Someone from a public forum was disappointed that I did not have an opinion readily available for him about the situation in Mindanao. He wrote to me:
Hi Ilda. It’s rather odd that you did not have the time for this issue that’s been in the news for over a week, and in fact, this is one of the biggest issue facing our country today. But i understand. We are all busy
Although it is true that I have been busy, part of the reason I was reluctant to put my two cents in regarding how President Noynoy Aquino (PNoy) is handling the deaths of 19 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the hands of Muslim rebels in Basilan is because I did not want to be a part of all the loose talk that has been going around lately.
How long will they remain focused on the mandate?
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I mean, I am all for pointing out what is wrong with how our government handles public affairs but I think that there are times when some people, including commentators need to just shut up. For one thing, the airwaves are rife with speculation that the soldiers are becoming demoralized over PNoy’s decision not to go on an all-out war against the Muslim rebels who are said to be part of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). And another thing, the situation in Mindanao is so fragile that just about any (conspiracy) theory coming from the public can only provoke a breakdown in the peace process. Surprisingly, it was someone from the MILF who actually spoke with some sense. To quote a report from Philstar.com:
Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for military affairs, said government officials who are not in any way involved in resolving the security problems in Mindanao should stop issuing provocative and inflammatory statements that could inflame the situation.
In my opinion, and this is coming from a long time critic of the incumbent President, any criticism directed towards PNoy at this particular time would 1) not help the relatives of the dead soldiers who are in mourning and 2) not help the AFP with their mission. Indeed, AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Oban had been quoted as saying that they remain “focused” on their “mandateâ€. To wit:
“But definitely, we are focused on our mandate. We’d like to assure everybody that we remain focused on our mandate. We have job to accomplish.â€
Although this talk about the military being demoralized has been heavily denied by Oban, let’s face it; when we talk about being demoralized, we’re not just talking about people from the Philippine military. We can also include quite a growing number of civilians as well who have been disappointed with PNoy since Day One and who are now even more disappointed that the President’s mandate went the opposite way of what they were expecting after the unnecessary deaths of young soldiers. I wrote “unnecessary†because there was supposed to be a cease-fire agreement between the AFP and the MILF especially after PNoy’s “secret†meeting with the MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad in Tokyo, Japan last August of this year.
What do I know about going to war? Not a lot. Most of what I know are bits and pieces from news items and Hollywood movies I’ve seen. I know nothing about the terrain in Mindanao that the foot soldiers of the AFP would be forced to map out. I know nothing about the real fighting capacity of our soldiers. Are they fully equipped? Are they prepared enough? It has become apparent during the ambush that the military is at a disadvantage when they go into unfamiliar surroundings. In short, they may be ill-prepared. So it would be silly of me to encourage the military to go on an all-out war just to “wipe out†those who were responsible for the ambush of the soldiers.
But it seems to me like there are so many civilians who have become “experts” on war lately. They sound like they know more than the average Army general about how the military should deal with the Muslim rebels in Mindanao. It’s as if going after the rebels were as easy as playing a video game where you can go in and out of battle unscathed. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There is no Hollywood ending in real life especially when civilians are caught in the cross fire during fighting.
There are also conspiracy theories going around that PNoy helped arm the MILF when he handed them a P5-million cheque. Although I do not agree with that move especially the part where they defended it by claiming it was GMA who committed to giving the funds in 2008 to begin with, I doubt that ammunition bought with that money could fund an all-out assault. So to me, the theory that P5-million is enough to arm the rebels seems illogical. And even if its true that the rebels used the money to arm themselves, the military can probably rest assured that their enemy’s ammunition can’t last for long.
Funnily enough, former rogue military man Senator Antonio Trillanes is now seemingly provoking the military into destabilizing PNoy’s administration. He may be acting like he doesn’t condone rumors of a coup d’ etat, but he is also helping spread the rumor that morale in the military is low at the moment. Obviously, Trillanes is one who is either exaggerating or is talking out of experience being “demoralizedâ€. It was PNoy who pardoned Trillanes and let him out of prison despite his role in the plot to overthrow former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA). It would be really ironic if Trillanes is eventually found to be behind all these alleged “destabilization†activities.
Now some people might get this misguided idea that just because I am a staunch critic of PNoy, it means that I long to see the day when a coup d’ etat or a “people power†would finally overthrow him. Quite the contrary, I want PNoy to finish his term. Once PNoy finishes his term, there would be no chance of his supporters claiming that his plans were aborted; and no chance of them trying to reclaim his position again a la Erap. Once PNoy finishes his term, it would finally prove to everyone once and for all what he is all about. Now I am not being critical of PNoy. As someone once put it, I am just stating the obvious.
In life, things are not always what they seem.
So you want Binay for President? Taga Makati ka sguro. A.s.a.
At s0me of this days, all out justice will be served to the AFP. Tama si Tito Noy,walang mangyayari sa all out war. At yung P5mily0n, kasalanan iy0n ng nakaraAng administrasy0n
So what kind of justice is that? Honestly, you don’t have any idea what the MILF or the Abu Sayaff, etc.
Sa 5 milyon? It was PNoy who did that then you’re blaming the past administration for that? That sounds degrading and ridiculous.
are insinuating that binay the ulikba,has something to do with the rumour of destabilization in simeon’s gov’t?probably.o baka naman sa susunod mong post ay si gloria naman.matindi talaga ang rabies ni simeon the turd that he infected so many that it’s no wonder that marami na ang nauulol na mga yellow fanatic.why don’t you just accept the fact that the yellow color he represents reflects his manhood.chicken ang amo mo sa lahat ng bagay.all out justice my ass.tak,tak,tak kak.tak tak tak,kak..
@Vincenzo
Unfortunately, you are doing your Tito Noy more harm than good by spreading all this nonsense. You are giving us enough evidence to suggest that most of his supporters don’t have any common sense.
i second this.
I’m glad. Thanks Bechay! 🙂
I dont care much for the supporters. I care about Noynoy’s track record and he is failing it. I would much rather risk the ire of Noynoy supporters than risk the obvious plunging trend of the Philippine economy. Noynoy resign or just effing get him out.
But when you have another people power, investor confidence will go out of the door. While PNoy’s incompetence is obvious to some of us, his minions in the media do their best to hide this to foreign investors. Which is precisely the reason why they keep trumping that “investor confidence is at an all time high” in their publication. Of course this is all smoke and mirrors but at the same time, it is keeping some of the foreign investors happy.
A coup d’etat or people power will make the country look unstable. This will definitely be bad for the economy. And believe me, you don’t want a disgruntled military. I personally don’t want a military junta.
Di lang taga makati bumoto kay binay for VP. VPs are voted with the purpose of having somebody to take the place of the president when needed.
Yun 5M di nga binigay ni GMA. Paano magiging kasalanan yun. Kung sinabi pala ni GMA tatalon siya sa bangin sa mga MILF ay yun din ang gagawin ng ugok na presidente mo ngaun? No wonder you defend him. Pareho takbo ng utak nyo.
a balanced perspective, however i think another 4 & 1/2 years of political inaction and economic decline will push the country past the tipping point, if not already , relative to other asean countries, who are moving fast.
i visit all asean countries and the pace of change elsewhere is staggering as reflected in comparative FDI figures.
the focus must be on business growth not political games.
that is the problem when you have people of limited knowledge and experience particularly internationally who continue to adopt an insular approach.
no man is an island, and no island is unconnected in todays economy.
here, i am reminded of my time in cuba.
anything from outside is a threat to the status quo be it companies or ideas
@Nona
I personally think that that is what it would take for Filipinos to realise what they had done in choosing PNoy. They will soon see the fruitlessness of his inaction. I realise this when Erap almost won again during last year’s election. Erap and his supporters felt cheated and thought they needed him to have another go at the job. The same thing will happen to PNoy if we ask him to step down.
Another coud d’tat or people power will make us the butt of jokes around the world yet again. Besides, it leads to more instability.
You have a good argument in keeping this current stupid president but I believe he will lead us down his straight path to hell. He still has around 4.5 years more to make us suffer.
we don’t need coup d’tat or people power, what we need is to eliminate the negative factor from the equation.
If you study the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It parallels with the Mindanao conflict. If you look at the Islamic history; Islamic traits , cultures and traditions…you’ll understand it. Study also the Islamic Koran…Turkey is an Islamic country…but is a moderate Islamic country…Al Queda was formed from the desert of Saudi Arabia by the Wahabi radical Islamic sect…they want a world-wide Caliphate, with a world ruled by Sharia Islamic law.
Most important rule in warfare from the great Chinese military genius who wrote the: Art of War is: “Know your enemy.” We don’t know the fundamentalist/radical Islamists…this is the problem…
‘We don’t know the fundamentalist/ radical Islamists… this is the problem…’
Patay tayo diyan.
i am just wondering what type of muslims are those in mindanao.are they shia or sunni or wahabi?but one thing for sure,muslims are something else.what i mean is if they are bad,they are really bad,if they are good,they are really good people.but the latter i believed is most dominant as i can relate with the 30 yrs. experience in m.east countrie
@balitangkutsero:
I think people, regardless of religion, can be very bad or very good depending on the situation. We have hateful Christians, right?
The Muslims in Mindanao are mostly Sunnis…Saudi Arabia, which the Wahabi Sect came is Sunni Muslim…Iran is Shiite.
There is a big difference in the belief of these people, on the succession of who inherits the Prophet Mohhammad way of preaching the Islamic Gospel. This is the reason: if they are not fighting, other relgions…they’re at each other’s throats…like what had happened in Iraq…
Hi. Ilda. You’re right, sobrang daming experts na naglabasan ngayon.
It’s ok to discuss the situation in Mindanao but I just think that people should choose their words very carefully. A lot of people are just merely speculating while lives are at stake.
Fellow Christians, the only way to fight violence is through non-violence.
Luke 16:29
And to him that smites you on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that takes away your cloak forbid not to take your coat also.
God bless.
War is war, this is not a tea party. It’s either US or THEM.
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. – Matthew 6:24
And likewise, in this case, you can’t serve both your people and their enemies.
I do not consider myself as an Islamic scholar and expert. However, whatever knowledge, I have; I have to share it. For you all to understand more of the Islamic Religion. It is also a good religion, for finding your God. But, like other religions , on this Planet Earth…the good message of the Prophet Mohhammad to his believers; was and can be twisted; was and,can be used by self-serving men…with ulterior motives…Please don’t mind the Messenger, just understand his message…
Ikaw Gloria supoter? Magkano natatanggap mo?
No I’m not a Gloria supporter. I just want PNoy to be more focused on uplifting the nation rather than blaming GMA for everything. He is part of the problem. When he was a congressman and a senator he did not perform well. He could have done more to stop the corruption. He had a lot of resources available to him to do it.
The conspiracy theorist troll is at it again! Wal kang maibubuga kundi puro kasinungalinan e 😛
Ikaw naman, magkano ba ang tinanggap mo mula sa mga Aquino, mostly from Ricky Carandang? XD
Ano kb? May time pa si Tito Noy para maisaayos ang winasak ni Gloria.
He’d better use that time wisely. Don’t be too confident about your boss. He has no vision.
It;s just a waste of time. It will be 1986-1992 all over again. It did more harm than good during that time.
“Ano kb? May time pa si Tito Noy para maisaayos ang winasak ni Gloria.”
“ALMOST 3 YEARS LATER”
Nothing has changed, everything has gotten WORSE.
HIGH prices
HIGH cost of living
HIGH crime rate
Soon, the people won’t be fooled by the yellow media anymore.
MILF, and many others are making fools of the government – not difficult to do – but unless they get their act together very soon and show some strength and take some decisions, then the only thing they will be good for will be a cabaret act.
NO. I would much rather risk the ire of Noytards than risk the death of the economy of the Philippines. THAT IS A NO BRAINER.
And your other option is to have another coup d’etat?!? That will bring more instability and THAT IS A NO BRAINER. Goodness me.
{PNoy and the Philippine Armed Forces both stunned by the MILF
October 28, 2011
By Ilda
“But it seems to me like there are so many civilians who have become “experts†on war lately. They sound like they know more than the average Army general about how the military should deal with the Muslim rebels in Mindanao.â€}
We are not experts here- the AFP, because they made it a profession and career!
And the Presidential experts because they were receiving fat salaries for that!
But if they cannot handle the job, let them turn the fighting over the Mindano LGUs and native local communities (Tirurays, Ilagas, Higaonons, Ilocanos, etc.) who (if not because of the government laws and forces ) have many scores to settle yet with the muslims…
These people like you expect were not experts but thy have common sense to deal with these pernicious Muslim conflict.
On the same reports here is another stupid media mentality:
“Funnily enough, former rogue military man Senator Antonio Trillanes is now seemingly provoking the military into destabilizing PNoy’s administration. He may be acting like he doesn’t condone rumors of a coup d’ etat, but he is also helping spread the rumor that morale in the military is low at the moment. Obviously, Trillanes is one who is either exaggerating or is talking out of experience being “demoralizedâ€. It was PNoy who pardoned Trillanes and let him out of prison despite his role in the plot to overthrow former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA). It would be really ironic if Trillanes is eventually found to be behind all these alleged “destabilization†activities.â€
If I were Trillanes I would tell Pnoy; “Mr. President by releasing or pardoning me I Owe You one life which is mine, but if you lost 9 soldier’s life because of irresponsibility, you owe me 8 more!
Trillanes is serving his imbecile master , Noynoy “Tsope” Aquino. He use this tactic to prevent a coup d’ etat…This will not work, because, if the people will rise up; you cannot do something about it. Read the French Revolution, to learn more…King Louie XVI, was even guarded by the best Swiss Guard mercenaries…yet he fell…
pnoy at afp nabulaga ng milf?
hindi po siguro, hindi lang sila boyskawt, hindi laging handa.
sa ilalim na pamunuan ng pangulo ay ang sandatahang lakas ng pilipinas na kung saan ito ay may deretsong kautusan o linya sa paniktikang sangay ng sandatahang lakas.
na ang sangay na ito ay mayroong taunan, buwanan, linguhan, arawan, at bawat oras na ulat ng mga kaalaman patungkol sa sitwasyon ng buong sambayanan ultimo sa kaliitliitan at kasuluksulukang purok sa pilipinas.
na ang mga ulat ng kaganapan dito ay ipinapaabot hanggang sa kataastasang pinuno ng bansa sa bilang isang “intelligence assessment” sa bawat partikular na lugar o sitwasyon.
na kaung saan sa “intelligence assessment” na ito ay nakalagay kung may tension sa isang partikular na lugar… at nag sasaad din ng mga dapat ng gawin ng pamahalaan o ng sangay na pamahalaan para pawi ang tension na namumuo dito.
na isa sa mga sangay ng kasalukuyang pamahalaan na nakakatanggap ng mga ulat ng kaalaman sa mga partikular na lugar at tumutulong sa pag aanalisa o pag-a-“assess” ay ang “peace negotiating panel” ng pamahalaan at ng mga rebeldeng grupo.
na ang mga taong dinadaanan ng mga ulat na nanggagaling sa pinakababang sangay ng paniktikan ng sandatahan ay binabalewala lang ang kahalagahan nito.
kaya naganap ang kaguluhan at ikinasawi ng 19 na kawal ng gobyerno.
nabulaga si pinoy at afp? hindi siguro…
mas naniniwala po akong pinupulitika ang sandatahan lakas ng pilipinas, kaya ang mandato at dapat na trabaho ng sandatahan lakas ay nakikitil dahil sa mas malalong pagbabalewala o kamangmangan sa larangan ng pagpapairal ng kapayapaan ng sibilyang pagiisip ng “commander in chief” nito.
hindi dapat eniyenhero ang namumuno ng DOH.
its better to use the specific location rather than use the name of the island, its only a portion of the island, not the whole Mindanao, your making as if the whole Mindanao is not same any more, and its not good in our tourism
Der Fuhrer has a “state secret” special friendship with the Arab Brotherhood of Murad and company who in turn love MILF. The secret talks abroad in Tokyo, Japan is still classified nutzie state information. Take notice of the friendly smiles in luwaran website and the friendly donation of PHP5 million to the cause of Islamic Jihad.
This special friendship triggered a brilliant solution to the Al-Barka incident in the mind of der Fuhrer. So was the “All out Justice” concept born and applied to appease the Arab brotherhood and the soldiery. Two birds with one stone.
The special friendship with the Arab brotherhood softened the great fuhrer’s stand and thus led to more advantages favoring the MILF in the peace negotiation table and the bloody battlefield stained with the blood of innocent soldiers, Christians and unbelievers.
Hail der Fuhrer! He is truly the master of the nutzie state!