Exposing top secrets on national security via national television

The enemies of the state, including rebels and secessionists, communists and socialists revolutionaries, and plain bandits, criminals and  drugs, gambling and other syndicates must have been laughing to their hearts' delight, last Wednesday, when the Philippine Senate allowed a very sensitive investigation  (in aid of reelection) to be broadcast via national television. Because of that, the security of the state has been unduly compromised, highly critical security information were revealed to the enemies, and major weaknesses and defects of the police and armed forces' organization have been exposed. Above all, it revealed that the President, the Commander-in-chief, committed what might be considered some strategic and tactical errors. The surmises are that such presidential errors contributed to the massacre of the SAF 44.

That investigation should have been done in executive session. But the presiding chair is a presidential candidate, Senator Grace Poe Llamanzares, who is running against the bet being endorsed by the President, and the reopening of what had already been previously closed proceedings was requested by the minority floor leader, former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. The testimonies of General Napenas, and the other resource persons, indubitably established that the President of the Republic has committed two major errors, namely: that he allegedly violated the chain of command by approving a secret police operations, by-passing the Secretary of the DILG, Mar Roxas, and the acting PNP chief, General Espina. Second, the President allegedly violated the Ombudsman's suspension order of General Allan Purisima by dealing with him and not General Espina.

The investigation also embarrassed the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police. It exposed the intense rivalry between the AFP and the PNP. The police organization, apparently under the control and supervision of a suspended PNP chief, (reporting directly to the President, and by-passing his immediate superior the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government ). The testimonies given by the resource persons unduly exposed that the security of the state is being entrusted to some incompetent, reckless, and unauthorized elements who all bypassed and totally disregarded the chain of command. The investigation achieved nothing positive and everything negative. It fueled rivalries among officers and men in the AFP and the police organization.

The investigation also showed that in very critical times of crises, the leaders whom we entrusted with peace and order and national security have displayed notorious negligence and unprecedented mediocrity in planning and executing operations plans. Senator J P Enrile exclaimed to stress a point: that at those very difficult times, there was no leader. Nobody was taking direct responsibility. The officers who were supposed to be in the chain of command are finger-pointing at each other. Nobody accepts responsibility. If that debacle took place in Japan, the police commander, the armed forces chief of staff, the secretary of interior, and the prime minister would tender their irrevocable resignations and apologize to the people in ultimate ignominy. They would even commit ''hara kiri'' for extreme shame and loss of honor.

Another very embarrassing thing that was exposed here was that there was an US armed forces officer who was involved directly in the operations. Wasn't that a direct and concrete intervention by a foreign power in a completely domestic police operation? Or, could that be justified again by invoking the EDCA, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement? Still another was the existence of five million US dollars reward money for the arrest or neutralization of Marwan. Could it be assumed then, that the refusal of the police to coordinate with the AFP has something to do with that booty?