My Ethical Dilemma in the Public Service

 

Reflection Paper #2

 I am a PMaer. I should follow the steps of those who graduated from the Philippine Military Academy. These Alumni were Visionaries. They are the crème of the crop, as I usually hear from my instructors. They are the best leaders the country can in military and government service. These may be all true, but I know that some of these were not, and preparing myself for the inevitable after joining the regular ranks in the military would finally put my leadership and values to the test. I was a young officer then and ready to take on the world of whatever it can throw on me. I knew military tactics, personnel management, and financial management. My values are courage, duty, and honor.

It is true that with great power comes great responsibility. I learned that well from the movie “Spider-Man.” I have made it one of the mantras. It can be overwhelming sometimes, but I always make it a point to stop and think and ask myself the two fundamental questions I have learned from the Philippine Military Academy: 1) Do I intend to deceive? And 2) Do I want to take undue advantage? If the answer for me to both questions is “No,” I will be doing the honorable thing. As a junior officer, I practically live it this way to not go wrong in my decisions. I was almost applying the 7 Steps in Ethical Decision Making in every choice I must make as a leader and manager of people and resources. I was good at it and never failed to go wrong with my standards as a military officer in the garrison. But things are different when it comes to the lives of my soldiers. I value them like they were my family and brothers. I take care of them whenever they need something to be more effective and efficient. I join them in every company training activity. I make it a point that teamwork is the best answer for the challenging task I give them. Lastly, I would tell them to trust me the way I trusted them with my life. I would make it a point that whenever we go on missions, I would assure them that we will all come back. I kept my promise and finished my billet in the company. I had no casualties during that time because I must make my plan good to assure mission accomplishment. It was easy for me. I needed to level up, so I moved on to my next assignment in the Special Operations Command. It was a particular unit for counter-terrorism. This unit was the unit being employed to track and neutralize the Abu Sayaff.

I lead a unit once in the mountain of Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, where we were tasked to capture or kill the member of the Abu Sayaff. We eventually cornered them on a hilltop, but I needed to make the final offensive. But there were significant risks, and the lives of my men were all at stake. Before the offensive, I made some initial assessment that the final push will cost my unit more casualties if I pursue the option given to me by my superiors to assault the objective at the Hilltop directly. I took the heat from my senior officers to provide the order to assault already before the day ends. I knew that they would eventually be captured and killed because they have nowhere to go, but the price was so high that I can barely imagine how I would tell the families of my dead and wounded men in the aftermath of the offensive. For a civilian not familiar with armed conflict, it is just a straightforward win or loses activity. But for soldiers, it is a different story. We can talk about ethics all day but is it necessary to kill others at the expense of my men, whom I trained and drink with for several months. I just was not prepared to decide to sacrifice my men for the sake of the mission. In General Headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, they are cheering for us to get it done already to finish the Abu Sayaff once and for all. I gave the final order after briefly talking to my men over the radio. I told them, “If we did not finish this today, they would escape, and we would eventually face them in the future…..many civilian and soldiers may die before that… but this I promise you, I will never leave you until all of you are safe.”  I gave my final word to assault.

          That day, I saw my soldiers bravely fought. They were inching their way up the hill. I saw some got hit and fell on the ground, and up until now, I can still their faces grimacing in pain. It was my responsibility to decide now, knowing that the lives of my men were also at stake. Is there a public official willing to die for their country? Reflecting on this did I made the right decision at that time, or I just followed orders. Did I use the Seven Steps of Ethical Decision Making?  Did I stand up with my values of courage and honor? The fact is only a soldier can do it, and there are no other options or alternatives. If I did not act, the consequence might be catastrophic for the entire Province of Maguindanao as they can never be allowed to ally with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

          At the time, there was a conflict in whether I would follow orders or not finish the Abu Sayaff on the Hilltop that day. If I do, I will surely get a lot of casualties. Suppose I do not and fight another day. It will lead to more atrocities of the group and, worst, leading to a tactical alliance between the MILF and the Abu Sayaff because they were already operating in Cotabato and Davao. They have been responding to a series of bombings lately in the places mentioned above. If we would not stop them right thereon, it could lead to more atrocities by them. My feeling back to them were mixed because I do not want my men to die going up the hill and the thought of not stopping an incident that might prove dangerous in the future.

I did not realize that it was that hard to decide quickly and not to come up with a full-proof plan where I am sure that will win the battle. I was afraid that time of losing people because I have never had to lose one. But as a soldier, it was my duty, and we were the only ones who can put an end to their reign of terror. We could end them and send them back to hell where they belong. But the reality was some of my men would die trying. Some of them will not be seeing their family. I dread the idea of having to tell their families one by one that their husband, brother, or sons have died fighting. Those were the feeling rushing in my brains as I finally made the call, “Fire for Effect on this target.” It was an Artillery call to pulverize the Hilltop. Then finally, I made my last order to assault the enemy.

          The aftermath of this assault was unforgiving for me. Although I did not lose any of my soldiers that day, I lost a part of myself. Until this day, I see them in pain while we hurried to try to rush them to the nearest casualty point near the battlefield. Some lost their legs, arms, and one lost an eye. The consequence is too great for me, but I could not exactly say if the reward I got would compensate for the losses we had, in spirit and mind.

          I may have earned a reputation for finishing the job as I got an award from my bosses, who were so proud of the bravery of my men. But now, as I looked back and thought if we had made a difference back then. I am sure we did.