By: Noynoy.ph

CLAIM: Nagsimula ang warlordism sa panahon ni President Cory Aquino

TRUTH: Mahaba ang kasaysayan ng warlordism sa Mindanao, ngunit sa EO 546 ni Pangulong Arroyo napayagang lumakas ang mga “private army” nito

Warlordism

Warlordism in the Philippines, specifically in the South, is rooted in  the feudal system in place in pre-Spanish Philippines, which was politically divided by clans.
According to Mindanao peace advocate, Jun Mercado, OMI:
Modern warlordism is based on two issues:

(1) Their actions are characterized by lawlessness and impunity;

(2) Their access to the “machineries of the state” such as local police and military. The relationship of present-day “warlords” with the central government is crucial here; their power, while typically kept within the family, is no longer based on their blood ancestry but on their connection with the president of the republic.

The Aquino Administration and the Ampatuans

Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr, father of the main accused in the Maguindanao Massacre, was already in power in Maganoy (now Shariff Aguak) during the Marcos era. When Cory Aquino came into office, she had Ampatuan Sr removed from office and deprived him of access to security forces.

“President Aquino appointed Aquilino Pimentel Jr., former Mayor of Cagayan de Oro City and erstwhile political detainee, as Minister of Local Governments. With the President’s approval, he began a purge of governors, mayors, and other local officials perceived to be loyal to the ousted President. He appointed officers-in-charge (OICs) in their place, until regular elections could be held.” (In the Face of Crisis)

The Rise of the Ampatuans

The first elections following the replacement of Andal Ampatuan Sr, with a non-political relation Datu Bodhi Ampatuan, was in 1987. Andal Ampatuan Sr won, and was reinstated as mayor of Maganoy. He was accused of killing his main opponent in the elections in plain sight, but the case was dismissed for lack of witnesses.

In 2001, Ampatuan Sr won the gubernatorial elections in the Maguindanao, against Zacarias Candao, and with the full support of the PNP and AFP. Ampatuan Sr was an avid supporter of GMA and is accused of “delivering” the province of Maguindanao to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the 2004 elections. According to Mercado, this electoral feat made him the new “anointed one” in the eyes of the president.

“Arroyo returns the favors by letting them rule Maguindanao like a fiefdom. All economic initiatives need the Ampatuans’ assent; state funds are released through them. Even the posting of police and military generals are cleared with them. All the Ampatuans are with the admin party. Zaldy was Malacañang’s choice for ARMM governor in 2005.” (“Ampatuan Dynasty grew under Arroyo,” Jarius Bondoc)

In 2005, Ampatuan Sr’s son Zaldy, became governor of ARMM.

“With the ARMM falling into the hands of the Ampatuan clan and under the

total patronage of Malacañang, the hold of the clan over the ARMM and Maguindanao has become undisputed. It is a steady and phenomenal rise to almost absolute power.” (Mercado)
Read “The Making of a Political Dynasty,” detailing the various positions assumed by the Ampatuan clan.

“Private armies,” the Constitution and the President

In 1987, President Cory Aquino issued E.O. 264 which would include a Citizen’s Armed Force to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The citizen’s arm would only be composed of qualified and trained reservists. These are the CAF GUs, or Citizen Armed Forces into Geographical Units.

EO 264 was enacted in light of constitutional provision Section 4 Article XVI, which states that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will also be constituted of a citizen arm which shall undergo military training, and will be kept as a regular, complementary force necessary for state security.

Under EO 264, In times of military necessity, and upon recommendation of the Secretary of National Defense, and approval of the President, the CAFs maybe be mobilized to complement the regular Armed Forces. They shall not be vested with law-enforcement or police functions.
This is a stark difference from Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s 2006 EO 546, which repealed EO 264.

Under Arroyo’s EO 546, “The PNP is authorized to deputize baranggay tanods as force multipliers,” that is, the authority to mobilize CAFs no longer rests on the central government, but in local chief executives and local police forces.

“In 2006 the Ampatuans’ might was enhanced when the interior department approved the arming with rifles of civilian volunteers against separatists. That practically allowed their supporters to stage checkpoints and patrols, and made the police a mere adjunct.” (Bondoc)
Senators Aquino and Roxas have called for the repeal of EO 546, because its provisions relegated power to mobilize militia from the president to local chief executives, and in the case of Maguindanao, the making of warlords.

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reynz is one Uragon and a Filipino-American, has many years of public accounting & auditing, broadcast investments, housing tax credits and equity investments as his background. Based in the US, he maintains his personal and humor blog at reyna elena dot com. A graduate of Aquinas U, he went to GWU and Temple U in the United States.