There ought to be a law
There ought to be a law
Posted 00:20am (Mla time) Mar 19, 2005
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the March 19, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE FRUSTRATED escape attempt of Abu Sayyaf leaders put a damper on the handover of command in the Philippine National Police. Reactions to recent policy recommendations made by Gen. Efren Abu have also resulted in the deferment of his confirmation as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines by the Commission on Appointments. However, both recent appointments -- of Abu as AFP chief of staff and of Arturo Lomibao as director general of the PNP -- again highlight a lingering, institutional problem crying out for congressional resolution.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been following a revolving-door policy on appointments to top police and military posts. To satisfy the craving of officers to end their careers at the top, appointments are made on a fleeting basis, which then requires them (in the eyes of the administration) to be seconded to civilian positions of authority afterwards. The result is, generals are made commanders of their services or their organizations for very brief periods and then placed in freshly minted positions in the Cabinet, with a corresponding requirement to keep moving retired officers up the civilian chain of authority.
It is reassuring that there is a lingering sense of professionalism and institutional vision among high-ranking officers. At least, to the extent that individuals such as Abu have made it clear that they would continue reforms begun during their predecessors' tour of duty. The elimination of the graft-ridden Logistics Command is one such overdue example.
This, however, cannot hide the reality that keeping the continuation of such policies within the realm of discretion serves to keep organizations such as the military susceptible to a personalistic, instead of a professional, frame of mind.
There have been calls to fix the terms of top officers tasked with crucial responsibilities in the AFP. Originally, such calls were principally concerned with the need to give the superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy enough time to institute rational changes, and see them through. The revolving-door policy, which makes political payback easy and real reforms difficult, should finally be stopped.
Fixed terms will provide officers the opportunity not only to make changes but also to oversee them until they start to show results. It would also force the executive department to more seriously consider the repercussions of such appointments. More importantly, setting fixed terms for the top AFP and PNP officials would insulate these organizations from the most obvious forms of political deal-making and patronage, not to mention undue interference by the powers-that-be.
Incendiary
THE ARMED Forces of the Philippines has no business giving its opinion on religious matters, including whether or not victims of shootouts deserve to go to heaven.
"They are not true Muslims. They are not true believers," Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual, military spokesperson, has said, referring to the 24 prison inmates killed earlier this week in the Camp Bagong Diwa uprising. "That's why Allah sent them to hell." Other military officials have expressed alarm that ordinary Muslims regard the dead men as martyrs. "This is the distorted interpretation [of the Koran that is taught] by the Tabligh," a group of male preachers in the Middle East who are suspected of teaching radical Islam, added Pascual.
But nothing qualifies Pascual or his commanders to comment on such things. Questions of faith are best left to the competent authorities of a faith. Secular military authorities, most of them Christians, should be the last to pontificate on matters they aren't competent to address. There is a pressing need for non-Muslims to attempt to understand the complexities and nuances of the Islamic religion, and an equally urgent need for Muslims to enlighten non-Muslims as to the proper understanding of the tenets of their faith.
Gratuitous comments such as the ones made by Pascual are incendiary and irresponsible, coming at a time when tempers are again on the rise. Such statements only serve to stoke further the resentment of Muslim Filipinos.
Posted 00:20am (Mla time) Mar 19, 2005
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the March 19, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE FRUSTRATED escape attempt of Abu Sayyaf leaders put a damper on the handover of command in the Philippine National Police. Reactions to recent policy recommendations made by Gen. Efren Abu have also resulted in the deferment of his confirmation as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines by the Commission on Appointments. However, both recent appointments -- of Abu as AFP chief of staff and of Arturo Lomibao as director general of the PNP -- again highlight a lingering, institutional problem crying out for congressional resolution.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been following a revolving-door policy on appointments to top police and military posts. To satisfy the craving of officers to end their careers at the top, appointments are made on a fleeting basis, which then requires them (in the eyes of the administration) to be seconded to civilian positions of authority afterwards. The result is, generals are made commanders of their services or their organizations for very brief periods and then placed in freshly minted positions in the Cabinet, with a corresponding requirement to keep moving retired officers up the civilian chain of authority.
It is reassuring that there is a lingering sense of professionalism and institutional vision among high-ranking officers. At least, to the extent that individuals such as Abu have made it clear that they would continue reforms begun during their predecessors' tour of duty. The elimination of the graft-ridden Logistics Command is one such overdue example.
This, however, cannot hide the reality that keeping the continuation of such policies within the realm of discretion serves to keep organizations such as the military susceptible to a personalistic, instead of a professional, frame of mind.
There have been calls to fix the terms of top officers tasked with crucial responsibilities in the AFP. Originally, such calls were principally concerned with the need to give the superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy enough time to institute rational changes, and see them through. The revolving-door policy, which makes political payback easy and real reforms difficult, should finally be stopped.
Fixed terms will provide officers the opportunity not only to make changes but also to oversee them until they start to show results. It would also force the executive department to more seriously consider the repercussions of such appointments. More importantly, setting fixed terms for the top AFP and PNP officials would insulate these organizations from the most obvious forms of political deal-making and patronage, not to mention undue interference by the powers-that-be.
Incendiary
THE ARMED Forces of the Philippines has no business giving its opinion on religious matters, including whether or not victims of shootouts deserve to go to heaven.
"They are not true Muslims. They are not true believers," Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual, military spokesperson, has said, referring to the 24 prison inmates killed earlier this week in the Camp Bagong Diwa uprising. "That's why Allah sent them to hell." Other military officials have expressed alarm that ordinary Muslims regard the dead men as martyrs. "This is the distorted interpretation [of the Koran that is taught] by the Tabligh," a group of male preachers in the Middle East who are suspected of teaching radical Islam, added Pascual.
But nothing qualifies Pascual or his commanders to comment on such things. Questions of faith are best left to the competent authorities of a faith. Secular military authorities, most of them Christians, should be the last to pontificate on matters they aren't competent to address. There is a pressing need for non-Muslims to attempt to understand the complexities and nuances of the Islamic religion, and an equally urgent need for Muslims to enlighten non-Muslims as to the proper understanding of the tenets of their faith.
Gratuitous comments such as the ones made by Pascual are incendiary and irresponsible, coming at a time when tempers are again on the rise. Such statements only serve to stoke further the resentment of Muslim Filipinos.
posted by Dante at 12:20 AM
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