Finally a chance to disarm private armies!

Our first special guest to start the New Year 2010, the year when this March Straight from the Sky would be celebrating its 10th Anniversary, is the Presidential bet of the Lakas-KAMPI, former Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. Actually this is the second time we interviewed Gibo on this show. Last Feb.16, 2009 we first interviewed him as Defense Secretary. Back then, I already knew, he was definitely presidential material and even asked him at that time whether he had Presidential ambitions. But he didn’t categorically state that he would run for President, but rather he wanted to focus on the job at hand in the Defense Department.

I’m sure that many of our televiewers have seen Gibo on nationwide tv when he was pitted against the other Presidentiables. But it’s a different show in the sense that we are able to ask the right questions that many Cebuanos are asking in order to know more about the man who could be our future President. So watch Gibo on SkyCable’s channel 15 at 8:00pm tonight.

* * *

As we’ve been writing mostly holiday inspired articles, let’s start the New Year with something positive and different, something that should have been done since the Cory Regime wrested power from the conjugal Marcos Dictatorship 23 years ago. I’m referring to the creation of Administrative Order No.275 by Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) of an independent commission to dismantle private armies with a mandate to complete its job in just four months or at least before the 2010 Presidential elections. Indeed, this is a daunting task ahead with a very short timetable.

Already pundits have spoken negatively about this commission, saying that it is unnecessary as the President already has the powers to dismantle private armies or worse, that it just might be a white-wash commission. However, in light of the reality that most, if not all these private armies are under political warlords of various political persuasions, I believe that the President acted very admirably by distancing herself from this commission so they can freely go after these private armies and dismantle them for good. But with Pres. Arroyo, it’s always a damn if you do, damn if you don’t situation.

To achieve this very noble goal, the President appointed six people in the person of Mahmod Mala Adilao of the Bishops-Ulama Conference, Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, Brig. Gen. Jaime Echeverria (Ret), Police Deputy Director General Virtus Gil, Radio Broadcaster Herman Basbano and Dante Jimenez of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (CAV).

I’m sure that these are people of known probity and integrity and would be able to do the task assigned to them even if they are given a very short time.

While we might think that commission might find things difficult even just to start where to look for private armies. What they can actually do is go from region to region or province to province and identify the so-called potential hotspots where politicos may be maintaining private armies. Many of them often hide their private armies in the guise of owning a Security Agency; hence there is a law that limits Security Agencies to only 1,000 personnel.

This is a defective law because those who do not care to follow the law couldn’t care any less how they would hide their private armies under the cover of a security agency, when there are very strict guidelines to follow in the security agency business?

The key to the success of the commission lies upon the finding of the cache of weapons that these political warlords may have hidden by now. I would like to suggest that they come up with a reward scheme that would pay off handsomely anyone who points where a cache of arms may have been stored - in a residence or warehouse or in underground bunkers.

I do agree that this is a tall order as Mr. Gary Olivar, the President’s spokesman declared, however this commission might just be able to pinpoint where these private armies might be used especially in the coming national and local elections where the military can be directed to neutralize these men in arms. If and when these private armies are neutralized, then we just might be able to achieve that elusive dream of holding clean and honest elections, something that this country hasn’t seen in many decades.

 But don’t forget, this is the Philippines and Filipinos are known to be wily characters and won’t easily give up their arms. With the recent discovery of the cache of arms allegedly owned by the Ampatuans, I’m sure that these warlords are coming up with schemes to hide their weapons from the prying eyes of the commission or the police when things get serious. But let’s give the commission a chance to work and pin our hopes on their success!