wisdom of the Boracay project. Their approach is typical: No debate because rank has its privileges. What Teodosio wants, Teodosio gets. They continue to peddle this fatuous excuse that the more than 130,000 men and women of the AFP will have equal entitlement to a 60-room facility which, at the moment, has only 10 completed rooms. I’d like to reply, "Tell that to the Marines," except that in this case, the Boracay resort is a pet project of a Marine!

Adan is worried that the Morales message "could reach the public." I got news for him. The public already got the message even before the Morales ouster hit the news. If the matter is being "misconstrued" or is "subjected to a lot of misinterpretation," it is because the fat cats riding cushy swivel chairs at Aguinaldo have not provided a construction or interpretation of the project which makes half-way decent sense.

Col. Morales should not only be reinstated, he should be decorated for having the chutzpah to say what’s in the minds of our fighting men and women who needlessly risk their lives every single day in inconclusive and often pointless battles. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts. As for the ineffectual Abu, Senga, Adan, Teodosio and their ilk, they should be put out to pasture posthaste . . . for the good of the service.