The people trust the AFP
For all these times of uncertainty and divisiveness, the people actually depend on the military more than they do the Philippine National Police.
Daily TribuneFor all these times of uncertainty and divisiveness, the people actually depend on the military more than they do the Philippine National Police.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr.’s recent declaration that there will be no coup d’état under his leadership amid speculations of internal unrest within the military has spawned speculation that all is not well in the ranks.
The unanticipated statement recalled a funny story from my short pants days when sugarcane was a rare commodity in our barrio in Cotabato, where my parents were pioneers. My father used to work for a sugarcane firm in Negros, and we kids had this sweet tooth for sugarcane juice.
Now and then my father would travel back to Bacolod City and each time would bring back farm produce, including upland rice seeds and sacks full of cut sugarcane for planting. My younger brother, who was born in Cotabato, loved to gnaw on sugarcane more than any of us in the family.
Coming home from school one day, my brother met me at the door and announced that Papa had arrived from Negros. He then led me to a corner and pointed to neatly folded sacks. He turned to me and said, “Wala sang tobo sa sulod sang sako,” meaning, “There is no sugarcane inside the sacks.”
General Brawner made an unnecessary disclosure in like manner, so much so that my five-year-old brother innocently confessed by way of denying there was sugarcane in the sacks.
Now and then we hear Brawner’s affirmation of the AFP’s “unwavering commitment” to the Constitution and the chain of command. This time, however, his tone was foreboding.
“As long as I serve as chief of staff, no coup shall happen. Not on my watch. We will not be shaken by rumor nor outmaneuvered by noise,” he said.
He then warned those who continue to stir discord and disinformation of “broader consequences.” On another social platform, however, General Brawner sounded more conciliatory.
“Let us not be adversaries in the same nation we all claim to love. Let us be better stewards of our words, platforms, and influence, because patriotism is not measured by how loudly we speak, but by how wisely we choose unity over division, and nation-building over disruption,” he said.
But then again, he sounded adversarial. “Frustration is not a license to target your protectors. Attacking the Armed Forces with baseless narratives only threatens to weaken an institution that exists to defend us all.”
Now I do not know where that came from. For all these times of uncertainty and divisiveness, the people actually depend on the military more than they do the Philippine National Police.
Even Pastor Apollo Quiboloy gave himself up to a military officer instead of to the 6,000-strong PNP Special Action Force deployed to serve the warrant.
Maybe General Brawner should reflect more on the results of the midterm elections, where both the AFP and PNP organizations opted to support the senatorial slate of the PDPLaban. To his credit and to the officers and men, the AFP is perceptibly apolitical.