THE Pamplona, Negros Oriental assault that killed Gov. Roel Degamo and eight others was just the latest of violent incidents involving former officers and enlisted men of the Armed Forces, mostly retired, absent without official leave (AWOL), and dishonorably discharged from the service.
In the Degamo killing, the four arrested suspects were identified as former Army men with the ranks of corporal and lieutenant. Maj. Cenon Pancito III, spokesperson of the Joint Task Force Negros handling the peace and order stabilization effort on the island, said that “based on the description, the training and the way the assault was implemented, there is some reason for us to believe that the mastermind of the crime is also a former soldier.”
If a number of military personnel are unaccounted for in the rolls of the military, it is most likely that they still possess their service firearms. Loose guns in the hands of highly trained men who have no legitimate means of livelihood spells disaster.
‘By giving them other legal ways to earn legitimate income, such as retraining, retooling and teaching of new skills, the ex-soldiers will have more livelihood options and incidents of violence might be lessened.’
Various leaderships of the AFP in the past have already recognized the problem of monitoring and handling former soldiers who have already severed their ties with the uniformed service. We may also extend this issue to another national armed organization, the PNP.
While Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez and AFP Chief Gen. Andres Centino can only offer statements of condemnation of the massacre and a promise that they will “suppress all forms of violence” not just in Negros Oriental but also in other parts of the country, other retired military officials have some concrete ideas to offer.
One of them is retired Gen. Dionisio Santiago, who was also chief of staff during his time and also held the position of Bureau of Corrections director. Santiago noted that discharged personnel possess dangerous skills and the military establishment should provide them with a transition program that will help them survive and even grow in the new phase of their lives outside the military.
Santiago pointed out that without new livelihood skills or capital to start a business, these former soldiers will just be enticed to work as bodyguards for politicians and businessmen, or worse, as members of political private armies. Many of these ex-soldiers also find temporary employment as tricycle drivers and ambulant vendors.
The former AFP chief noted that the National Manpower and Youth Council, the predecessor of TESDA, was formed by President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. precisely to train soldiers who are nearing retirement and teach them new livelihood skills.
There are also suggestions for the AFP and the PNP to strengthen their monitoring and transition programs for retirees and other personnel who are leaving the service. We note that only after the Degamo killing that the Armed Forces and the police reviewed their lists of AWOL personnel and are trying to update them.
By giving them other legal ways to earn legitimate income, such as retraining, retooling and teaching of new skills, the ex-soldiers will have more livelihood options and incidents of violence might be lessened.
