"THE GENERALS did not go, but they sent their cameramen."

From the PDI Editorial:

THE GENERALS did not go, but they sent their cameramen. And in case congressmen suffer from the delusion that they are not only the bigger, but more respectable, chamber, the top brass of the military put them in their place. Military officers apparently view all politicians with contempt.

The generals were a no-show in a House inquiry on extrajudicial killings not just once, but twice. Airman First Class Julius Seriosa and Staff Sergeant Cirilo Calaycay did show up, with video cameras to record the proceedings. Outraged congressmen ordered their detention, thinking they were agents of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp).

The AFP clarified that no, the two were from the Civil Relations Service (CRS) and their video-recording was nothing new. “We have done that in the past,” said the CRS chief, Commodore Amable Tolentino. “They did not hide anything when they took the pictures.” He added: “I [apologize] if it touched on their sensibilities… Lack of coordination is what I see here.” By way of an explanation, AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Jose Angel Honrado said: “Their haircut was military haircut. There was no deceit or any form of espionage.”

Either way, the only thing the AFP officials regretted was that their people were detained and the congressmen got upset. But with regard to what the two were doing, they saw nothing wrong with it.

But why bicker over whether they were Isafp or CRS? The same crew cut, though different uniforms, but the same institutional loyalty. It’s the same dog -- with different collars.

The AFP, of course, in these national security-conscious and dominated times, has been conducting surveillance and documentation procedures on critics of the administration for some time. Portable video cameras in the hands of individuals in civilian clothing but with the ubiquitous crew cut were in evidence last February, for example. What the government is doing with such videos, it has never explained -- because it would be beyond explanation, anyway.

But let us recall President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s appeal in her State of the Nation Address last July for witnesses to political murders to come forward and testify. And let us compare that image to the image in the House of Representatives of soldiers filming civilian proceedings. Can anyone doubt that there is a mismatch here? Either the President was patently insincere, or the military believes it is no longer subject to her authority as commander in chief. While the President may continue to entertain illusions of leading a Strong Republic, there is an alternate Saber Republic that views itself on par with, if not superior to, civilian authority.

the generals refuse answer questions from the witnesses and critics and be held accountable, but they send their boys to videotape the witnesses and civilians who were there?

I guess alam na ni palparan ang pagmumukha ng mga kritiko niya. meron na naman siyang bagong pang target-practice sa mga bata niya.