Don't make impossible promises

It was with bated breath that one listened on tv to the second swan song of Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. upon expiration of his three-month extension as AFP chief-of-staff.

No, stilled on all ears didn't mean mesmerized in rapture over his litany of the feats of the AFP soldiers. Actually, it was a subtle self-praise by simply subbing the pronouns they, them, and theirs for the soldiers to I, me, and mine, in the war against the NPA and Muslim rebels.

But more than anything else, Gen. Esperon should have made an accounting of his promise to wipe out the insurgency within the three-month extension that he had vowed to do. Okay, in fairness though, he specified a number of NPA fronts without citing which rebel fronts that he had vowed to wipe out. Was this fulfilled? He didn't mention anything about it as he turned over the AFP command to his successor, Gen. Alexander Yano in elaborate ceremony.

Playing safe, Gen. Yano who is obviously a Bisaya, or promdi in roots, and appears intelligent and very articulate, was nevertheless quite reckless in promising to wipe out the insurgency in 2010.

The 2010 target happens to be the end of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo's term. Perhaps keen observers can still remember that no less than PGMA has also put in words to eliminate the NPA by then. To recall, this was the second or third commitment by the President since 2001.

This is not to belittle or begrudge any efforts, or even promises, of the officialdom to sweeten or appease the people, especially in times of need and crisis. But let them not underestimate and insult the people - even the simple-minded fishermen, farmers, and laborers - by sugary promises and the resultant excuses, just to flatter and falsely please them. It's almost akin to a politician's foolish gimmick of digging a non-existent river so that he can build a bridge across it.

There's no cavil that the strength and numbers of the NPA rebels may have dwindled. Or that the ideological backbone as a reason for their being now extinct, it should have taken out the wind from the Communist sail.

But then, some pockets of injustice for certain rebels may not have been as yet avenged, and/or abject poverty in so-called normal life still remains enough reason for some rebels to roam the hills in lawlessness.

The reality is that the CPP/NPA is still a problem to be reckoned with. Just recently, in Eastern Samar, a policeman was gunned down inside a public market by NPA elements who took his gun. Also in early May, Supt. Narciso Guarin was ambushed in Legaspi City by five rebels. Buses in Cubao, Quezon City were lately torched by 10 armed NPAs…

No less than PNP Chief Avelino Razon issued a memo warning the PNP against active NPA attacks. There's also an imminent resurgence of the CPP/NPA/NDF Special Partisan Units (SPARU) whose mission is to assassinate PNP and AFP elements, and government officials. To recall some years back, the SPARU units operated in cities and urban centers.

One theory for such SPARU revival is to recover firearms they had lost in skirmishes with the government forces, and to snatch firearms/ammo for their arsenal. Moreover, their leaders Joma Sison and Luis Jalandoni from abroad may have given fresh orders to wage tactical operations.

Whatever it be, the insurgency isn't yet a mote in the eye or a teardrop down the cheek that is simply wiped out. Neither sweetened promises nor rosy predictions to end it is, as yet, not possible in the near future, as long as the socio-economic thorns are not blunted.

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