An open letter to the Class of 2010

In 2007, I was a graduating cadet at the Philippine Military. The whole Cadet Corps mourned the death of then 2LT Camelon and several other PMA graduates that followed after that series of skirmishes with the Abu Sayaff. I did not understand how it really felt but simply mourned the loss of an upperclass who graduated a year ahead of me.

In 2008, I triumphantly graduated from PMA. I was very eager to be part of something noble as an Army Officer. Shortly after I reported to Davao City together with my other classmates, we saw on the news how the peace talks between the government and the MILF collapsed because of the MOA-AD. I reported to a Battalion that participated in the military offensives after the forces of renegade MILF leader Ameril Umbra Kato attacked Maasim Municipal Hall in Sarangani Province. I arrived listening to very recent war stories and the heroism of one PFC Bayawanon, who was the only casualty of the Battalion in that military offensive. Shortly after that, in October 24, then 2LT Jeffrey Domingo was killed in Barangay Manurigao, New Bataan, Compostela Valley. He was the first casualty of my PMA class and we reported together in Davao barely six months ago. This was the time that I understood the reality of danger in my chosen profession. Unlike the death of an upperclass a year ago, I did not just mourn, I now lost a classmate. About two weeks after that, I will experience my first meeting with death. After we were dropped by three vehicles as we begin our military operation, explosions were heard from afar. The vehicles that hauled us were ambushed. The vehicle that I used was the one that was heavily damaged and the two escorts were killed. I did not remember much of that day only that I knew that those who ambushed our vehicles were already in position when we first passed. I would have been dead have they decided to attack when we passed.

In 2010, I was a team leader during the test mission of my Scout Ranger Class. It was my first time to go to Basilan Province in a municipality called Sumisip. On the third day of our military operation, an improvised explosive device exploded while we were trying to clear a hill that overlooked the road junction where our supplies will pass. Four of my companions were wounded, I was about 100 meters away from the blast. This was to be my closest brush with death.

Today, I hear the news about so many soldiers dead in Basilan, two of which where in my generation of cadets at the Philippine Military Academy, one an upperclass, and the other a constant companion in the discussion and debate society where we were both members. More importantly he was a classmate of my squadmates, he was part of the class that the Class of 2008 groomed to become soldiers. We taught them soldiery. Back in the days when we were cadets, it was hard to teach your squadmates what to expect in the "real" world. Although we had more experience, our idea of soldiery was confined inside the Academy. Maybe this time, I will have gained more of that "wisdom" to tell them something just as how I did it when I was their squad leader.

Dear Class of 2010,

I am writing this open letter because I feel that I have to express my sincerest sympathy over the loss of your classmate in Basilan. In the years that followed after graduation, a lot of my ideas changed out of the experiences I gathered through my years in the Army. After the death of my classmate in Comval Province, I took it as a constant reminder to always be very sure of every decision you make as an officer. In the process, I learned that to be able to decide well requires more than just being a PMA graduate. It means that sometimes we will have to stand our ground even if others will criticize us. It means that you will have to take an extra effort to understand your men so that when you go into the battlefield together your decisions will not just be tactical decisions, rather it will reflect the general well being of the men who follow you. I learned that as an officer, you must constantly persevere to be a better person on the premise that by being better you are giving the men that you lead more years to enjoy their life. I also learned that our motivations and aspirations as a Filipino soldier should be shared to our people. They may not believe you but you will become committed to show them that you are sincere.

I want you to know that I am together with you in mourning the death of your classmate, but I also want to motivate you to take your classmates heroism as your inspiration to be better at what you are doing. By doing so, you are putting value on his death. A lot of you ask questions now. When we had our first casualty, I asked myself why is death so sudden but so difficult to understand?

The media today speaks of the heroism of Lt Khe. You should take this opportunity to stand in front of your men and declare that he is your classmate. A lot of us will never have the opportunity to be heroes like those of them who died in Basilan, but by bringing life to the sacrifice of their death we become heroes in our own right. In our class we have this battlecry, BAGHAWI BUO. Incidentally, this was coined by our first casualty, Lt Domingo. After his death, those words have become so real to each of us in the class. In some way, his death has united us never to tarnish the name of our class, the Academy and the Armed Forces. I also pray that you class will draw the same inspiration from the death of your classmate.

I think I can safely say that the rest of my classmates also feel the same way over this tragic incident. We know the feeling of losing but still we will persist. As our song in the Academy would say: And when the taps shall sung for men, banners drape our last remain; Let singing comrades bury me, to the echoes of the strain.

1LT Cabales

The wrong crusade

I have been reading so much of this Willing Willie child abuse issue and I can't help but have my own opinion and blog about it.

For one, I never was a fan of Willie Revillame. I do not feel his sincerity and honestly I hate how his show seems to illustrate how poor our country is. It shows to the whole world that our people will do anything for money. I hate it when contestants, for lack of real talent, will simply make weird dance movements just to get the money that is bound to be given by the host after embarrassing themselves in front of the whole world. There have been thousands of stories among the shows followers, to include a close cousin of mine, who would do anything just to be a studio contestant in the show. There's an old lady who unknowingly exposed her breasts in live television, some probinsyana who travelled all the way to the show just to show-off her talent; and more recently a lady who peed on her pants because she did not want to go out of the long lines for the show for fear of losing her chance to be admitted. I hate how when contestants begin to tell their life story, tears automatically fall as if the whole world is upon them. All of these things illustrate to the whole world how poor our people are and, more importantly, how desperate they have become. But I will be the first one to say that those who criticize this TV host is barking at the wrong tree and perhaps should look at this whole fiasco in a wider perspective. They should realize that the antics of Mr. Revillame has somehow illustrated the true state of our country. When Willy was able to capture the taste of the masses, his competitors began to use similar methods. Even if these shows will never admit it, their gimmicks evolve into a format where ordinary people (especially those in poverty) get a once in a lifetime chance to win some money. Now, is it Willy's fault or is it simply because his person is "hate-able" than the others?

If one was to make a simple survey among poor people, they will all consent to doing what the boy Jan-jan did in exchange of ten thousand pesos. While the rest of the country is crucifying the host of the show where the young boy was allegedly abused, the money that resulted from it made a few of our countrymen happier. How come the "abused" is not complaining?

I am not also saying that we should just allow acts like those happen on air, I am just saying that inasmuch as Willy Revillame should be given some form of punishment for not exercising judgment to control acts that happen in his show, killing his show and cursing the host will not change any of the problems in our society that was exposed by the show. And for that, I would like to ask a simple question, are they after improving our society or do they have other motives? This people is so naive. They have not seen poverty in this country at its worst state. Is there no child abuse on small children ranging from six to ten years old who make three hour hikes everyday just to go to a dilapidated school with no facilities? Is there no abuse to children whose teachers complain of not being able to explain do them the word "dagat" as they have not seen any of that since birth? And I am just talking about children, I can go on and on with problems of this country fit for facebook pages that people can support to. If only this people will exert their effort into more pressing issues that can really help our countrymen. A few months back, I was watching some forum hosted by a social activist. She proudly claimed that our elected officials reflect the will of the people. Inside my head, I beg to disagree. Yes, I believe in democracy and the power of the vote, but that statement had to be examined closely. In the poor places that I have seen, they do not care of the power of the vote, they care about the power of money. For those of us who are lucky to be educated, we can appreciate the beauty of these things but for majority of our countrymen, its all about survival. I think we should remember Maslowe's Hierarchy of Needs. If we really wish to help our country, let us direct our efforts into issues that really matter. Destroying Willy Revillame will not really help. For one he is already very rich, closing down his show will not pull him down to poverty, but more importantly, our people will never gain anything our of a disgraced TV Host.

A Humbling Realization

Logging into the internet after weeks in the mountains somehow prepared me for all the bad news of our world. From what I have been updated so far, the three Filipinos convicted in China are dead, Willie Revillame is again in hot water because of his show, the AFP is the most corrupt government agency in the country and finally, the national transport strike slated tomorrow. All these added to the other problems and disasters that our world had in the past months or so. But then I am refusing to be eaten up by the misery of these things lest I become another cynic or self righteous blogger. I just came from a place they call Sitio Kamugna. Its the farthest Sitio of Barangay Datu Danwata, Malita, Davao del Sur. And it is from this place that I wish to inspire some form of hope amidst all the troubles we are facing.

The place is said to be the core of the insurgency in this part of the country. Its location is the boundary of Alabel and Malungon Towns of Sarangani; and that of Malita, Davao del Sur. Although I came there to look for the bad guys, I was greeted with the good guys. The three people I met there may perhaps be the most committed government workers in the whole country.

Ma'am Pearly, Sir Lemuel and Sir Ryan, they should be the model upon which every Filipino should build their character on. These three are teachers of the Tribal Filipino School of Kamugna. They are not popular people, they are teachers, but more than that, they provide me with a living hope that all is not lost in this problematic country of ours. From Poblacion Malita to the center of Barangay Datu Danwata, these three will ride on a "habal-habal" motorcycle for three hours. If one thinks that their troubles end there, it has not begun. Once they arrive at the Barangay Center, they will begin a two day hike towards Sitio Kamugna crossing seven (yes, as in one, two, three, four, five, six, seven) mountains that they have to climb. They do this twice a month. First is when they report to their school and then second is when they will go down to civilization to enjoy their one week rest. And they have been doing this for the past three years. And that is because the school has only existed for three years and they have made it their crusade to see to it that the children of this far off sitio will finish primary school. Although they are employees of the Department of Education, they use their personal money to provide basic school supplies for the children that they teach and all other things that they deem necessary to educate these children. Sadly, they have succumbed to the uncertainty of relying on government support to do what they have to do. More than educating the children, they also have to educate the parents on the value of education. That entailed shouldering every requirement for education as long as the parents will continue to allow their children to attend school. While the rest of our citizens complain about many things in our country, these three continue to strive to do what they have to do. Being a soldier with my own set of complains and difficulty on the job, it humbles me that they persist. Consider this, when Japan was hit by a tsunami, the Japanese people took it as an opportunity to unite and together rebuild their country. When our oil prices fluctuate, transport groups lunch a nationwide strike to crucify our government. I would like to think that many of the things we consider as "problem" is the least of our worries. I believe our problem is the way we see ourselves as Filipinos and our roles in helping our country. When oil prices go up, we demand government subsidy, we refuse to take part of our government's struggle to cope up with these prices even if it is common knowledge that we do not have a say on the prices of this commodity in the world market. We have somewhat assumed that the government "enjoy" the fluctuation of these prices and so we blame them and insist on lower prices even if it will take a toll on our dwindling financial resources. Our people is so disgusting. When my wife and I disagree on something, I have made it a point to at always look at our marriage before reacting or doing anything that might destroy it. At some point in my life, I have accepted that marrying her was a permanent thing and that whatever our issues are we should be united in working together to make our marriage work despite our issues. The government is like married to its people. The two should work together to be able to move forward. When they come into difficult odds, they share the burden of making it through. While the husband in a marriage is expected to provide for the family, the wife is to support him. I believe I have seen a government trying to provide a good life for all of us despite the diffiuclt times, but I have yet to see the support of the people. None of our Presidents was ever good enough. Our people is so selfish.

Moments ago, I learned that some advertisers have withdrawn their ads on Willie Revillame's show as a result of the child abuse fiasco. I believe both sides have valid points. My concern though is how the very incident mirror the kind of society we have. Mind you, this is not the first time that something ridiculous happened in these type of shows all for the money. There was one old lady whose breast accidentaly popped out on live tv, a big winner who was later found out to have cheated her way to big bucks, a woman who peed on her own pants and many other incidents... All for the money. While others would claim that it was a case of child abuse, I also would like to think that the young boy and his aunt did not care as long as they get the big bucks. I somehow get this idea that if our people can muster that kind of attitude in doing their individual responsibilities as workers, family members, students or whatever responsibility they have the big bucks mught just come in the long run. Our people seem to think that the good life that everybody dreams of will come by some strike of lightning. People will line up to these shows very early in the morning just to get a shot at whatever price in store for them. This is also true with lines on Lotto outlets and even illegal number games. But when doing ordinary jobs, its always more of complaining rather than doing it well. Our people are so foolish. I can rant on and one with so many observations like this. I guess with the kind of people we have nothing will ever be good enough. If only we can just be like the three Teachers at the Tribal Filipino School of Kamugna. I am making my commitment to helping this country:

I will never complain about my job (or maybe I will just keep it to myself)

I will always remember that doing my responsibility as a citizen is my simplest contribution to nation building

I will always tell people of stories like that of Ma'am Pearly, Sir Ryan and Sir Lemuel. I will always be persistent with what I have to do even if I am not noticed.

Lastly, I will pray that my countrymen will do the same.

May God Bless our Nation....

A Tribute

As cadets in Baguio, the dreaded one minute prayer is a constant reminder of how life is being a soldier. When these announcements are made together with familiar names, the silence inside the mess hall is deafening. Everyone tries to remember the person who just paid the ultimate sacrifice for this country. In that one minute, there is a vast of emotions felt by everybody that is never captured. When the one minute expires, everybody would pretend that life goes back to normal. Unknown to many, in each of a fallen comrade, whether the one who passed away was someone close or just someone we know, a sting is left inside the heart, the pain lingers and one tries to be strong-- to be brave. While many from our ranks as PMA graduates perish defending this country, the feeling never changes, it never makes us numb. In truth, we become inspired to do our jobs better, not just for fear that we might be the next to pass but to stop the senseless death of these soldiers going out to those dangerous areas so that many of our countrymen will be able to experience the life that they deserve, free from those who wish to destroy our institutions.

However painful the death of a comrade is, we continue the fight for we believe that in some distant future nobody will have to die these kinds of death. The memories of those who went ahead become our moral compass to remind us of the deeper value of our profession. It becomes more of a regular job rather it becomes a crusade to end the enemies of these state in every little way that we can.

Today, as my class gathers to remember our fallen classmate, the Late 2Lt Jeffrey Domingo, who was killed last year in an ambush conducted by members of the New People's Army in Barangay Manurigao, New Bataan, Compostela Valley, another one falls. Marine Lieutenant Dulan Cordero of PMA 2006 was killed in a bomb explosion at Patikul, Sulu.

This song was posted at Facebook by a very talented upperclass in memory of all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. I felt that the song had to reach a wider audience for this is the first time that there is one song that truly captures the emotion of losing a fellow comrade in arms. This song is dedicated to all those who perished defending this country and those like us who are still fighting.

PARA SA'YO MISTAH (Eulogy)

Originally sang and composed:SUPASTAH (Chat '06)

Alam kong wala ka na MISTAH...

Ngunit nais lng kitang maalala

Ako man ngayo'y naghihinagpis

Sa maaga mong pag-alis

Masaya na rin ako pagkat

Sa ating bansa ika'y naging TAPAT

Nasaan ka man ngayon...

Nais kitang maging mahinahon

ASAHAN mong itutuloy koAng LABAN na SINUMPAAN mo

At gagawin ko ang LAHAT-LAHAT

Upang ang pag-alis mo ay maging SAPAT

Ang awitin kong ito'ypara sa'yo MISTAH

Upang kahit nasa malayo ka na

At alam kong di na babalik pa

May isang kantang magpapaalala

Ng 'yong KAGITINGAN sa ating bansa

Paulit-ulit ko itong aawitin

ISASAPUSO at ITATANIM sa damdamin

Ito ang nais namin sa'yon sambitin...

SALAMAT... SALAMAT... SALAMAT sa'yo MISTAH...

ITO and nais namin sa'yong sambitin

SALAMAT... SALAMAT...at PAALAM na MISTAH

In memory of Domeng

Last year, around this time, my classmate was killed in an ambush in Barangay Manurigao, New Bataan, Compostela Valley. He was our first casualty. I wrote my thoughts in this blog entry. Please join me in celebrating the heroism of my beloved classmate and comrade in arms...

Doms, saan ka man ngayon... dun ka na lang... hehehe... But kidding aside, as Strong Hearts would put it:

"And when the taps shall sung for men,
Banners drape our last remain
Let Singing Comrades bury me to the echo of the strain
For hearts are strong in thee my dear, forever it will be

Young blood shall come to carry on
When the old strong hearts are gone"