YANO CALLING 2000 ALL-OUT WAR VICTORY ‘SYMBOLIC’ A DISSERVICE TO THE MILITARY

This is to clarify some of the statements made by Armed Forces Chief General Alexander Yano regarding the All Out War of former President Joseph Estrada in Mindanao in 2000, as quoted in several articles today wherein General Yano stated, “Our objective now is not just to occupy lands as in 2000, which is symbolic, but to degrade the capabilities of the forces involved”.First of all, we observe that General Yano is finally following the policy of former President Estrada against tolerance of separatists. Indeed, it is high time that the incumbent administration pursue efforts, as publicly advised by former President Estrada, to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation by means of an “all-out war”. In stating that they are aspiring now to “degrade” the MILF even beyond what was achieved during the Estrada Administration means that this incumbent administration has  decided to fight an all-out war against the MILF, as Estrada did in 2000. As much as former President Estrada believes that all other measures must first be exhausted before engaging in such war, he still maintains, from experience in their extensive peace negotiations with the MILF in 1998 and 1999, that overthrowing the MILF remains to be the only solution in order to achieve peace in the Mindanao region.

While declaring their objective, however, General Yano also reduced the Estrada Administration’s achievement of peace in Mindanao to merely “symbolic” – an uncalled for, unnecessary and incorrect statement. General Yano should remember that an occupational victory is a final victory. The military at the time overthrew all 46 camps of the MILF, including Camp Abubakar, the largest MILF camp, forcing the MILF to withdraw from their defensive battle positions. Let it be noted that the AFP in 2000 overthrew not only one, two or three camps, but the AFP successfully overthrew all forty six camps of the MILF. Also, with the loss of Camp Abubakar, regarded as the center of power and authority of the MILF, the MILF was denied that permanent base which provided command and control over all its forces. This was no small feat but a major victory for the Philippine Government and a glorious moment for the AFP.
When Former President Joseph Estrada hoisted the Philippine flag in Camp Abubakar, this was one of the proudest moments in history for the officers and gentlemen of the military who fought valiantly to redeem the honor of the armed forces and who fought bravely for the sovereignty of the country. It was a swift and successful effort showing effective leadership and unit integrity from the Commander in Chief down to the soldiers on the ground. By saying that the All Out War of 2000 was merely symbolic, General Yano has reduced the efforts of the officers who led that war  and demeaned the sacrifices and lives of the soldiers who fought and were injured or died fighting for the sovereignty of the country.

General Yano should be careful not to diminish the accomplishments of our men in uniform. If General Yano is serious about achieving victory in Mindanao this time around, it would be best for him to focus on the AFP’s  current operations instead of belittling the achievements of the military during the Estrada Administration. After all, it must be remembered that the objective here is not to trump Estrada’s achievements but to finally achieve peace in Mindanao.