EDITORIAL - Massacre in Sulu

Several days after eight soldiers and a civilian were killed in an Army base in Sulu, the public is no closer to finding out what led to the massacre. From the start, details about the killings at the patrol base in Barangay Silangkan, Parang town were sketchy. There were conflicting accounts on the number of fatalities. It could not even be immediately ascertained if one of those killed was a civilian who ran amuck and went on a shooting rampage.

Initial reports, based only on sources because the Armed Forces of the Philippines has chosen to keep mum on the incident, indicate that the shooting occurred during a drinking session on Black Saturday. Because the AFP was slow in giving out details, there was speculation that the soldiers were actually killed in a raid, possibly by the terrorist groups that roam Sulu: the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah.

The stories indicate a breakdown of troop discipline that the AFP can start addressing by first coming clean on what actually happened. All security forces were supposed to be on heightened alert throughout the long Holy Week break. The security situation in Parang town must have been so stable that soldiers were drinking on the morning of Black Saturday.

With nine people dead, this is a story that won’t quickly be forgotten even in a land of short memories. The public wants to know what led to the killings. A breakdown in discipline cannot be repeated, especially in the frontlines. Elsewhere in Sulu the other day, two foreign JI terrorists wanted for the deadly nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia in 2002 slipped past AFP troops, fleeing together with Abu Sayyaf commander Isnilon Hapilon. Drunken soldiers cannot win the war against these terrorists.

The AFP is not lacking in soldiers of unquestioned courage and dedication to their job. These men and women are tarnished by the rotten eggs in their organization. If the AFP brass wants to clean up the military, it should confront disciplinary problems head-on. And if it wants public support, it should keep in mind that silence on matters of public interest is not a virtue.