OPINION | A good and professional soldier

March 27, 2025 , 01:30 PM

By Manny Mogato

(March 27, 2025) — During a Senate inquiry on the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte, Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio asked why the Presidential Security Command (PSC) did not intervene and prevented the arrest of her father.

As a former leader, her father retained some PSC personnel for his protection. An army soldier even joined Duterte’s trip to The Hague when he was handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Duterte’s social media influencers and vloggers, including a journalist, also spread disinformation that there were mass resignations in the military and police ranks to sympathize with Duterte.

Some even were calling for the Armed Forces and the National Police to withdraw support from the Marcos government and install the vice president, Duterte’s daughter.

They thought removing Marcos would bring Duterte back from the ICC detention center.

The only way for Duterte to return home is for the ICC judges to declare him innocent for ordering the killing of thousands of ordinary Filipinos in his genocidal war on drugs policy.

He could also be set free if, for some technicality, the ICC judges found something wrong in the legal processes.

Otherwise, Duterte would be for a long haul.

The trial could last for eight to ten years. If found guilty, he could be locked up forever.

There could be a reason why Sara Duterte wanted the military and police to intervene and remove Marcos from power.

The Dutertes are known for taking shortcuts. Thousands were killed without due process. The police acted as judge and executioner of petty criminals and drug offenders because Duterte wanted instant solutions to peace and order problems.

The Dutertes forgot that in a functioning democracy, rules and processes are observed to uphold basic human rights.

For decades, the Dutertes have been used to rule Davao City like its fiefdom. They are above the law. They are the law.

No one dared challenge them. Those who tried ended up in some mass graves or banished from the city.

When Duterte rose to the presidency, he treated the national police and military as his private army, cultivating the officers’ loyalty, and showering them with fat salaries and non-monetary benefits.

Some senior officers becane intoxicated with powers and wealth but a big majority remained professional with their feet firmly on the ground.

The military and police have learned their lessons. Twice in the Philippines’ history, the Army had intervened, removing sitting presidents.

In 1986, a cabal of ambitious military officers with an equally ambitious political benefactor attempted to oust a sick leader.

However, their plot was exposed but the people fed up with the dictator saved them.

Fifteen years later, it was the military that saved the multitude of people protesting against a corrupt leader.

In the period between the two uprisings, professional soldiers protected Corazon Aquino from a small group of officers who wanted to seize power.

From 2003 to 2007, these professional soldiers saved Gloria Macapagal Arroyo three times from disgruntled and misguided uniformed personnel – the Oakwood to Manila Peninsula incidents.

Sara did not know what she wished for. It is a selfish idea to use the military for her family’s interests. Her pushing the military to intervene is dangerous.

The Philippines does not want to end up some “banana republic” with frequent and endless cycles of coups and counter-coups.

When she questioned why the military’s special and elite unit did not stop the arrest, Sara could be thinking Duterte was still part of the chain of command.

The former president is now a private citizen. The security detail assigned to Duterte was a courtesy provided to him as a former head of state.

It is only normal for some retired generals who served under Duterte to be not loyal to him.

These are professional soldiers. They served with distinction and were loyal only to the Flag, the Republic, and the people. They are only to the position, not to the person holding the position.

Some people got mad at a few former soldiers who had served under Duterte before and now under Marcos.

Take retired general Eduardo Año, a former Armed Forces chief of staff and interior secretary under Duterte.

Duterte supporters branded him as a traitor when it was revealed he was among Marcos’ senior security officials who planned Duterte’s arrest and subsequent transfer to The Hague.

It was unfair for him to be labeled a traitor to the former president because he was only doing his job.

As the national security adviser, Año provided sound advice on how to carry out an arrest based on the president’s instructions.

He could not be faulted for carrying out his task. There’s nothing personal, it’s just a job.

There were several more “Año” in the Marcos administration and they were true to their sworn oath to carry out their jobs

It is best to insulate the military, including retired soldiers, from partisan politics rather than demand blind loyalty to the person and throw away professionally.

The views expressed by the columnist do not necessarily reflect that of the media organization.

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