Army elite units involved in coup may be defanged

Two elite military units whose officers and men were linked to the supposed Feb. 24 coup attempt and other failed power grabs may be defanged.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino has ordered a two-week study on the downsizing of the Special Forces Regiment-Airborne (SFRA) and the First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR).

The SFR and the FSRR, along with the US-trained Light Reaction Battalion (LRB) are under the overall administrative and operational control of the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) based at Fort Magsaysay in Palayan City.

The study include the SFR’s and FSRR’s reduction to a battalion from their present strength of three battalions.

Maj. Ernesto Torres, Army spokesman, said the study to downsize the SFR and the FRRS is in line with the overall military plan to create another division in Mindanao.

"There is a study on that, but there is nothing final," he said. "We are organizing a 10th division in Mindanao."

At present, the Armed Forces has a total of nine divisions nationwide, the biggest of which is the Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City.

Several military sources however, described the study as plain and simple formality to the upcoming downsizing of the SFRA and FSRR.

"Officers and men of SOCOM are greatly affected and demoralized by the ongoing study at army headquarters to downsize SFRA and FSRR from their present organizational setup of three battalions and one independent company each regiment, to just one battalion each," one of the military officers said yesterday.

Tolentino is doing this as part of his strategy to cripple the SOCOM’s supposed capability to mount a coup or any move to topple the government, the officer added.

The SFRA and the FSRR, along with the Marines, considered as military elite units, were linked to all the previously failed coups, including the bloody uprising in 1989.

Last Feb. 24, several FSRR troops headed by its erstwhile commander, now detained Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, along with a handful of SFRA troops were once again linked to the oust Arroyo plot.

"Obviously, this is CGPA’s (Commanding General Philippine Army) response to the Feb. 24 incident," a military source said.

"If you recall, the rangers were disbanded after ’89 coup, but reactivated in 91. After Oakwood, SFRA was downsized from nine battalions to three battalions, while FSRR, six battalions to three battalions," another military source added.

The source said that the current move does not jibe with the times as it is only fanning restiveness among the already restless troops in the field.

"That move created a lot of tension and emotional stir, especially to personnel who were displaced and transferred to other units," the source said.

"May mga iyakan scenes nga during the deactivation ceremonies sa mga companies at maraming nag-early retirement dahil di nila matanggap na mahiwalay sila sa unit na natutunan nilang mahalin at pagserbisyuhan."