What is military academy teaching?
What is military academy teaching?
Updated 11:22pm (Mla time) Nov 29, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the November 30, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
RECENT irregularities and scandals involving graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) bring up the question of the adequacy and relevance of the education our future military officers are getting at the PMA. Are they being educated and trained for service to country and fellowmen or for self-aggrandizement and service to self? And then again, the education they are getting may be good, but the examples some of their elders are setting may be far from ideal.
Instead of setting an example of honor, service and duty, many of their elders are showing that deceit, dishonesty and corruption pay great dividends. Instead of pursuing the ideal of service, many officers are lusting after power and pelf.
The example of recently retired Major General Carlos Garcia, who is accused of amassing unexplained wealth totaling P140 million, is the worst of several cases involving PMA graduates. Garcia is not the only one who is alleged to have made millions at the expense of the taxpayers and to the detriment of the enlisted men who subsist on starvation rations, wear tattered uniforms and worn-out shoes, carry rusty, old rifles and wear substandard helmets and "bullet-proof" vests. Garcia just had the misfortune of getting caught, largely because of the simple-mindedness of his wife. Other generals and colonels must have amassed fortunes of their own in the past and are still amassing them today. The generals' and colonels' raid on the public treasury began during the martial law days when the dictator Ferdinand Marcos coddled high-ranking officers because he needed them to prop up his martial law regime.
The examples set by the generals seem to have prompted lower-ranking officers to start their own "rackets." Corruption has become a way of life in the upper echelons of the military. Because of the example at the top, it is not surprising that no less than the valedictorian of PMA Class 2004, Second Lieutenant Rolly Joaquin, was caught switching the tag on a compact disc so that he could get a 50-cent discount at the commissary in Fort Benning in Georgia.
Joaquin had seen his elders get away with grand theft in the military and he probably thought that he could get away with a comparatively much lesser offense. But he did not reckon with the fact that the situation is not the same in the United States, where strict adherence to the law is the norm, and especially in a disciplined military.
What a pity! What waste! Here was a brilliant PMA graduate who had a promising career ahead of him, educated at the expense of P2.1 million in taxpayers' money, throwing away everything, all for a paltry sum. He could have become chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines later in his career, but he chose to follow the bad example of some of his elders. An example of the deeds not matching the words taught at the academy.
The case of Major Ferdinand Ramos is different. No one is disputing that what one's sexual preferences are and what one does in the privacy of the bedroom is not the government's or the military's concern. But it becomes a public concern when it affects an officer's work in the military.
Homosexuality is not a crime, but it is an offense for a superior officer to force a subordinate soldier to do certain sexual acts, whether they are "normal" or "abnormal." The officer has moral ascendancy over the subordinate; he should exercise such ascendancy for good and not for evil purposes.
How low the PMA has fallen in its standards and to what depths has it plunged in the public esteem! It used to be known as the alma mater of strong men, courageous men, men of integrity, virile, virtuous men, but now it has become a breeding ground of many corrupt, materialistic, power-hungry officers.
The PMA curriculum may have to be reexamined and restructured to remedy flaws that may be discovered and to make it more relevant to the needs of the times. It has to instill a sense of honor, duty and service in its graduates, whose education is paid for by the taxpayers. The military is supposed to serve and protect the people, not to steal from them.
The PMA graduates now occupying high-ranking places in the military have to be constantly reminded of its motto: Courage, Integrity and Loyalty. Courage, including moral courage. Integrity, meaning the highest sense of honor and honesty. And loyalty not only to the PMA but, more importantly, to the country and its people. More than a restructuring of the PMA curriculum, a thorough reform of the officer corps, which is composed mostly of PMA graduates, may be called for, so that they will set a good example for the young ones. One teaches better not just by precept, but by example.
Updated 11:22pm (Mla time) Nov 29, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the November 30, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
RECENT irregularities and scandals involving graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) bring up the question of the adequacy and relevance of the education our future military officers are getting at the PMA. Are they being educated and trained for service to country and fellowmen or for self-aggrandizement and service to self? And then again, the education they are getting may be good, but the examples some of their elders are setting may be far from ideal.
Instead of setting an example of honor, service and duty, many of their elders are showing that deceit, dishonesty and corruption pay great dividends. Instead of pursuing the ideal of service, many officers are lusting after power and pelf.
The example of recently retired Major General Carlos Garcia, who is accused of amassing unexplained wealth totaling P140 million, is the worst of several cases involving PMA graduates. Garcia is not the only one who is alleged to have made millions at the expense of the taxpayers and to the detriment of the enlisted men who subsist on starvation rations, wear tattered uniforms and worn-out shoes, carry rusty, old rifles and wear substandard helmets and "bullet-proof" vests. Garcia just had the misfortune of getting caught, largely because of the simple-mindedness of his wife. Other generals and colonels must have amassed fortunes of their own in the past and are still amassing them today. The generals' and colonels' raid on the public treasury began during the martial law days when the dictator Ferdinand Marcos coddled high-ranking officers because he needed them to prop up his martial law regime.
The examples set by the generals seem to have prompted lower-ranking officers to start their own "rackets." Corruption has become a way of life in the upper echelons of the military. Because of the example at the top, it is not surprising that no less than the valedictorian of PMA Class 2004, Second Lieutenant Rolly Joaquin, was caught switching the tag on a compact disc so that he could get a 50-cent discount at the commissary in Fort Benning in Georgia.
Joaquin had seen his elders get away with grand theft in the military and he probably thought that he could get away with a comparatively much lesser offense. But he did not reckon with the fact that the situation is not the same in the United States, where strict adherence to the law is the norm, and especially in a disciplined military.
What a pity! What waste! Here was a brilliant PMA graduate who had a promising career ahead of him, educated at the expense of P2.1 million in taxpayers' money, throwing away everything, all for a paltry sum. He could have become chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines later in his career, but he chose to follow the bad example of some of his elders. An example of the deeds not matching the words taught at the academy.
The case of Major Ferdinand Ramos is different. No one is disputing that what one's sexual preferences are and what one does in the privacy of the bedroom is not the government's or the military's concern. But it becomes a public concern when it affects an officer's work in the military.
Homosexuality is not a crime, but it is an offense for a superior officer to force a subordinate soldier to do certain sexual acts, whether they are "normal" or "abnormal." The officer has moral ascendancy over the subordinate; he should exercise such ascendancy for good and not for evil purposes.
How low the PMA has fallen in its standards and to what depths has it plunged in the public esteem! It used to be known as the alma mater of strong men, courageous men, men of integrity, virile, virtuous men, but now it has become a breeding ground of many corrupt, materialistic, power-hungry officers.
The PMA curriculum may have to be reexamined and restructured to remedy flaws that may be discovered and to make it more relevant to the needs of the times. It has to instill a sense of honor, duty and service in its graduates, whose education is paid for by the taxpayers. The military is supposed to serve and protect the people, not to steal from them.
The PMA graduates now occupying high-ranking places in the military have to be constantly reminded of its motto: Courage, Integrity and Loyalty. Courage, including moral courage. Integrity, meaning the highest sense of honor and honesty. And loyalty not only to the PMA but, more importantly, to the country and its people. More than a restructuring of the PMA curriculum, a thorough reform of the officer corps, which is composed mostly of PMA graduates, may be called for, so that they will set a good example for the young ones. One teaches better not just by precept, but by example.
posted by Dante at 12:00 AM
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