The Game of the Generals

The “Game of the Generals” played upon the concerned public since the current administration took the helm of government was again recently highlighted by the grim reminder of Martial Law. In a webinar last weekend to observe the 48th Anniversary of the promulgation of Martial Law in our country, Dr. Temario C. Rivera, the former chairman of the Political Science Department of the University of the Philippines, sounded the alarm of appointing former military and police officials in the government.

Such a practice, he warned, sets a dangerous trend, which is very similar to the ritual adopted during the regime of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. In the present cabinet of PRRD, about a third of the members came from the mili‑ tary. In fact, every Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who has served during PRRD’S term has been given a top civilian post in his administration. Temario claimed that the retired military and police generals named by PRRD in sensitive government posts were those from Mindanao or those posted in Davao City during his term as mayor for more than two decades. He attrib‑ uted this to PRRD’S lack of political base, which limited his choices of worthy candidates for government positions. Outside of Mindanao and his Bedan friends from his old law school, the President “had no sig‑ nificant connections with the po‑ litical elites and the leading political families of Visayas and Luzon.” This

leaves the President to narrow down his selection to retired military of‑ ficers, mostly generals, who he con‑ sidered as disciplined subordinates and incorruptible. Soldiers, per our President, “know how to follow or‑ ders.” But are former men in uniform truly averse to graft and corruption? Maybe we should review and exam‑ ine his appointees from the military and the police ranks? How many of them have been involved in scandals and irregularities while in office? Who were removed and recycled to hold other posts? W ho were banished completely from the public scene under questionable circumstances? Were appropriate criminal charges filed against them? What happened to their cases, if any? Are they still pending? Definitely, there are com‑ petent retirees from the military and police but there are equally, if not better, persons from the civilian sector who can fit the bill.

The problem is that the milita‑ rization of the President’s cabinet creates a growing concern among our citizens. This was palpable during the sporadic observance of the Martial Law this week. Filipinos saw a pattern in PRRD’S penchant to pick former military men to fill in sensitive govern‑ ment positions, which is no dif‑ ferent from Marcos’ action prior to September 21, 1972.

The President turns to the mili‑ tary for almost every problem that hounds his presidency. We recall that he relied on former General Roy Cimatu and General Eduardo Ano to fix the Boracay mess. Now, the DENR under Cimatu is respon‑ sible for the clean up of Manila Bay and the ongoing beautification of Manila Bay by paving it with white sand. Leading figures to combat the coronavirus are mostly military men, and in fact the Chief Imple‑ menter of the Philippine Declared National Policy Against Covid‑19, General Carlito Galvez, previously served as the Chief of Staff of the AFP. President Duterte also called on the military to cleanse the shabu‑smuggling at the Bureau of Customs, which led to the over‑ haul of the organization. Heavily armed soldiers, and even military hardware like tanks, lined up the streets to enforced simple health protocols and quarantine orders is‑ sued by the IATF‑IED. It was even proposed earlier for the police to conduct ‘ house‑to‑house search ’ for Covid‑19 patients. It was ditched af‑ ter the militant groups complained that the government resorts to un‑ necessary use of power and undue reliance on police and militaristic solution to a public health problem.

As one academician from Ateneo de Manila University aptly observed, in times of crisis, President Duterte’s “default is the armed institutions, instead of civilian institutions.” Paraphrasing the President, a soldier does not debate with his superior; just obeys and does not complain. That may be true, but is it healthy to a democracy?

IF you find no rhyme or reason in President Duterte’s appointments to the top positions in the govern‑ ment, wait till you read this. In Bra‑ zil, President Jair Bolsonaro, another populist head of state who is mired in controversy, has appointed an army general as his country’s Minister of Health. Bolsonaro permanently named General Eduardo Pazuello, a man without any medical training nor experience, as Brazil ’s new health minister after Pazuello had served in an acting capacity for four months. It seems that Pazuello’s only qualifica‑ tion was that he has unconditionally endorsed Bolsonaro’s position on the current pandemic which is ravaging Brazil. For instance, Pazuello fully embraced Bolsonaro’s recommen‑ dation of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment of Covid‑19 despite the absence of any medical evidence to support it. He boldly declared on his oath taking: “We had to learn on the job, change the wheel on the car while it was moving.” General Pazu‑ ello is the 11th military officer to be named by Bolsonaro in his cabinet. With over 4.5 million infected cases exceeded only by the US and India and close to 150,000 deaths from coronavirus, which is second only to the US, Pazuello’s getting the criti‑ cal portfolio is a catastrophe worse than the virus.