Sundalo
by kpj
(first posted in Mang Oca's Razor, 18 Aug 2007)
Never ceases to amaze me how the government can continue to allot pork barrels but not a centavo towards increasing the salary and compensation packages of our soldiers, significantly. Fifteen more marine soldiers died in Basilan recently in a clash with the Abu Sayyaf. (Putres, di ko maintindihan bakit di mamatay-matay yang mga abu na yan.) When you think about it, we rest easy in our beds at night while these soldiers, especially those assigned in Mindanao, sleep in sparse bunks and enjoy little comfort. When some do come back from duty, or are in town on a brief furlough, do you hear any fanfare? Do you see welcome banners or whatnot? Wala lang. They arrive as silently as they left for duty. Kakainis.
Cannot help but compare their situation to that of the armed forces here. People here value their soldiers, one can see that. I remember the overwhelming sense of appreciation depicted by that short video P featured in an old blog. I cannot help but hear the pride and the worry in the voices of parents/relatives interviewed on TV, and even from the news anchors themselves. There’s even this PBS special which included a feature on food scientists hard at work on developing food which could last for months and yet still taste good - targeted specifically for the American soldier in a protracted war. Wow. Whereas our own government cannot even provide a decent arsenal for its soldiers. Hence the ten beheaded soldiers in last July’s Basilan ambush.
Why can’t we do this? Oh c’mon, we DO have the money for this. The government can buy luxury vehicles for the use of its officials and allot millions for Congress’ CDF, why can’t they increase the budget for the Armed Forces? Not just increase the budget but ensure that the money was well spent. Hindi pinambili lang ni general ganito ng isang mansion sa Corinthian Gardens, or pinang-Vegas lang ni colonel ganire. I sincerely hope, Senator Trillanes can make full use of his office and indeed be the hope of the Filipino soldier.
I am not claiming to be knowledgeable about things political but do you need to be, to be concerned for our Sundalo?
