Out of the barracks
and into the pits

The nation marks this week the silver anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolt of 1986, when idealistic young members of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) and the Young Officers Union (YOU) rushed out of the barracks to defy their commander in chief, strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos.

The civilian-backed military uprising led to the ouster of Marcos and the return of democracy to the Philippines. It sparked fervent hopes for a fresh, clean start not only for the armed forces, but for the entire country as well. In recent weeks, however, the stigma of corruption has hung over the armed forces, with the highest levels of command accused as the predators, and troops of the lowest ranks and taxpayers, their prey.

Data and documents that PCIJ had gathered for half a dozen investigative reports on irregular transactions in the AFP in the last 10 years had indicated this as well. In an effort to come up with a ‘corruption map’ in the AFP that would help inform current discussions on the issue, the PCIJ revisited these data and interviewed men and women in uniform anew. It also looked at official audit reports and other government documents.

When pieced together, the anecdotes from military insiders point to a culture of corruption within the armed forces that is so pervasive it has developed a language of its own. Unfortunately, it is a sorry tale that is borne out by official reports and other documents that go back several years.

Our latest three-part report looks at why and how, 25 years after they rushed out of the barracks, the men and women of the Armed Forces might have been pushed to the pits, literally, by various money-making deals of some officers and contractors, as well as some executive and legislative officials.

Part 1 of our report exposes the many modus and actors involved in cases of petty, big and bureaucratic corruption in the Armed Forces, according to senior officers in charge of funds and operations at General Headquarters and the frontlines.

It comes with a sidebar on a soldier’s story, that of retired Army Gen. Ricardo Morales, the sole RAM member who was jailed – and dared to stare death in the eye – for participation in the EDSA 1986 revolt. Morales was a young captain assigned as close-in security of then First Lady Imelda Marcos, in the late strongman’s Presidential Security Command.