FACT OR RUMOR? Army chief Lt Gen Noel Coballes faces the media on August 5. Photo by Carmela Fonbuena/Rappler
An anonymous, almost incoherent "white paper" has made Army chief Lt Gen Noel Coballes the talk in military circles. Yet, while he thinks it "doesn't deserve any attention," the Army boss held a rare conference with the media Monday, August 5, to dispute the allegations in it.
Coballes is accused of coddling a supposedly misbehaving and
underperforming trainee at the Officers Candidate School (OCS) to the point of
discharging at least 3 officers who admonished him.
The unsigned page of complaints is calling for the early retirement of
Coballes, who is scheduled to retire in February 2014 yet. A 1980 graduate of
the Philippine Military Academy, he belongs to the class that has among its
"adopted classmates" the sisters of President Benigno Aquino III.
"Our concern is that these juniors if not educated and guided properly
would most probably cause endorsements which will rebound to OCS. Just because
of one kid, the OCS tradition that we so dearly love would be trampled just
like that," the unedited statement says.
It also talks about the trainee's mother who has supposedly been meddling
in the OCS training. But Coballes said it's normal for parents to ask how their
children are doing.
It says the favored trainee has flunked the physical fitness training and
the neuro exam and that he was supposedly caught in drinking sessions inside
the barracks.
Coballes came to the defense of the unnamed trainee. He described him as
the leader of his class, adding this is perhaps the reason why he's being
singled out. "In a class, there is always a born leader. His classmates
respect him," Coballes said. "In my view, his classmates trust
him."
Coballes called a press conference Monday to say he needed to explain
because even his colleagues have been asking him about it.
Military probe?
"I ignored it at first. This is the product of an immature person....
But I have been persistently asked about it by colleagues. They asked me why I
haven't done anything about it," he said.
The commander of the 80,000-force that's fighting at least 3 armed
movements said he has launched a probe to identify the person or persons behind
the anonymous complaint. "If he cannot substantiate what he is saying,
probably there is some disciplinary problem," Coballes added.
"Ang hinahanap namin ngayon kung sino nagsusulat ng ganito.
Let him face the consequences, if there are, of what he has done. If he can't
prove his allegations, he has to suffer consequences," he added.
"They shouldn't go to the media outlets. They have to show
themselves," he added.
Coballes said he already has his suspects, primarily an
"immature" officer. He also talked about portions of the unsigned
paper being lifted from a Facebook page but he did not elaborate.
For at least 3 months now, the military has been abuzz with snippets of
this controversy regarding the Army chief, according to an Army insider. A
so-called "white paper" reached defense reporters last week, and they
began asking the military about it.
This prompted Coballes to hold a press conference.
Favoritism or maltreatment?
Coballes turned the tables on his accusers. He said the people behind the
allegations are officers who continue to "harass" trainees and oppose
the Army's rules against body contact during training.
"Lately we implemented a normal treatment policy among our schools.
Some of these people probably do not want changes in the school," he said.
"The Army is one of the supporters of removing violations of human
rights in our operations and every action of soldiers of the Army. We have to
start in the training of officers," Coballes said.
"We should remove practices of maltreatment against trainees. It
breeds human rights violations later on," he said. It's all part of the
efforts to enhance the performance of new officers, he said.
"Sa pamunuan ng Army, kung hindi mo kayang sundin ang utos na
hindi naman masama, dapat umalis ka sa institution na yan. Masisira mo ang
programa na dapat i-implement doon sa institution," Coballes said.
(If you can't follow the rules, then leave the Army. Otherwise, you end up destroying
its programs.)- http://www.rappler.com/nation/35695-army-chief-goes-after-officers
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