EDITORIAL - Deterrence

Now that a military tribunal has refused to junk the charges against mutiny leaders on a technicality, the case must be resolved quickly. Seve-ral junior military officers have been in detention since attempting a coup in July 2003. The attempt ended less than 24 hours later with the mutineers being marched out of the Oakwood apartments in Makati and taken straight to detention.

Compared with previous coup attempts, the "mini coup" was almost comic. For Philippine soldiers, however, there was nothing funny about the way the government dealt with the mutineers. Coup plotters in the past were merely punished with several pushups. The most notorious coup leader was detained in a Navy ship but managed to escape, and even went on to become a senator.

After the Oakwood mutiny, how-ever, the government decided it was time to stop the kid glove treatment of soldiers who betray their oath. The young leaders of the mutiny had some valid grievances, but they picked the wrong avenue for redress. Promising military careers are now ruined, but that’s a small price to pay for develo-ping professionalism in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The new determination to punish military adventurism has to be one of the reasons why the AFP has so far stayed neutral in the latest political turbulence. About 300 enlisted personnel and lower ranking officers were freed only recently from nearly two years of detention for their participation in the Oakwood mutiny. While those interested can be reinstated into the service, they were all demoted and lost what should have been their earnings if they had not joined the coup attempt. Their leaders – self-styled saviors of the Filipino people – could not save the enlisted men from their career setbacks and financial woes.

The leaders are still in detention, reportedly trying to work out a plea bargaining agreement. Their cases were nearly dismissed because of questions raised over a deadline. The prosecution won that one, but the accused should not be given an excuse to complain about the slow pace of justice. Seeing the rule of law prevail, seeing justice meted out is the best deterrence against coup attempts and the chronic instability that they bring. But it has also been said often enough that justice delayed is justice denied. Letting this case drag on interminably can only fuel restiveness and set back reforms in the military.