Brigadier General Roland Rodriguez and Colonel Andrew Rasey
Commanders of the 4t Army Infantry Brigade at Camp Evangilista, in Cagayan de or Oro, were interviewed by me on April 10, 2008, and I was able to come away with a lot of information that I did not know, and will publish here.
I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Brigadier General Roland Rodriguez, the commander of Camp Evangilista, 4th Infantry Division of the Philippines Army, and his second in command, Full Colonel Andrew Rasey the other day and was able to gain a much better perspective of the role of the Philippines Army, especially as contrasted with the Philippines National Police (PNP), via an introduction by my Philippine Attorney.
General Rodriguez was the second in command of the 4th Infantry Divisiton, Camp Evangilista, prior to the retirement of his commander, and was thus promoted to General and took charge of the Camp. Thus it is very likely the protocol that Colonel Andrew Rasay will be promoted to General and take over command of Camp Evangilista and the 4th Infantry Division upon General Rodriguez’s retirement later this year.
Retirement is mandatory in the Philippines military and police upon turning 56 years of age.
While there are approximately 5000 officers and soldiers assigned to the 4th Infantry Division, there are nearly 6000 auxiliary (or reserve) soldiers (CAFGU, for Civilian Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit) distributed throughout the barangays (villages) covered by the 4th Infantry Division. So, the total command is between 10,000 and 11,000 men.
General Rodriguez graduated from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in 1974. Eight of his batchmates (graduating class) were killed in action (KIA). The Chief of Staff of the PNP is also from that batch as well as many more important members of the Philippines Navy, Army, Air Force, and National Police.
Martial law was declared in The Philippines in 1972, so the batch of 1974 was a bit hurried out of school to supplement the military with new officers.
I have previously posted about Senior Superintendents of the PNP of Cagayan de Oro, both Doi Trampe and Isagani Genabe, Jr., and their roles in making Cagayan de Oro the safest city not only in Mindanao, but in the whole of The Philippines, but the truth is that the military presense at Camp Evangilista really does provide a strong discouragement to native insurgents, to those who would instigate civil strife and unrest. CdO is not just safe because of the vigilance of the PNP but because there is a strong Army presence in the area.
The difference between the military and the PNP is the field of special operations. While the PNP is mainly concered with bringing law and order to the community, the Army’s role is primarily today against multiple domestic insurgent forces in The Philippines. I think there are four distinct groups in The Philippines that are recognized by the U.S.A to be terrorist organizations.
General Rodriguez emphasized that military might alone is not enough to defeat the multiple groups of insurgents in The Philippines, and while it is the role of the Army to kill those who are actively engaged against the government, it is also the military’s role to win over the hearts and minds of the people who are in contested areas.
While the Philippine military forces agenda is certainly to defend its national boundaries and its sovereignty against other country aggressors, in the absence of such conflict, it is currently the primary role of the Philippine military to counter the native insurgencies, some of which have been going on for more than 30 years.
The Philippine military carries out humanitarian and medical missions in strife torn areas, providing medical care and dentists to those areas where professional people are less likely to roam and/or settle. While there are only a handful of medical doctors and dentists in the military that take part in these humanitarian missions, the Philippine military avails itself of private contractors and volunteers.
The military has its own methods of picking which barangays are to be benefited by medical and humanitarian missions. Likely, much of the decision making on where the missions are held depends upon the auxillirary, the reserve men who are selected from the various barangays and serve as the eyes and ears of the military.
The 4th Infantry Division actually has a 42,000 hectare reserve in Bukidnon Province, of which 300 hectares are devoted to the Camp, and the rest allocated for training. Eventually, the bulk of the 4th Infantry Division will move to this Bukidnon reserve and only the 4th Infantry Head Quarters will remain in Cagayan de Oro, at Camp Evangilista, with a rudimentary support group.
Only 30 hectares of Camp Evangilista are actually allocated for active military, and the Camp is not large enough to conduct full scale combat training for troops.
On program instituted by the Philippine Military is the “Balik Baril”, or the “give gun” program, in which an insurgent can come forward, admit he is part of an insurgency, and the armed forces of The Philippines will pay him for his weapon and provide him with a monatary incentive to settle down and start his own business.
What has not been implemented yet, but is in the planning stages still is the “Social Integration Program” where surrendering insurgents are not simply handed a jackpot for turning in their weapon, but are provided with housing and training so that they are not just given a fish but are taught how to fish.
One thing the General emphasized was that the various barangays where these relocated surrendering insurgents are placed need to accept these people into their villages and not ostrasize them. The Army cannot win against this insurgency if the people will not accept the reformed insurgents into their midsts. If the redeemed are not accepted, it is possible they will return to their former ways.
For soldiers KIA the families of such soldiers immediately receive PHP 100,000 from a presedential fund, and are provided with housing and free education for their children.
The Philippine Military has in the past few years put an emphasis on off-base housing, so that when people retire from their positions they will not remain in on-base housing. This has been a problem in recent years for the Philippine government to reclaim government land because it has allowed retired military people to remain in on-base housing and sometimes these houses are turned over from generation to generation. Essentially, Philippine military bases, particularly Camp Evangilista, is full of squatters, of people have have no legitimate right to live where they live.
Military men are forced into retirement at the age of 56. Currently the military is only accepting enlisted men, high school graduates up to the age of 22. Some people as old as 29 have presented forged documents in order to enlist. This is not common, but it happens. However, for college graduates and people with advanced degrees the age of commissioning as officers goes up to the age of 30.
Newly enlisted soldiers who are not already married are not allowed to marry for 3 years and must obtain permission from the military to marry, even after they have served their first term of 3 years.