Veterans deserve respect as Filipino freedom fighters

IN the national interest, we continue to stress better teamwork among P. Duterte, lawmakers, Cabinet, LGUs, and the people. In Part I last week, we pointed out that Filipino participation in the Korean War (1950-1954), was not because “the West ‘bullied’ smaller nations to join” their foreign wars – as wrongly claimed by P. Duterte.

This time, we shall prove that AFP personnel who served in the Vietnam War (1964-1971), were not mercenaries but proud volunteers – as mandated by Congress of the Philippines and two Philippine presidents – “to build, not destroy” in South Vietnam, then beleaguered by Communist aggression.

Last 12 July 2016, former Senator Eddie Ilarde, founder-president of the Philippines-Vietnam Friendship Association, wrote about “A Lasting Friendship” (Manila Bulletin), thus:

THE JOINT COMMUNIQUE BY BOTH COUNTRIES THAT DAY AFFIRMED, AMONG OTHERS: “RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER’S SOVEREIGNTY AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY, NON-AGGRESSION AND NON-INTERFERENCE FOR PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE •••• AND THE PROMOTION OF PEACE AND NEUTRALITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.” SITUATION IN THE 1950s/1960s

IN THE EARLY 1950S, THE MAIN THREAT TO PHILIPPINE NATIONAL SECURITY WAS THE PARTIDO KUMUNISTA NG PILIPINAS (PKP), AND ITS MILITARY ARM, HUKBONG BAYAN LABAN SA HAPON (HUKBALAHAP).

As his counter-insurgency strategy, SND Ramon Magsaysay adopted the concept of Battalion Combat Teams (BCTs) reinforced by highly-skilled Scout Rangers under Major Rafael Ileto (USMA ’43), were deployed to affected areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Sweeping operations by large units had failed to effectively engage the elusive Huks in their jungle hideouts.

The component of Magsaysay’s two-handed strategy aimed to “win the hearts and minds” of the civilian population. The DND-AFP fielded experts in psychological operations and civic action. Medical teams were deployed to the countryside to aid the poor, while military engineers undertook construction of barrio-to-market roads. Supporting teams conducted radio programs, organized dialogues/rallies, and disseminated information as part of this policy of attraction.

IN TIME, THE SCOUT RANGERS EXPANDED INTO THE FIRST SCOUT RANGER REGIMENT COMMANDED BY COL. ERNESTO S. MATA (PMA ’37). IN 1962, THE 1ST SPECIAL FORCES COMPANY (AIRBORNE) ORGANIZED AND COMMANDED BY CAPT. FVR (USMA’50), BECAME THE AFP’S PARACHUTEQUALIFIED STRIKE UNIT AND CORE OF ITS CIVIC ACTION SPECIALISTS. ASSISTANCE TO SOUTH VIETNAM

It will be recalled that when the Vietnam War broke out in the early 1960s, the beleaguered South Vietnamese Government requested Free World countries, including the Philippines, to send combat troops to help in countering the Communist offensive.

On 21 July 1964, Congress enacted Republic Act 4162, authorizing President Diosdado Macapagal to send technical support in the form of medical and civic action teams instead of combat troops due to the Constitutional provision disallowing Filipino soldiers to perform combat duties overseas. A 34-man team with a medical component dubbed the Philippine Contingent (Philcon) was deployed to Saigon in August, 1964, under Captain Renato Reyes (PMA ’52).

Under President Ferdinand Marcos, the “Assistance to Vietnam” law (RA 4664) was approved 18 June 1966. Instead of combat forces, Congress approved the sending of a

LOOKING BACK, MEMBERS OF PHILCON, PHILCAG I, AND PHILCAG II ARE PROUD TO REMEMBER THAT ONCE IN THEIR LIVES AS SOLDIERS THEY HAD THE RARE OPPORTUNITY TO EXTEND A HELPING HAND TO A NEIGHBORING COUNTRY CAUGHT IN THE PRONGS OF CIVIL WAR. PHILCON AND PHILCAG PERFORMED UNDER FIRE

IN THE MIDST OF A RAGING WAR, FILIPINO SOLDIERS – DOCTORS, DENTISTS, NURSES, LABORATORY TECHNICIANS, ENGINEERS, AND SECURITY PERSONNEL – PERFORMED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE WITHIN VIET CONG STRONGHOLDS IN TAY NINH PROVINCE AND ELSEWHERE. DURING THEIR SEVEN YEARS OF DUTY – PHILCON, PHILCAG I AND PHILCAG II TREATED MORE THAN A MILLION PATIENTS; BUILT ROADS, BRIDGES, SCHOOLHOUSES, AND MEDICAL CLINICS; AND CONSTRUCTED THE SPRAWLING REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT CENTER IN THANH DIEN FOREST, FORMERLY A VIET CONG STRONGHOLD. OUR PHILCAG TROOPERS WERE REGULARLY HARASSED BY COMMUNIST UNITS BUT THEY DID NOT FLINCH. THEIR SECURITY BATTALION WAS THERE TO PROTECT THEM.

When our government supported South Vietnam’s first appeal for help, in 1964, our AFP volunteers trained at Fort Magsaysay in jungle survival, evasion and escape, and other security procedures under the Army’s Special Forces Group (Airborne) then under FVR.

As the head of the advanceplanning group of 100 deployed to Tay Ninh Province in mid-August 1966, then Philcag G3 (later Chief of Staff), FVR had the main job of insuring the safety of our personnel in three provinces and Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). By September 1966, the Philcag’s main force had moved to South Vietnam areas with 182 officers and 1,882 enlisted personnel under Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Tobias (PMA ’41).

But the fiercest fighting was still to take place in 1967, as the North Vietnamese Army (Viet Minh) and South Vietnamese guerrillas (Viet Cong) aggressively advanced southward. Those battles climaxed in the bloody Tet offensive in January 1968 with Tay Ninh and Saigon as main targets. Caught in that giant pincer movement was PHILCAG with the near-killing of Philippine Ambassador Luis Moreno Salcedo and family whose Embassy residence was defended by PHILCAG soldiers.

The remainder of the AFP’s engagement in Vietnam was creditably carried out by the second PHILCAG under Brig. Gen. Ceferino Carreon (PMA ’42).

BEYOND OUR THREE AFP CONTINGENTS WHICH TOTALED MORE THAN 4,000-STRONG OVER THAT 7-YEAR PERIOD, SUBSEQUENT PHILIPPINE INITIATIVES CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE STABILIZATION OF THE REUNITED SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM, AND ITS INCORPORATION INTO MAJOR REGIONAL COOPERATION BLOCS, NOTABLY ASEAN (1995) AND APEC (1998). SAFE HAVEN FOR REFUGEES

AFTER THE FALL OF SAIGON IN APRIL 1975, LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE FLEEING FROM VIETNAM AND ALSO FROM CAMBODIA AND LAOS BECAME REFUGEES. THOUSANDS FROM SOUTH VIETNAM TRAVELLED 1,100 KM TO DANANG BY ROAD, ARMED WITH MOSTLY FORGED IDENTITY PAPERS AND FROM THERE BOARDED DILAPIDATED TRAWLERS TO VENTURE INTO INTERNATIONAL WATERS SOME 240 KM EASTWARD TO ESCAPE THE COMMUNIST ONSLAUGHTS.

The lucky ones succeeded in being rescued by ships and taken to sanctuaries in the Philippines, Malaysia or Hongkong. The unlucky ones endured perilous journeys in rickety watercraft – suffering hunger, disease, and marauding pirates along the way – with massive loss of lives. The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), estimates 600,000 “boat people” perished.

The UNHCR set up refugee camps in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Indonesia, and for its efforts won the 1981 Nobel Peace Prize. When other countries imposed restrictive policies toward asylum-seekers, the Philippines willingly accepted new arrivals. With UNHCR’s assistance, four centers were established: the First Philippine Asylum Camp (FPAC), Palawan (1979); the Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC), Bataan (1980); the Philippine Refugee Transit Center (PRTC), Manila (1983); and the Regional Resettlement Transit Center (RRTC), Bataan (1990).

From 1980 to 1997, the Philippines was home to more than 350,000 refugees and asylum-seekers. The PRPC was a model community. Each family lived in comfortable clusters with friends. The PRPC had 40 schools, 3 assembly halls, a hospital, and library. With an average annual population of 17,000, the PRPC served as a powerful testament to the successful partnership of UNHCR, World Food Programme (WFP), the Philippine Government, and several NGOs in rebuilding the lives of needy people. Refugees who landed in Palawan formed a community called Viet-Ville in Puerto Princesa, eventually becoming a center of Vietnamese culture – with restaurants, shops, Catholic chapels, and Buddhist temples.

Other countries that accepted large numbers of refugees were: U.S. - 823,000; Australia and Canada137,000 each; France-96,000; and Germany and UK–19,000 each.

BY 1994, THE NUMBER OF REFUGEES HAD DWINDLED AND THE U.N. TERMINATED ITS FUNDING AND STAFF SUPPORT. TO LEGITIMIZE THE STAY OF 1,500 REFUGEES STILL REMAINING IN PALAWAN, FVR ISSUED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER IN MAY 1998 ENABLING THEM TO APPLY FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCY AND EVENTUAL CITIZENSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES. CONCLUSIONS

SIMILAR TO OUR ENGAGEMENT IN THE KOREAN WAR, AFP VOLUNTEERS COMMENDABLY RENDERED CIVIC ACTION DUTIES IN VIETNAM UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF PHILIPPINE CONGRESS, TWO PHILIPPINE PRESIDENTS/COMMANDERS-INCHIEF, AND THEIR COMMANDING OFFICERS – ALL FILIPINOS.

THE HARDSHIPS, SETBACKS, AND VALOROUS DEEDS OF OUR CONTINGENTS IN VIETNAM ARE RECORDED IN BEN CAL’S BOOK TITLED

(2016) COMMISSIONED BY DND-PVAO, AND IN OFFICIAL AFP RECORDS.

SO, WE AGAIN ASK: WAS THE PHILIPPINES “BULLIED” BY THE WEST AS P.DUTERTE NONCHALANTLY NARRATED IN PERU??? NO WAY, AGAIN SAYS THIS VETERAN!!! GOOD NEWS

THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APPROVED 01 DEC 2016 “THE FILIPINO VETERANS OF WWII CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT.” THE SENATE COUNTERPART BILL HAD BEEN APPROVED LAST JULY, AND NOW GOES TO U.S. PRESIDENT OBAMA FOR SIGNING INTO LAW.

THIS IS THE U.S. CONGRESS’ HIGHEST EXPRESSION OF APPRECIATION FOR DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENTS. IT IS AWARDED TO PERSONS “WHO HAVE PERFORMED AN ACHIEVEMENT THAT HAS AN IMPACT ON AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE THAT IS LIKELY TO BE RECOGNIZED AS A MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT LONG AFTER THE ACHIEVEMENT.” THE LAW HONORS THE 200,000 PLUS FILIPINO AND FILAM VETERANS WHO FOUGHT UNDER THE AMERICAN FLAG AGAINST THE IMPERIAL FORCES OF JAPAN DURING WWII.

PERHAPS, P. DUTERTE CAN WRITE P. OBAMA A “THANK-YOU” LETTER, SAYING IN PART •••• “THANK YOU FOR OUR FILIPINO VETERANS. I DIDN’T KNOW, PUTI ANG INA MO PALA (I DIDN’T KNOW YOU HAD A WHITE MOTHER)!!!”