Mamasapano: who was at fault, and why

Posted by JoeAm on February 15, 2015 · 290 Comments 

We have seen a frenzied hunt for culprits for the death of 44 SAF troops at the Battle of Mamasapano being carried out in the Senate, the House, and the Philippine tabloid media. As if finding someone to paste the guilt on would somehow make the pain go away. Some of the hunting has taken a … Continue reading →

Category Crime/Corruption, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government, Philippine Politics, USA/Americans

JoeAm’s findings: Day 3 of the Senate hearings on the Battle of Mamasapano

Posted by JoeAm on February 12, 2015 · 132 Comments 

In the Day 2 blog, I cited what I felt was the outstanding work done by five senators in pursuit of understandings on the confrontation between Moro rebels and SAF troops at Mamasapano. Day 3 showed the opposite, senators pursuing political aims rather than neutral fact-finding (Marcos, Binay), Senator Santiago stirring up the tabloid media … Continue reading →

Category Crime/Corruption, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government, USA/Americans

JoeAm’s findings: Day 2 of the Senate hearing on the Battle of Mamasapano

Posted by JoeAm on February 10, 2015 · 169 Comments 

If you ever doubt the quality and capability of the Philippine leadership, and the potential for good executive leadership, just pull up a tape of this senate hearing and watch the new cadre of (mostly) young, passionate, intelligent senators in action. There were no politics today, just a sharp focus on the issue at hand, understanding … Continue reading →

Category Crime/Corruption, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government, USA/Americans

JoeAm’s findings, Senate hearing on the Battle of Mamasapano, Day 1

Posted by JoeAm on February 9, 2015 · 35 Comments 

Let me just highlight the key points I extracted from today’s 5 hour meeting of the joint Senate committee hearing on the Battle of Mamasapano in which 44 SAF forces, 18 (or more) MILF/BIFF forces, and four civilians were killed. I will go for the meaning without the background. I presume you know all the … Continue reading →

Category Crime/Corruption, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government, USA/Americans

The BBL on defense and policing: changes are needed

Posted by JoeAm on February 8, 2015 · 60 Comments 

This is the second in a series of blogs aimed at understanding key issues in the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). The first established the general framework of the law (“Our own intellectual Truth Commission, starting with the BBL”). This one takes up the matter of defense and policing. In the BBL, Defense is focused on … Continue reading →

Category Crime/Corruption, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government