Wednesday, July 25, 2007 Speak out: Trillanes was right By Ciriaco A. Tirol Lahug, Cebu City
IN July 2003, Antonio Trillanes IV, together with fellow soldiers, launched the so-called Oakwood mutiny whose objective was to institute reforms in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
They claimed to have seen rampant corruption in the military that occurs in the procurement of uniforms and purchase of office supplies, as well as firearms and ammunition.
Trillanes said only high ranking military officers who sit in air conditioned offices benefited from these shady deals to the detriment of the ordinary soldiers who shed their blood in the country’s various battlefields, notably in Mindanao.
This was proven correct when some mortar shells failed to explode in the recent encounter between the Marines and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan.
At least 14 soldiers were killed in that encounter, with ten of them, including one Cebuano identified as Ruben Doronio Jr. from Borbon, mercilessly beheaded.
Certainly, the mortar shells failed to explode because of their inferior quality, probably a result of corrupt acts.
