Dismantling private armies, daunting task

Disbanding private armies isn’t kid stuff, or easy as snatching candies or toys from toddlers. Reading in-between the lines of Dante Jimenez’ opinion – member of the Zeñarosa Commission tasked to do the job – appears the onus that easy.

Jimenez of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) isn’t a gullible no-brainer who has been an active advocate against criminality. He estimates that the investigation phase of the 90 or so private armies listed by the PNP – not 132 as earlier estimated – takes less than 3 months, then ready for prosecution.

Considering the proliferation of private armed groups lorded over by politicians has been a perennial problem, no administration has ever taken the cudgels to stomp it out. As if the incumbent leadership passed it off to the next administration, the private armies have bloated in number that cleansing the evil has become a Herculean task, almost beyond solution.

Better that Mr. Jimenez came down to earth… Although AFP Gen. Victor Ibrado has assured that "starting January 10, the military will help dismantle private armed groups", plus the PNP as principal enforcer, the government can not disband these armed groups in one year or two, or even forever, ad infinitum.

How many times, and for how many years has the changing Palace leadership and the AFP promised a timetable – and "or else" ultimatum – for the NPA and other dissidents to get wiped out. As in routed, like fish in total belly up, like canned sardines. Of course, these ultimatums come during budgetary hearings, so pfft.

In contemporary Philippine history, there is only one Ramon Magsaysay, the Guy, with guts to stick to his "carrot and stick" mantra in dealing with the Huks then. He personified the honesty and sincerity, and purity of the salt of the earth, the kind of purity of Pearl Buck’s "The Good Earth". Both the good and the evil in society believed him, and had unsullied faith in him, even crooked politicians.

Administrative Order 275 of President Gloria M. Arroyo that created the commission to run after private gangsters and hoodlums came as knee jerk reaction to the massacre of 57 victims in Maguindanao. Armed private militia came with the political turf starting perhaps, with a couple of armed bodyguards, then enlarged later in number through the years with sidearms, and later armed with sophisticated automatic weaponry. Often the government used these armed civvies, like the CAFGU, that morphed into politicians’ private militia.

To arm them and to feed their families, the politicians have to get bigger kickbacks from the government and private sources, that corruption has to be hectored. And perhaps, private armies must perforce engage in robbery, smuggling of arms and drugs, kidnapping to help their "trapo" bosses and for themselves. What luxury indeed!

And so, forget the ballyhooed boast of finishing the investigation phase of the armed groups to be dismantled pronto. Forget as well that these private armies would be disbanded eventually. They stay as along as there are reviled politicians.

Of course, there’ll be some modicum of accomplishments, like, warlords surrendering vintage Infield rifles, garands, carbines, and even "pogakhang", similar to those "given up" by "civilian volunteers" of the Ampatuans. But the highly sophisticated arms, forget the impossible dream… and so, disbanding the private armed groups is all illusory.

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