GMA needs the 'time' to think, think, think!

After the whole week’s celebration of the Philippine Star’s 25th Anniversary, it’s back to the grind. The big deal about this anniversary is that, the Philippine Star under the leadership of Miguel G. Belmonte (CEO & President) was able to sustain the paper’s success (even after the passing away of its founders: Betty Go-Belmonte, Max V. Soliven and Art Borjal). Miguel with his core team of editors, writers, circulation and advertising groups have elevated The Philippine Star into a media mogul! The VIP guest list proves it! The thick pages of the newspaper confirm it. The number of advertisers validates it. One very influential guest on that starry evening even commented, “This is not just a paper, it’s THE PAPER. It is very powerful, Sara, believe, me.”

The grand party at the Makati Shangri-La’s Rizal Ballroom last Thursday said it all. Almost 2,000 guests coming from all sectors (media, diplomatic corps, government, business, entertainment etc.) celebrated the big bang with high spirits having a friendly, family- oriented atmosphere. And this is what the Philippine Star is all about. Kudos! To all the hardworking and dedicated staff, here’s looking forward to a brighter STAR in the next decade.

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GMA has always had her highs and lows. This medical problem of hers I am pretty sure has been there for quite sometime now. Well, for whatever reason or divine intervention it may be, in the heat of the moment, GMA was able to take a break from last week’s very stressful situation. She managed to ‘escape’ ( no matter how painful the process turned out to be) and momentarily shield herself from all the plunder cases filed against her: alleged misuse of P325 million in intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), the renewed allegations involving her in rigging the 2004 presidential elections, alleged failure to remit the P72 million capital gains tax from the sale of the old Iloilo airport to property giant Megaworld, alleged diversion of P550 million belonging to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to Philhealth during the 2004 presidential campaign, the P432 million fertilizer fund scam, plus other cases that are still to be filed.

Perhaps this had to happen, so that she can have the time to contemplate on her life as a public servant. I hope something good comes out from this.

Her illness may have given her that much needed break but I am very sure GMA will be fine. She will be back on her toes in no time. She is in excellent care. St. Luke’s Hospital has never failed us. It has the best doctors and facilities. In fact, there is a joke that if you want your spouse to continue living, bring him/ her to St. Luke’s, but if you want him/ her to rest in peace, then, take her to any other hospital in the metropolis. I know this is a bad joke but there is some truth to it. My father in all his frailty was always saved by St. Luke’s. He died in Japan because there was no branch of St. Luke’s in that country. Going back to GMA, she was in very good hands during her surgery. Dr. Mario Ver, a veteran orthopedic surgeon was her main orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Ver was the first to introduce in the Philippines microsurgery of the spine, microdiscectomy for slip discs and instrumental spine fusion as well as provocative discography both lumbar and cervical spine. Dr. Ver is the best orthopedic doctor in the country. What more could GMA ask for?

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News about the five Marines who were beheaded and mutilated in Sulu and 26 soldiers wounded was alarming. But we must not forget that every year such tragic incidents have been happening not only in Patikul but also in Basilan and Jolo.

Patikul is a 4th class municipality in the province of Sulu. It has a population of 39,946 and 30 barangays. This is one of the areas where the presence of Abu Sayyaf guerillas are often felt and experienced.

The Philippine Marines (the elite of the Navy) are assigned in Sulu while the Special Operations Command of the Army under General Ortiz cover Basilan. If the leader is not wise enough with his plans for attack, then his team is bound to fall in the trap of the Abu Sayyaf. In this case, I am pretty sure the head of command made a drastic (or even careless) move that led to this tactical ‘blunder’.

As mentioned, this is not new. It happens every year. From year 2000 to the present time the Abu Sayyaf has managed to maintain its capacity and ability to stage successful attacks on the military. In 2006, suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen knocked on the door of a farm in Patikul and opened fire on the residents killing six people including a nine-month old baby girl and five others. In the same year, a Filipino Marine officer was killed after government forces encountered a large group of Abu Sayyaf terrorists in the same place. In 2008, Abu Sayyaf soldiers executed one of two hostages they took during a raid on a Christian community in Lamitan City in Basilan. In January this year, four traveling merchants and a guide were killed and one wounded when suspected Abu Sayyaf militants ambushed them in Basilan. One soldier was also killed when government forces clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants in the same province. These are but a few of the many ASG encounters with the AFP in the past several years.

The importance of making tactical decisions is crucial in solving the insurgency problem of the country. With the many mishaps we have experience in Mindanao, it seems that the Abu Sayyaf has better tactical and strategic warfare planning than our men. I hope the AFP can intensify the training and planning in this area. They should go out and get experts in the field in the different parts of the world or even take advantage of the American Special Forces group confined in Basilan and learn from them to improve our skills in strategic planning and execution of counter-attacks.

In P-Noy’s SONA he bragged about the purchase of a new Hamilton Class Cutter, helicopters, patrol crafts and weapons to modernize the equipment of the AFP. I hope he takes this seriously and follows it closely. It is not only the new equipments that count. We need good and efficient training in the field so that the men and women in uniform can truly defend our country.