Alipato
Alexander Martin Remollino

THE NEWSPAPERS of June 21 carried the news that American soldiers in Basilan had drawn and cocked their firearms in front of media men covering an encounter that had taken place between two of their colleagues and Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Jiggy Manicad of GMA-7 and his cameraman Jun Fronda were trying to get to the Americans’ commanding officer. The Americans would not allow them to do so. They told the American soldiers that they would talk to the Filipino Army commander instead.

At this point the American soldiers drew and cocked their weapons before Manicad and Fronda.

We do not have to go into deep introspection to find out what to make of this. Common sense tells us that when one draws and cocks a gun, he or she is preparing to shoot. That act by those soldiers of Uncle Sam—or Mother America—whichever name we want to call that great humanitarian nation that sent those soldiers to our land, was tantamount to a grave threat to the lives of the two media men.

For this very civilized act, the American soldiers found themselves under heavy fire from various quarters.

Southern Command Chief Major General Ernesto Carolina was quick to come to their defense. He said he did not see anything wrong in the actuation of the American soldiers.

“You know, the Americans are very strict. If they know that the area is off limits, they would prevent anybody from getting inside it. I know you were used with (Filipino soldiers). We allow you inside exclusive areas because we know you but they are different,” he said.

Major General Carolina even went as far as to blame Manicad and Fronda, saying, “What I’m saying is that the media were not even supposed to be there.”

This is the kind of reasoning which the military officials who get their bread from our taxes and our parents’ taxes have the temerity to display to those who pay their salaries. Historically, our military officials have been known to call beer milk, to call red blue.

In the first place, since when has any piece of Philippine territory been off-limits to Filipinos but not to foreign troops? Are we saying here, Major General Carolina, that Yankee soldiers have more rights than us Filipinos on our own land?

In the second place, what business had they coming here without bothering to know the country whose life they would be affecting for several months—no, with the way things are going, for several years? Surely they should have taken time to know the people they would be affecting that they may learn how to affect them properly.

And what the hell did Major General Carolina mean by saying that the media were not even supposed to be there? Are not the media tasked with delivering the news to the people? Is Major Carolina saying that the people have no right to know what is happening in their country? If he meant that the Constitution does not agree with him; Article III, Section 7 provides, among other things, that “The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized...” And even if the Constitution had no such provision, the people would still have a right to know what is happening in their country, because such knowledge is essential in the determination of their collective destiny.

Of course Major General Carolina may argue that in this particular instance, secrecy was required for “national security”. But “national security”, historically, has been frequently used to plunge the people deeper into uncertainty. If he should argue that such secrecy was needed for the sake of national security, he would be imposing upon himself the duty to explain what the hell national security is.

Of course it may be argued that we have to put up with such arrogant violations of our nation’s dignity that we may rid this land of bandits. But recent history tells us otherwise.

The troops sent to pursue the Abu Sayyaf had encircled the group of Abu Sabaya, and were about to collar them when they were suddenly called by some generals to a “briefing”. It is thus that the captors of Ediborah Yap and the Burnhams escaped. Whatever reasons the generals had for messing up the operations against the Abu Sayyaf, only they know. The fact remains that we could have got rid of the Abu Sayyaf even without help from foreign troops.

And even if it so happened that we really needed help, it is very difficult to see what help we could get from troops who, with all the intensity of their military training, were unable to distinguish between friend and foe, between civilian and combatant, in Afghanistan, and so after the war there left 3,500 civilians dead and counted among their prisoners of war a number of anti-Taliban fighters.

The soldiers of the Star-Spangled Banner are here not by right, but by privilege owing to the high patriotism and intellect of a few politicians who insist that the Filipino is good for nothing except to lick the shoes of anyone who carries a flag with stars and stripes. Thus they should not behave as though they own this land.

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