Why are our soldiers dying in vain?

It’s exactly a week since that battle in Barangay Cabengbeng, Sumisip Town in Basilan where 10 soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and supposedly nine Abu Sayyaf militants were killed which left some 16 wounded soldiers and eight militants wounded. I don’t know whether the hot pursuit operations are a success or not, but what an angry Filipino nation is seeing are the bodies of our dead soldiers arriving in Manila. No doubt this is heart breaking news and I always ask the question, “How come we never saw the bodies of the nine dead Abu Sayyaf?

Again, I would like to reiterate that the Aquino Regime is treating the Muslim problem with kid gloves. I reiterate their own call when PNoy was still in the opposition, on why GMA could not rid this country of armed groups. Now that they are in power… our soldiers continue to die and for what? Are they sacrificing their lives in vain?

What is even more painful to the families of the dead soldiers is that, the so-called “Friends of PNoy” who are mostly coming from the left and who are now in power with him are totally mum about this issue. Yes, when our soldiers die, no one from the left has any sympathy for them. But when the rebels die, it is a human rights violation! And this President tells us… “Me and Akbayan think alike?” Pray tell us Mr. President what is your timetable to rid this country of armed groups?

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That the 1987 Constitution is heavily flawed is something that many Filipinos already know. It is a fact that both leaders in the House of Representatives, House Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte, Jr. and Senate Pres. Juan Ponce Enrile, have totally agreed that there are flaws in the economic provisions of the constitution and have gone to Malacañang Palace to try and convince PNoy to at least look at the problem rather than dismissing it outright.

As expected, PNoy did not throw out the suggestions of the two leaders and agreed to study the proposals. I guess he was just being polite to the older folks. But we know that deep in his heart, he doesn’t want to change the constitution named after his mother, Pres. Cory Aquino. In the end, the Filipino people must suffer because of a personal decision by a President, when in fact, he should be listening to what this nation needs.

In another area of controversy, the 1987 Constitution provides for only one member from Congress who would be part of the Judicial & Bar Council (JBC). Supposedly today, the Senate would vote on the shortlist for the new Chief Justice. But it still insisted that their membership should have one from Congress and one from the Senate. So now, this issue needs to be resolved by the Supreme Court (SC). How this would come about, your guess is as good as mine. But in my understanding, there should only be one member coming from the Legislature.

Meanwhile, a side issue has cropped up with no less than Malacañang spokesman Edwin Lacierda issuing a statement saying “Malacañang is comfortable with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, whether as Chief Justice or Justice Secretary.” This statement was in response to the letter by the Justice Secretary to the JBC explaining why she should not be excluded from the shortlist just because of the disbarment case filed against her by the SC. She says that the case filed against her was politically motivated. Really now?

When the DoJ Secretary purposely defied a Supreme Court order, was this a political decision? I don’t think so. In the first place, when the DoJ issued that order to prevent former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) from leaving the country, the DoJ had not yet filed any cases against her. So clearly, there was an act of defiance by the Justice Secretary against the very institution that she is now seeking to head.

But like what we’ve been saying… all these news reports are nothing but a zarzuela from Malacañang. The 1st choice of PNoy is Sec. De Lima who has shown her uncanny loyalty to the President. Loyalty after all is the major qualification to be the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. As we’ve pointed out several times, Pres. Aquino targeted former Chief Justice Renato Corona for impeachment because of only one reason, his loyalty to then Pres. GMA. It is for this very reason why we strongly believe that the Supreme Court under Sec. De Lima would no longer be a free and independent pillar of the government.

I certainly hope that the Supreme Court would resolve the case against de Lima… as this is one way for us to find out whether the SC is still a free independent body or that this collegial body has now become beholden to the Aquino Regime. If so, then this democracy is dead!

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