AFP Chielf of Staff Gen. Arnulfo Acedera's offer of apologies to the Church and the gay community (see relared story below) rings hollow in the light of his ambitions to run for a civilian elective post. When he said "Walang personalan, trabaho lang ito," he wants to appear heroic in taking personal responsibility, and only now, for past working statements of the entire armed forces he still represents for ten more days.

His sincerity can be gauged from his avoidance of involving the military hierarchy in his token gesture, proving that he still fully subscribes to the military's irrational and arbitrary policies in coming to terms with democracy and diversity of opinions in Philippine society. His phrases are contradictory, because he still claims that he was just standing his ground, so we can take that to mean that he can choose to attach and detach his personal beliefs to and from his office at his convenience.

Of course, when publicly confronted, the so-called official statements of the leadership turned out to be based not on elaborately formal procedures, but just deep-seated cultural biases. Gay activists found out the AFP didn't know how to find hidden gay males to purge in the first place. 

In contrast, the gays did not make it personal, and we believe, the Catholic clergy didn't either. We maintained our dignity, making sense out of the military's senselessness by using morally superior arguments and avoiding its clueless logic. To our credit, we gay civilian leaders came out in defense of the closetted gay men who serve in silence inside the armed forces, and if there is anything positive about that episode, gays were given the opportunity to validate the public's growing enlightenment of our humanity and demand for fair treatment. 

Most gays, like other males escaping rural poverty by being employed in the armed forces, allow themselves to be recruited in the military because of the utter lack of jobs that can provide them food, clothes and housing. Imagine their psychological torture when the top brass declared war against gays. Where will they work after the shame of being discharged? It is the poor gay soldiers' forgiveness that Gen. Acedera should seek first. This can only mean anything if he and other officials forswear further attempts to violate the their political and economic rights.