On the disillusionment of our PMA cadets

Benjamin Libarnes, former intelligence chief of the AFP, writes in Newsbreak about the disillusionment of PMA cadets upon leaving the idyllic confines of the military academy and fending off for themselves in a corrupt military bureaucracy.

Exactly what causes the disillusionment?

Cadets at the PMA, when compared to the other undergraduates in the country, relatively live ggod lives. They get to enjoy a first-class education in an elite institution at zero expense. They enjoy full scholarships and receive monthly allowances equivalent to a month's salary of a fresh graduate. They enjoy Baguio's weather, eat good vegetables, and accumulate pogi points during their stay at the PMA. Upon graduation, they are spared the lamentable experience otherwise known to the rest of the population as looking for a job; they get automatic assignments in the service of their own choosing.

But, alas, things fall apart once they enter the service. The government does not provide adequate housing facilities for soldiers of lower rank. They must sorely miss the spartan sleeping quarters at the PMA. Libarnes writes:

Young officers had to stay at the less-equipped Bachelor Officers� Quarters or rent a house or apartment outside the camp in the area of assignment. Military housing was practically not available for junior officers. Most low-salaried military personnel had to stay in squatter areas in the camps or outside since they could not be provided with government quarters. If they were married, they could not stay in the barracks with their families.

Added to this indignity is the offending sight of generals living in mansions they could not possibly afford had they lived honorably. Libarnes writes that if a soldier desires promotion and success in the service, it is necessary that he cultivates advantageous relations with certain politicians (ie, by currying favors here and there). This is essential because of the constitutional provision requiring the confirmation of the Commission on Appointments for promotion in the military. Libarnes avers:

Perhaps what is needed is the confirmation of those holding the position of chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) down to the area commanders with three stars. There is no need to confirm the promotion of officers with the rank of colonel up to major general.

All this is enough for an officer's blood to curdle. What more if he sees his secretary of national defense entrepreneurially selling the army's weapons to rebel forces.