Perish the thought of sending RP troops to Lebanon

If the Philippine government is still struggling to decide on whether or not to send a contingent of Filipino soldiers to Lebanon to serve in a UN peace-keeping force, then a photo that appeared in a national Philippine daily should help it arrive at a decision.

The photo was of a Filipino Army soldier in the heat of battle. What was striking about the photo was that the soldier was unarmed. Or rather, he was, but not conventionally. Instead of a gun, his arms cradled a heap of rocks.

That he was in a beleaguered state was written all over his face. He was fighting an entire community of angry squatters in Taguig whose shanties were being demolished to give way to development. They were resisting the eviction with rocks and other projectiles.

Unarmed, probably to avoid bloodshed, the soldier was thrust into a situation where he had to fight back with the only means available - the rocks that had been thrown at him. Given the look on his face, the battle must have been terribly harrowing.

In a real battle, a bullet can mercifully kill instantly. In an exchange of rocks, however, the pain of a hit can be excruciating. To get smashed on the side of the head by a rock the size of a fist could send anyone up queer street. One can get cross-eyed for a week.

That is why I found it surprising that the photo landed deep in the inside pages of that national Philippine daily. What was on page one instead was a photo of an old and forlorn caged orangutan in the Manila Zoo, probably wistful over some long lost simian love affair.

Of course the photo of the ape can also evoke strong emotions in people. After all, any man's monkey business is everyone's monkey business. Whatever longings were squeezing the heart of that orangutan, I know she can find a lot to share the feeling with in the opposition.

But back to the beleaguered rock-throwing Philippine Army soldier. That photo also shows the true state of the Philippine military, a state that any self-respecting nation would not want to parade before the eyes of the world.

North Korea may be one of the poorest nations in the world. But its army is a fearsome lot. Seeing North Korean soldiers quick-stepping in a march like parts of a single well-oiled piece of machinery can make the hearts of superior enemies miss a beat.

Believe me, if the Philippines can borrow North Korean soldiers to go after squatters, I am sure they will all jump into the sea and swim all the way to Nauru. North Korean discipline and dedication can strike fear and exact respect anywhere.

On the other hand, to have people throw rocks at Filipino soldiers tells a lot about the kind of respect the Philippine military commands. And if our own people throw rocks at our soldiers at home, I wonder what they will throw at us in Lebanon.

Frankly, we do not have a very hot reputation overseas. We tried with a handful of soldiers in Iraq, putting our soldiers' lives unnecessarily in harm's way for a mission that was nothing more than a public relations stunt for President Arroyo.

But we pulled those soldiers out immediately, to the consternation of our allies who needed them not as combatants but to showcase limp solidarity over an uncertain cause. We skeedaddled because a bunch of crazy terrorists threatened to behead a captive Filipino worker.

The situation in Lebanon does not rise or fall on whether the Philippines sends a contingent of ill-equipped and ill-trained Filipino soldiers there. And it is not necessary for us to put up a face. The world does its homework. Everybody knows we cannot hack it. So why go?