Karapatan ng mga miyembro ng hukbong sandatahan

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta - @Magtanong Kay Attorney | August 08, 2021

Kamakailan ay may mga trahedyang naganap sa ating bansa na ang mga naging biktima ay kasundaluhan. Nakalulungkot na balita ang mga ito sapagkat mahalaga ang bawat buhay ng mga sundalo. Sa lahat ng oras at pagkakataon, Hukbong Sandatahan ang nagsisilbing tagabantay ng ating kaligtasan saanman sulok tayo ng ating Inang Bayan naroroon. Sila ang ipinadadala sa malalayong lugar at kabundukan upang panatilihin ang kapayapaan sa lahat ng oras. Ang katumbas ng kanilang pagbabantay para sa ating kalayaan at kaligtasan ay ang kanilang buhay. Buhay ang kanilang ibinubuwis upang mapangalagaan ang kasarinlan ng ating bayan. Sa bawat buhay na nalalagas nang dahil sa pangangalaga ng ating kaligtasan, ilang pamilya ang nagluluksa at nawalan ng mahal sa buhay.

Sa pagkakapasa ng Republic Act (R. A.) No. 7898 (An Act Providing for the Modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and for Other Purposes) na inamyendahan ng R.A. No. 10349, layunin nitong palakasin ang Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) upang magampanan nito nang maayos ang mandatong pangalagaan ang kapangyarihan at kalayaan ng ating bansa maging ng pagsugpo sa iba’t ibang krimen tulad ng piracy, white slavery, smuggling, drug trafficking o hijacking. Maliban sa pagsugpo ng mga krimen, tinatawagan din ang ating mga kasundaluhan upang magbigay ng tulong sa ating mga kababayan na nasalanta ng iba’t ibang uri ng kalamidad, natural man ito o gawa ng tao.

Nakasaad sa Section 3 ng R.A. No. 7898, o mas kilala sa titulong “AFP Modernization Act,” ang sumusunod na mga layunin ng nasabing batas:

“Sec. 3.Objectives of the AFP Modernization Program. — The AFP modernization program shall be implemented in accordance with the following objectives:

(a) To develop its capability to uphold the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic and to secure the national territory from all forms of intrusion and encroachment;

(b) To develop its capability to assist civilian agencies in the preservation of the national patrimony, including the country’s living and nonliving marine, submarine, mineral, forest and other natural resources located within its territory and its exclusive economic zone (EEZ);

(c) To enhance its capability to fulfill its mandate to protect the Filipino people not only from armed threats but from the ill effects of life-threatening and destructive consequences of natural and man-made disasters and calamities, including typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, major accidents in far-flung or inaccessible terrain or at sea and from all forms of ecological damage;

(d) To improve its capability to assist other agencies in the enforcement of domestic and foreign policies as well as international covenants against piracy, white slavery, smuggling, drug trafficking, hijacking of aircraft and seacraft and the transport of toxic and other ecologically-harmful substances taking place in or through Philippine territory;

(e) To enhance its capability to assist the Philippine National Police in law enforcement and internal security operations;

(f) To enhance its capability to fulfill the country's international commitments; and

(g) To develop its capability to support national development.”

Nang dahil lumawak ang naging tungkulin at mandato ng AFP, marapat lamang na pangalagaan din ng pamahalaan ang kanilang kapakanan. Kaya naman, bahagi ng modernisasyon ng AFP ang pagpapalakas sa kanilang manpower at mapabuti ang kalidad ng pamumuhay ng ating mga sundalo at ng kanilang pamilya. Ang budget allocations para sa modernisasyon ng AFP ay sang-ayon sa probisyon ng batas. Nakasaad sa Section 4 ng R.A. 10349 ang mga sumusunod:

“Section 4: Section 8 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 8.Appropriations for the Revised AFP Modernization Program. – The annual appropriations for the Revised AFP Modernization Program shall include the amounts necessary to support the funding requirements for all modernization projects submitted to Congress under the preceding section.

“The funds to be appropriated by Congress under this Act shall be treated as a distinct and separate budget item from the regular appropriation for the Department of National Defense (DND) and the AFP and shall be administered by the Secretary of National Defense.

“The Revised AFP Modernization Program shall be based on an amount of at least Seventy-five billion pesos (P75,000,000,000) for the first five (5) years.”

Sa ating kasalukuyang administrasyon, tunay ngang binibigyang-halaga ng estado ang kapakanan ng kasundaluhan na sa ngayon ay nahaharap sa pagsugpo sa lahat ng uri ng banta sa kasarinlan at kaligtasan ng ating bayan.