EDITORIAL – Reforms in limbo

Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz appears to be the latest casualty of intrigue in the administration. In turn the departure of Cruz from the Cabinet may claim its own casualty: the reforms implemented during his watch in the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Those reforms, whose principal goal is to create a professional, apolitical military, can be credited for a perceptible weakening of the so-called coup culture in the AFP. There are other factors that led to the failure of the coup plot earlier this year. But the defense reforms, meant to address the grievances of disgruntled AFP personnel, surely contributed to the decision of many officers to ignore calls to oust their commander-in-chief. More reforms are outlined in the National Defense Act that Cruz has proposed to Congress for approval.

This is the one wish of Cruz as he bows out of the defense department: that the reforms be sustained and new ones implemented. The AFP has a long way to go in terms of capabilities and professionalism. It remains dependent on foreign military assistance particularly from the United States. As members of one of the most poorly equipped armies in this part of the world, underpaid AFP personnel are also prone to corruption. During Cruz’s watch, the prosecution of military generals and other ranking officers for corruption has been pursued together with the punishment of ringleaders in past coup attempts. Reforms to eradicate opportunities for corruption have also been implemented.

With most opportunities for graft plugged in the procurement of supplies, the defense department has also moved to address the basic needs of soldiers especially those in the battlefield. With foreign assistance and limited resources, those needs such as better medical care, combat supplies and housing are being gradually met.

There are valid fears that all these reforms will be stalled or overturned once a new individual, especially one with an eye for political office, takes over the helm of the defense department. The Arroyo administration should see to it that these reforms do not become a casualty of the departure of Avelino Cruz from the Cabinet.