Joker hits CAFGU handling

Makati Rep. Joker Arroyo gave the government unsolicited advice yesterday on how to handle the controversial deployment of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGUs) to combat insurgency.

Arroyo said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) can simply explain that the CAFGUs currently being formed would strictly comply with the law that called for the creation of the paramilitary unit, Executive Order 264.

"The CAFGU law is a law on reservists, not on recruits of any type. The problem is that the AFP is not being candid. It hesitates to clearly state that the CAFGUs they are forming are strictly composed of reservists," Arroyo said.

He said the government is "mishandling" the CAFGU issue "so it is getting a lot of flak."

Arroyo explained that the military keeps on talking about drafting recruits rather than reservists for the CAFGU. That is why the CAFGU issue is stirring up memories of human rights abuses for which the militiamen gained notoriety.

Under section 1 of the law, the CAFGU shall be composed of reservists and officers and enlisted men on inactive status.

It also states that all able-bodied citizens can undergo military training, after which they shall become reservists with appropriate ranks.

All reservists in a particular locality shall be organized into reserve military units to be mobilized when the needs arises. When called, reservists shall serve with regular troops.

The law also says that the secretary of national defense shall prescribe and implement a continuing program of recruitment and training for CAFGU militiamen so they can respond to threats to national security.

Arroyo said the AFP should also state frankly that they will comply with section 5 of the law. It states that "all members of the CAFGU on training or service shall be subject to military law and the Articles of War."

EO 264 was signed by then Corazon Aquino on July 25, 1987.

Arroyo had earlier warned against the reactivation of the CAFGUs, which he branded as "mercenaries recruited to fight insurgency."

Any paramilitary comeback, he said, would only lead to human rights abuses because these militiamen "are underpaid, generally uneducated and pitifully trained."

Explaining how the CAFGU became notorious, Arroyo said: "You give a gun to a guy with a measly salary, and what does he do? He uses the gun to terrorize and abuse civilians in his neighborhood and his vicinity. It's the gun and not the salary that enticed him to be a CAFGU."