Sharing from: Philip JrPhilip Jr Lustre ( Thank you Sir! ) I wrote this essay ten days ago. But with the continuous bullying we are getting from China, this essay has to be re-posted to enable our young people to understand our defense policy and the breadth and width of our guerilla traditions. We are a nation of guerillas. Our standing armies did not win in the previous wars. But our guerillas saved the day for us. OUR RICH GUERILLA TRADITIONS Sometime in 1990, I wrote the Philippine Free Press cover story that featured then AFP chief of staff Renato de Villa and his discussions of the changes in the country’s defense policy. I had an extensive interview with him, discussing among other things those drastic changes to stress adaptations to the changing world. After nearly 25 years, de Villa’s assertions remain valid, indicating the solid evolution of our defense policy. Internally, the country was reeling from the effects of the December 1989 military coup, the bloodiest, costliest, and biggest military adventure ever had. It was a winner-take-all gambit, which ended in a tragic loss for the putchists, but not without leaving terrible consequences for the entire country. I remember de Villa, saying that nobody won in the 1989 military coup, but it had left an indelible mark into the collective conscience of the military. Greg Honasan’s adage that “brother officers don’t shoot each other,” turned into statement that bordered on black comedy, as brother officers shot each other in a bitter struggle for political power. De Villa was correct; this military adventure should never happen again. But this is half of the story. Externally, the country was adapting to the realization that the Spratlys, or those tiny specks of uninhabited islands along the edge of what we now call the West Philippine Sea, would be the next flashpoint of conflict in Asia. According to de Villa, the defense policy, as conceived by the defense planners, required a recasting to stress external defense. At that point, the two biggest threats to internal security – communist insurgency and Muslim separatism – were losing traction. Although they would remain as threats, the military would eventually check them. In de Villa’s view, since neither of the two threats would win anyway, it was the best time to recast the defense policy to emphasize the external defense mode. These were the main points of what de Villa described as the recasting of the defense policy: the institutionalization of a leaner but well trained standing army of only about 50,000; and the adoption of the country’s rich guerilla traditions. At that time, Congress was close to enact the conversion of the Integrated National Police and the paramilitary Philippine Constabulary into the constitutionally mandated police force, which is “civilian in character” and “national in scope,” or what is now known as the Philippine National Police (PNP). The Armed Forces stood to lose a lot of men and women in uniform. But de Villa said the retraining of a smaller but leaner standing army of 50,000 could be enough to deliver lethal blows to the enemy that invade the country. But what was striking in my interview with de Villa was his unexpected statement that recognized the importance of our rich guerilla traditions as part of our evolving defense policy. According to him, it was equally important to emphasize in our defense policy the mobilization of the entire population into a militia force to help the standing army to defeat the aggressors-to-be. This is an area where our rich guerilla traditions assume utmost importance. Our guerilla traditions date back during the Spanish colonial era. Filipino leaders, who rose against the Spanish colonial rulers – used strategies and tactics usually associated with guerillas, or informal soldiers. Leaders like Tamblot, Francisco Dagohoy, Diego and Gabriela Silang, among others, went to the mountains and conducted intermittent raids and attacks against Spanish paramilitary Guardia Civil. Even Andres Bonifacio, founder of Katipunan, adapted and used guerilla tactics for the Katipunan to ignite the Philippine Revolution of 1896. Gen. Antonio Luna, as leader of the Philippine military during the Philippine-US War, lured the American forces into the interior and enforced some guerilla tactics until he was killed not by the Americans, but by fellow Filipinos belonging to the rival faction of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. The remaining Filipino forces under Generals Macario Sacay and Simeon Ola likewise resorted to guerilla tactics even after the Americans had established full political control in the country. Millenarian leaders like Apo Ipe and Papa Isio and the Sacdalistas also used guerilla tactics in their protests against the American colonial government. Likewise, Filipino guerillas successfully used guerilla strategies and tactics in their cleaning operations against Japanese invaders before the main American forces under Gen. Douglas McArthur landed in the Philippines. The Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan laban sa mga Hapon (Hukbalahap), the Central Luzon-based guerillas composed mostly of peasants, used guerilla tactics in beating the Japanese forces in Luzon. Even after the war, the Hukbalahap did not stop using guerilla tactics in fighting the American-sponsored government. Of course, the reestablished Communist Party of the Philippines and its military arm, the New People’s Army, rely a lot on guerilla tactics in its insurgent activity. It would be foolish to ignore our rich guerilla traditions. In the wake of China’s continue bullying and projection of its military might into Philippine territories, it is important that we continue to acknowledge and rely on our rich guerilla traditions to fight any invaders – potential or actual. Our military strength and might lies on our capacity and capability to become farmers by day and guerillas by night. We know how to beat our enemies. Despite the overwhelming odds, we know how to become guerillas overnight and to fight off the enemies to their final defeat.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 00:10:19 +0000
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