Church officials are criticizing the government's drive to go on an all-out war against the New People's Army (NPA) and end the decades-long communist insurgency.  These church leaders are urging government to go back to the negotiating table and "give peace a chance."  The bishops seem to forget that the communists pulled out of the peace talks last year when they thought GMA was about to be ousted.

Luis Jalandoni of the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), even cockily announced it was useless to resume peace talks with the Arroyo administration because it would not last very long.

Let's face it, there are only a few ideologues left in the communist movement in this country.  Most of these armed groups operating, especially in the hinterlands and outlying provinces have in reality turned into bandits trying to play Robin Hood.  But, actually, they're just leeching from those who have a little bit of money, trying to coerce them into paying "revolutionary taxes."

It's also well known that many corporations and telecommunications companies are paying up because they are being threatened with getting bombed.  This is really nothing but pure and simple blackmail.  There are also strong intelligence reports both from the US and the Philippine military that many of these groups are engaged in illegal activities, and worse, in the smuggling of drugs.  That is why they have now been tagged terrorists because this is exactly what other terrorist groups are engaged in in other parts of the world.

We understand the bishops' concern, but what about giving our soldiers a chance at peace?  Our troops risk life and limb just to ensure peace and order, especially in the countryside where the communist insurgency has been wreaking havoc on the people.

Soldiers in the frontlines are the ones most especially vulnerable to the treacherous attacks by these rebels who have been getting more and more indiscriminate, targeting public places where civilians will most likely get hit in the crossfire.  They've been known to use land mines, blowing up Army trucks that carry non-combatant civilians.

Bleeding heart groups are agitating over alleged violations of the rights of rebels hell-bent on bringing down the government.  Yet, we don't hear a peep from them when soldiers get blown off while transporting food and relief aid to disaster victims, or when they're out there helping civilians build bridges, comfort rooms or school buildings in the hinterlands.

When Max Soliven and I had dinner with GMA last year at the height of the impeachment trial, we happened to be with Marine Col. Ariel Querubin and Col. Arturo Ortiz.  Both are dedicated and brave soldiers who have been awarded the Medal of Valor.  As we were coming in to the dinner, the elite PSG officers immediately stood up and saluted these two men.  They were giving respect to men whom they looked up to, both of whom have risked their lives and proven their courage and bravery in the battlefield.

Col. Ortiz had led a grueling 11-hour cross-country march to raid the training camp of terrorist rebels in the hinterlands of Negros Occidental when he was just a captain back in 1990.  With some 60 men under his command, he engaged some 300 insurgents in a two-hour firefight, at one point braving dangerous crossfire to pull some hysterical women and children to safety.

Another Valor awardee, Staff Sergeant Roy Cuenca and his men were outnumbered during a three-hour encounter in Tandag, Surigao del Sur in 1991.  Cuenca was already wounded, but he fought ferociously, ordering his men to conserve their ammunition and stand their ground, preventing the takeover of their army detachment.

The stories of Ortiz and Cuenca are just tiny drops in the bucket, and there are many men and women out there risking their lives, sacrificing their families just to fight the decades-old communist insurgency.  Are their lives less important because they happen to be fighting on the side of the government?

There may be a few bad eggs in the roster of the military, but it is unfair to generalize the whole AFP as corrupt.  Our troops are out there fighting in the frontlines, going without food for days, forging rivers and enduring long hours of cross-country marches to raid rebel bastions and training camps.  Some of them already feel that they are getting the raw end of the deal, yet they fight on for flag, country and people.

Throughout history, it is the soldiers who bear the brunt of wars in the name of democracy, and it is but right to support them.  In the US, respect for the soldiers is still high even if many Americans are against the war in Iraq, which is how it should be here in this country.

Perhaps Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile was right when he said that Cory Aquino was largely responsible for the insurgency to come back when one of the first things she did in 1986 was to release communist leaders like Joma Sison, now well-entrenched in his Netherlands home.  Sison is being charged with several murders including those of former communist leaders Arturo Tabara and Romulo Kintanar.

At the end of the day, it is really grinding poverty and injustice that have driven many to embrace the NPA and the armed struggle for its promise of swift retribution.  This is what the government must address, and this is something that no one can argue with whatsoever.  While we support our soldiers in the drive to put an end to the insurgency problem, we must also do the same—put money in addressing poverty, unemployment and other social problems.

A good example is the success of the Americans recently in winning over the people of Basilan from terrorist strongholds like the Abu Sayyaf, not through the force of arms, but by building bridges, distributing sewing machines, giving medical aid.  The US forces worked with the people and won them over through social development and humanitarian projects.  This is the only way to achieve long-lasting peace.

But just the same, our soldiers need to be supported all the way.  Just like in the United States and Europe where the soldiers are given the necessary hardware and taken care of, we can do no less with our young soldiers who are prepared to give their lives—"por la patria."

These people have sacrificed so much and endured long years of separation with their families just to serve this country.  And let's not forget the heroism of our soldiers in the past like Gregorio del Pilar, Miguel Malvar, Artemio Ricarte and others like them, well-known military generals who sacrificed for the country, often with their lives.  They are reminders and examples of why we must support our soldiers.  Our troops must be given our full support.  We can do no less because they, too, must be given a chance to achieve peace.

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