Army boosting morale after ‘mistake’ in ‘Morong 43’ case

The Philippine Army is now in the process of explaining to its troops President Benigno Aquino III's decision to have the case against the so-called Morong 43 — the health workers arrested for allegedly being communist rebels — withdrawn. “We have to explain to our people that we have to follow the chain of command. Whatever is the desire of our commander-in-chief, we have to follow," said Army spokesman Col. Antonio Parlade in an interview Sunday. He admitted that Aquino’s decision on the case of the Morong 43 had affected the morale of the soldiers, who’ve been saying all along that the 43 health workers arrested in Morong, Rizal, last February were members of the New People’s Army (NPA). “Of course, of course," Parlade said when asked if the imminent release of the 43 health workers will have an effect on the soldiers’ morale. “What’s left for us to do now is to explain to the people, to our men why [President Aquino made the decision]," he added. Aquino last Friday ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to withdraw the case against the 43, saying the health workers were arrested by virtue of a defective warrant of arrest. DOJ chief Leila de Lima said the workers could be released before Christmas. Parlade said he is confident the soldiers would respect Aquino’s decision. “Our troops are very professional. They are matured enough to understand the decision, so there no really a big problem," he said. Armed Forces’ Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Roland Detabali, meanwhile, said there is no need to recall the Bronze Cross medals given to the soldiers who arrested the 43 health workers. “They did a good job. What they did was highly commendable. Their job is to arrest them (Morong 43). If the executive and the judiciary think that they should be released, then we will follow the political leadership," Detabali said. Detabali and Parlade, however, rejected the calls of the health workers’ relatives to apologize for the supposed mistake. “We have a clear conscience in the conduct of the military and intelligence operation. We feel that we did not violate anything so there is nothing to apologize for," he said. - KBK, GMANews.TV