By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
For years, the number of cadets at the Philippine National Police Academy have always outnumbered those from other regions except the National Capital Region or Metro Manila.
Cordillerans in the Special Action Forces (SAF) also outnumber those from other regions.
And this time around, the graduating class from the PMA is mostly composed of Cordillerans (40), even outnumbering those from Metro Manila (27). And four of the top 10 are from the Cordillera.
Related to this was the news here the other week to the effect that consistently, the biggest medal source for Baguio City in the Palarong Pambansa are the combative sports.
And Cordillerans don’t lack martial artists who became champions or were recognized in the world stage. The latest was Edward Folayang. We can recall also a number of names in the past. Still alive is Julian Chees but those who perished include June Bawingan and the late Ambrose Sagalla. And perhaps many others.
Back to the military, most of those Special Action Forces who died as heroes in the Mamasapano massacre were from the Cordillera.
Many of the earlier PMA Cordilleran graduates went to battle proudly only to come back in flag draped coffins.
What was the reason for all this. By and large, we Cordillerans are brave. We don’t easily chicken out, whatever our faults or weaknesses. I can only imagine, and this appears to be validated by many accounts, that the Cordillerans are often the first in the firing line, undaunted by the risks and dangers when duty calls. They are not like so many other soldiers who, in the thick of battle, just raise their guns above their heads and keep firing without seeing who they are firing at with their body well protected in the trenches or by a sandbag or other protectors from enemy fire.
So in many instances, the Cordillerans are the first to die in the battlefield, because they’ve got balls.
Perhaps because our very hostile environment that makes life painfully difficult needs martial courage in order to survive. As somebody aptly summed it, “hindi ka pwedeng mabuhay sa Cordillera na pakending kending lang.”
Expect the military and the police higher ranks to be filled later with Cordilleran officers. As one retiring police officer told me, “there are battlalions of upcoming Cordilleran police officers. The recent chief of police awardee in the war against drugs is from Bontoc, Mountain Province. He was the chief of police in a city in Cebu.
A friend also recently told me that he was in Bicol last year and he found out that the chiefs of police of two adjoining towns were Cordillerans.
The more important thing though is for our future Cordilleran soldiers or police officers not to come back rich. For that would mean that they were corrupt when in the service or that they were on the take from vice operators or those deeply involved in illegal activities like drug pushing and manufacturing.
It takes more courage to resist temptation from the devil than to face rapid gunfire in the battle field. Those who could would be the heroes’ heroes.
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