Hermogenes Esperon on national security

Last week, I visited National Security Adviser, General (retired) Hermogenes Esperon, former Chief of Staff of our Armed Forces. He was appointed by President Duterte in May 2017, a fitting recognition for his services to the republic. His erudition was honed by command positions in the hottest trouble spots in the country. He is familiar with our history of peasant rebellions. He knows firsthand the profound complexity of the secessionist movement in Mindanao, and the protracted war of the communists, both of which will continue to attract the very young. In place is a community based program on education and development. In some instances, says General Esperon, in the poor regions of the country, a simple barrio road  is the answer to the poverty which is the major reason for rebellion. Compounding this problem is a rising China that has violated our sovereignty.

General Esperon traced the problem in Mindanao to its island opening to the migration of non-Mindanao people who occupied so much of that island. Land hunger then, not religion, is the deepest root of that confllict, and it can only be assuaged by development and by giving the Moros all the necessary assistance to improve their lives and to participate the shaping of their own political destiny. The basis for the island’s development is already laid down in the autonomy law as promulgated under President Duterte. It will give the Moros greater autonomy.

The minority problem that is in Mindanao will not go away quickly. Many of the young Moros continue to be radicalized.

One certainty proven by the Marawi conflict is that this nation cannot be sundered anymore; the army stands firm in keeping this country together. It is the same with the communist rebellion; its leader, Jose Maria, has become irrelevant, although there is a continuing attraction of the communist movement to the very young.

The answer to that, says General Esperon, is the continued development of the rural areas where they have following and in this most repressed areas where they can get the most recruits. A simple barrio-to-town roads – and these are being built – help so much in ridding the country of New People’s Army (NPA) influence in the rural areas, but on the whole, the impetus or the urge for revolution cannot be stopped for as long as the basic problems of poverty and injustice pervade the society. In our relationship with China, our best defense is to see to it that our defense capability is very strong for which reason the government is pursuing a modernization programs that includes the purchase of more weapons and naval and air facilities from wherever we can get them.

The latest wrinkle in our foreign affairs is the President’s desire to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). We have three defense agreements with the United States, the VFA is perhaps the least important although it is very necessary for the placement of American military personnel in the Philippines to help in areas where our own Armed Forces have challenges. Within our Armed Forces, a lot of problems exist. As General Esperon explained, the lack of coordination between the police and the Army resulted in the Mamasapano tragedy.

Today, we have more policemen than soldiers, I hope that the army ranks will be even doubled if the government has the funding for it. The revival of the Reserved Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is on the table, and I hope will soon be brought back so that we will have a huge reserve force which is a must in many countries that are stable.

The agenda of the Meiji restoration that was responsible for the modernization of Japan was a strong army and a prosperous nation. It must be remembered that the capacity of the Philippines to modernize or revolutionize is not necessarily through the power of a revolutionary movement in which the peasantry, the proletariat, or the lower classes are in command. Modernization is very well  in the capacity of the middle classes and the so called modernizing elite if they are motivated enough to support modernization itself. This is the experience of Japan, Korea, Taiwan and even Singapore with which we can easily emulate.

What holds this country together is the Army that is not only democratic or based on the masa but is staunchly patriotic – this patriotism tempered by history and conflict. The President has been criticized for militarizing his government. Indeed, no Filipino president has surrounded himself with the military as he has done. This, I think, is commendable. Our military officers are almost all graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). Aside from their rigid academic training, all of them have held command positions in so many regions of the country where, as in Mindanao and elsewhere, our Army experienced guerrilla warfare, and in Marawi, where they have learned lessons in urban guerilla warfare.

General Esperon is very pleased that our Armed Forces are now being modernized and the government is acquiring a lot of new war material. Until it has done so, it cannot meet any military challenge with credibility. The new acquisitions include fighter jets, frigates, and even a submarine.

I can appreciate the quandaries of our government leaders like General Esperon when we have a President who makes knee jerk statements that become national policies. They must be adept at damage control. General Esperon recognizes that a nation’s national interest is firmly defended not so much by its defense capability but by a deeply rooted patriotism.

Today, the coronavirus has become a serious threat and could easily corrode the nation’s security. As in Albert Camus famous novel, the Plague is also a metaphor for a deadlier virus that destroys the human spirit. This is the betrayal and treason induced by collaboration with the enemy.

General Esperon has called on our best military officers and scholars to analyze our security options. I hope President Duterte listens to him.