Aquino doesn’t listen to his advisers
Two months ago, an adviser told President Noy about the low morale of soldiers in the field.
The soldiers were afraid to go out on patrol duty because they doubted if their M-16 rifles, which are mostly old and defective, would fire during an encounter with the enemy.
Their ammunition, exposed to sun and rain, also had not been replaced with new ones and could misfire.
The presidential adviser particularly pointed to soldiers in the Caraga region, composed of the provinces of Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Norte and Sur.
As a result of the low morale of the soldiers in the field, they just stayed in their barracks instead of going out on patrol, the adviser told P-Noy.
Constant patrol duty by soldiers would have forced enemies of the state like the New People’s Army (NPA), Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to be always on the run.
And because there are no patrol teams, NPA and MILF insurgents, as well as the Abu Sayyaf, hold sway in many areas.
Apparently, the President didn’t heed the warning of his adviser because two weeks ago, the NPA raided three mining facilities in Claver, Surigao del Norte.
Billions of dollars in equipment were burned by the communist rebels who were practically unchallenged as the soldiers were in their barracks.
After the raids, the military’s response was slow because the soldiers had to walk to the beleaguered mining areas as their trucks didn’t have gasoline.
The military’s operating expenses, such as that for gasoline, are being withheld by the Department of the Budget and Management (DBM).
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Now, let’s point an accusing finger for the Surigao fiasco.
First, of course, is failure of intelligence.
There was failure of intelligence because intelligence funds are being misspent.
Intelligence funds, which are not subject to audit, mostly go to the pockets of generals who are preparing for their retirement.
Intelligence funds are supposed to be spent on informants and civilian spies who feed the military information about the activities of the enemy.
If only half of the intelligence funds were spent on things they were meant for, the military would be winning half the battles against communist and Moro insurgents and bandits.
And if the intelligence funds were all spent to buy information from informants and civilian spies, then the military would have won the war against the insurgents a long time ago.
How does the government address the problem of intelligence funds?
Simple: Subject the intelligence funds to audit so the people would know where the money went.
The DBM is also to blame for the soldiers’ low morale.
The DBM, the presidential adviser told P-Noy, is slow in releasing the operating expenses of military units in the field.
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After the Surigao raids, the President blamed the military leaders in the area for sleeping on the job.
But he could have prevented the raids himself had he taken steps based on the warning of his presidential adviser.
I’m told by a Palace insider that the President doesn’t listen to his advisers, rendering them useless.
He wants to do things his own way. He seems to live in a world of his own.
One day he will find himself abandoned by competent advisers who have the welfare of the nation in mind.
Only the sycophants, who always say “yes” to him, will stay.
