Chapter IV

CHAPTER 4

National Defense College

2002

It was more than a week after the delightful vacation with Maria. Eugene had gone back to his unit knowing that he and Maria would one day soon go back to their old relationship. The past weeks showed him that. Somehow, he thought, Maria could be good for him. Suddenly, orders came for him to report back to the Special Mission Batallion Landing Team only to be given another set of orders to report to the National Defense College of the Philippines compound for the Joint Command and General Staff (JCGS) Course.

Opening day of the Command and General Staff (CGS) Course at the Joint CGS College inside the NDCP complex went through without fanfare. Eugene scouted the complex and visitedsome of his friends at the Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) at the adjacent compound. A lot of them treated him out to lunch, dinner and snacks on seeing him again after a very long time.

At the College, some of his new classmates he got to like; they were loud and some a way bit vulgar in manners and speech. But he respected them because like him, they were part of the Special Ops community. A few of them like him, were also members of the elite International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators (IABTI) belonging to the multi-national Region VII group composed of representatives from various countries outside of the United States.

Today, Eugene felt awful after four nights of successive discreet and very quiet drinking sessions with four of his cantankerous new classmates. Eugene reminded himself that it was Monday but a holiday. Although his course administrators did not mind that it was a holiday; for them it was a pleasure to continue teaching, they told the class. The clock told Eugene it was 0500H – not too early for him in the morning. He made himself strong coffee and lit a panatela slim -- coughing on the fourth hit from the cigar, but he relished the ritual nonetheless, not knowing why he was into it up to now that he was feeling some constriction in his chest.

He trod lazily towards the bathroom thinking about the first classes that begin at 0900H today, but he kept recalling that this stint at the Joint Services General Staff Command Course was the least of what he had wanted for himself. Not at this time of his life, he thought as he ran an early bath, hot. After changing into his uniform, he recalled how sad it made him when they booted him out of his command. The Sixth (Special Missions) Battalion Landing Team, Marines, was most accomplished among other battalions in the elite Special Op community of the Philippine Navy that included the Navy's Special Warfare Action Group (SWAG).

He was told that his relief came for a good number of reasons — prominent among them his desire to see reform that was very wanting in his own Service in general which reasons were not good, they said. They said, they thought of him as naïve and a nuisance and very immature. Ungentlemanly and unofficerlike. Brig. Gen. Gil Gerveron especially thought so about him in particular. Those were the same words that spewed from his mouth when he and the General had shouting matches. The fact that many of the officers in the Philippine Marines shared the phraseology, showed his considerable influence.

He took this course seriously though. He might just come in line for General one day and he needed it. He made a small survey of former graduates and was told the most important part of the tasks was the writing the Commander’s Paper.

Nearly everyone that he polled agreed on this. They all said however, that he had to make good in the tests and to be extra careful in revealing his innermost thoughts. Why? He asked at least one of the alumni that he had interviewed. "Because in our time, we suspected that one of the faculty and the chief of records-human resources division of NDCP were infiltrators of the local communists. And they have unlimited access to the Joint Command and General Staff records."

Eugene thought, now that was real bull shit.

Poring over the early research he made on the subject for today and the theme of his future Commander’s Paper with his free hand, Lt. Col. David drank his coffee while hot with his left hand.

His notes focused on dealing with non-conventional threats to the security of the state --- terrorists' threats. The data in his hands simply overwhelmed him. How large the number of these non-traditional threat groups could be! And how variable threat levels can become! Many or nearly almost all of them could not even be seen.

He segregated his data, labeled and filed one stack of documents that he would prefer to work on in a stand up document case.

TERRORISM

He walked through the data he scribbled on a pad, noting the vital points. Then he stood up and headed for his class.

At the classroom, he and his classmates found lettering on the white board:

Form yourselves into four groups. Hold a workshop on the monograph Counterterrorism Around the Globe Today. The Workshop Problem is: What solutions must be adopted to stop terrorism in the Philippines. Print the answers you will decide on in the sheets of manila paper on the table. I will not be around. -- Prof. Ted Parado

Everybody shouted at the same time, So he is on holiday after all! Someone catcalled and said, Liar!

To form four groups, Eugene and all his classmates made a headcount of fours. All number ones formed Group I, number twos, threes and fours in II, III and IV respectively. Eugene and a few of the Special Ops boys got into Group IV, the last group that would report if the reporting will be in the normal order.

The class was so noisy but soon they were getting into the compliance mode. The groups were formed. Eugene and his fellow workshop group members agreed to use another room in the building. They filed out into the corridor and looked for a spare room or space where they can hold their own discussions without being disturbed nor causing distraction. After finding out that one five rooms away from theirs was empty, they took seats in a circular fashion. Lt. Col. Marlon Carga and Eugene led the discussions.

As rapporteur, Eugene wrote at white in front of his groupmates the terrorist activities that they shared knowedge about from the monograph given by Prof. Parado.

• 23rd October 1983 bombing US Contingent Multinational Forces, Beirut, Lebanon • US Embassy, Beirut bombing • October 1993 World Trade Center bombing • Encounter U.S. forces with terrorists Mogadishu, Somalia • Harassment of a US peacekeeping contingent Northern Iraq • US Military housing complex car bombing, Khobar Towers, in Saudi Arabia • Murder of Pakistani President, Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, US Ambassador Arnold Raphel, 20 others on board air plane at Bahawalpur, Pakistan • 1992 Abu Sayyaf bombing of wharf Zamboanga City targeting MV Doulous, international evangelist's ship • November 14, 1993 terrorists kidnapping U.S. missionary Charles M. Watson, Pangutaran Island, Sulu Batu • December 11, 1994 explosion on Philippine Airlines air craft • April 1995 Massacre at Christian town Ipil, Zamboanga province • September 9, 1997 kidnapping of German business executive, Zamboanga City • August 7, 1998, Twin Bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar a-Salaam, Tanzania • January 31, 1999 grenade lobbing into crowd in Mindanao to avenge death of terrorist leader Gandalani

Lt. Col. Carga explained, "Okay classmates, as you know and from your own copy of the monograph, the 23rd October 1983 bombing involves the US Contingent of the Multinational Forces compound in Beirut, Lebanon. Killed were 241 US servicemen. M.O., car bomb. On the same year, Sirs, the US Embassy in Beirut was also bombed. Same M.O., car bomb. Both bombings and many others that would happen much later, were done with the use of a vehicle as the means of delivery. Around this time, among the more gruesome incidents we will be discussing, are the bombing of the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar a-Salaam, Tanzania. A total of 244 were killed including 12 Americans and 38 Foreign Service Nationals, and some 4,585 were reportedly injured."

Someone was raising his hand saying, "Excuse me, Col. Carga, why are we spending time on foreign terrorist attacks? After this, we are supposed to do what?"

Col. Carga answered, "Well, Col. Simonela, we will find the solutions. Whether these are foreign or local terrorist incidents, we will merely be using these as examples. As our professor had mentioned yesterday and since the beginning of classes."

"Okay, please proceed, Sir." the officer beside Col. Simonela replied.

Col. Carga continued: "On the October 1993 incident, the M.O. used was car bomb. On the US Embassy in Beirut same M.O., car bomb again. Now in 1992, here it is, in our own Philippines, local Abu el-Seif militants hurl a bomb at the pier of Zamboanga City, where at the time, the MV Doulous an international floating bookstore manned by Christian preachers, is docked. Several people are injured. Imagine that, kasi mga kaibigan naman, isang tropa ng mga evangelists distributing Bibles among the Muslims. Eh, kabubuo lang ng Abu el-Seif, so what would you expect? We all know that Zamboanga is full of our brother Muslims, di ba classmates?"

Eugene's and Lt. Col. Carga's groupmates shook their heads in disbelief. Some uttered mild profanities.

The group chair continued once more, "Now, in the U.S. of A., on October 3-4, 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed by Ramzey Yusuf, who owned up to the bombing and was arrested in Manila, Philippines. Then back to Mindanao, on Nov. 14, 1993 Abu el-Seif terrorists kidnap U.S. missionary Charles M. Watson in Pangutaran Island, Sulu Batu."

"Then, again, there was this encounter between U.S. - U.N. forces with alleged terrorists in Mogadishu, Somalia, that left 18 US servicemen dead. An Islamic militant organization later figured in the investigations as to who engaged the US forces in a firefight.

"On November 14, 1993 terrorists kidnapping U.S. missionary Charles M. Watson, Pangutaran Island, Sulu Batu. The missionary, who works for the Summer Institute of Linguistics, is released unharmed in Manila on December 7, same year, that is 1993.

"And here in the Philippines still, on December 11, 1994 Abu el-Seif claimed that they were responsible for the an explosion aboard a Philippine Air Lines jet. One Japanese citizen is killed; there were at least 10 others seriously injured. Then by April 1995 the Abu el-Seif carries out the Ipil, Zamboanga Massacre. Ipil is a small Christian town in Zamboanga Province in Mindanao. The Abu el-Seif brigands razed the town center to the ground. Total soldiers and civilians killed 53. At this time, the Armed Forces is saying that the group has more or less grown apart from our handlers and instead established a link with international terrorist cells.

This includes Wadn Hassan's global Al Qaeda.

Eugene joined in, "Also in the same year of 1995, a US peacekeeping contingent was harassed in Northern Iraq with unconventional tactics. As a result of the heavy exchange of fire that followed, two of the US Army UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters were shot down, killing all of the servicemen on board." (The same incident was made into a movie by Hollywood later with the title, “Black Hawk Down”.)

Eugene further added, "In Riyadh, on November 13 also in 1995, there was another incident where the Office of the Program Manager of the Saudi Arabian National Guard was – again – car bombed. The attack killed two Indians and five American Servicemen. As we all know, 1995 was also the year when the World Trade Center bomber Ramzey Yusuf, who claimed responsibility for the bombing was arrested in Manila, Philippines."

Passing his palm over the initial incidents listed by Eugene, Lt. Col. Carga took special note of the militant Mohaqir Qaumi Movement.

He said that, "As far as my own knowledge of this movement is concerned, the Mohaqir Qaumi represents the Islamic migrants of Pakistan. Their leader, Farooq Dada died, only 25 years old. The Mohaqir Qaumi Movement lost their topmost leaders in the Massacre in 1995. Around 600 ethnic minorities in Karachi from April to July 1995 alone. This was followed by reprisals by the Movement --- very violent counterattacks that led to the death of hundreds of Pakistani soldiers, police officers and innocent civilians."

While Col. Carga was speaking, Eugene went to the side of the room where a desktop computer was installed and sat down. He booted the desktop and typed the initial topics he and Lt. Col. Carga selected and that he wrote on the white board. Keying the list on the computer owned by the Joint Services Staff Command Course, he took out his own copy of the monograph and his notes -- copying some items while skipping certain points from the monograph and his notes like the data on Agha Hasan Abedi who was already neutralized. In layman's terms, dead. (Agha Hasan Abedi who died at 72 years, was charged with and convicted of, fraud and indicted for theft and other charges in the United States. Abedi was said to have perpetrated the largest financial fraud in history by founding and diverting the funds acquired by his Bank of Credit and Commerce International. Eugene's cross references on Abedi pointed to him as being at the forefront of the fund-raising efforts for global terrorism.)

Eugene moved on to the next item that happened to be what Lt. Col. Carga was briefly backgrounding on:

"In this period, suspected terrorist perpetrators were said to be behind the murder of Pakistani President, Mohammad Zia ul-Haq along with US Ambassador Arnold Raphel and some twenty odd other persons on board a Hercules C-130 transport plane at Bahawalpur, Pakistan."

Col. Carga explained further, that, "The Pakistani President, was a wholehearted supporter of the Afghan mujahideens in their determination to liberate their land from the Soviet’s puppet or client regime in Kabul. President Zia was later on acclaimed by the United States Secretary of State George Shultz in the presence of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the largest mujahideen faction staging expeditions into their territory from Pakistan, as a 'martyr.'"

Eugene noted that Lt. Col. Carga skipped the portion that Secretary Shultz, after his eulogy to the late Pakistani leader Pres. Zia, gave Hekmatyar more firearms, food rations, supplies and funds to be used in their struggle in Islamabad.

Eugene chilled over the thought that the people of Gulbuddin, later went in league with one Wadn Hasan, formed a loose but huge network of international terrorists that emerged from their mujahideen group called the Makhatab at Khidamat or MAK – that later became the Al Qaeda (literally The Hand) that had been connected with earlier targeting of US forces.

Further, that he had a boss, whose name was Fayidi ibn Mohammad bin Akhtari whose whose main contact to Wadn was a certain Bashiir. Bashiir was killed by British Intelligence and was a frequent visitor at the Philippine capital, Manila and at Zamboanga and General Santos Cities in Mindanao. Akhtari was also said to have a runner, Al Hajj Mudmar Khalimpas whose sister’s hand was taken in marriage by bin Laden in simple Islamic rites in Saudi Arabia. Mudmar is said to have become the contact man of Ramzey Yusuf in Manila.

"September 9, 1997, some suspected Abu el-Seif elements kidnap a German in Zamboanga City. After three months in captivity, the German, who is a business executive, is released on Dec. 26. "Then one year later, on December 1998 the Abu el-Seif leader Abdullah Razuk Gandalani is killed in a firefight with elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Lamitan village, Basilan Province.

"Jan. 31, 1999 Abu el-Seif members are suspected of lobbing a grenade into a crowd that had gathered to watch firefighters put out a blaze in a neighborhood supermarket. Ten people are killed, and at least 74 injured. The attack is thought to have been carried out as a form of revenge over the death of their leader, Abdullah Razuk Gandalani.

Eugene finished writing more incidents in the past and Col. Carga again made a small footnote to each incident:

• March 20, 2000 kidnapping of 53 children, teachers -- 2 Christian schools Basilan 2 hostages beheaded • April 23, 2000 abduction 21 people - 10 Westerners, 9 Malaysians, 2 Filipinos - from Sipadan resort, Malaysia • May 18, 2000 3 grenades exploded in Jolo market • June 3, 2000 kidnap of 10 journalists, mostly Germans -- ransom for $25,000 • July 1-9, 2000 kidnap of German reporter, French TV crew and Philippine evangelists • Aug. 29, 2000 kidnapping of Jeffrey Craig Schilling, American Muslim convert • Sept. 10, 2000 kidnapping of 3 people from Pandanan Island diving resort • October 12, 2000 bombing of USS Cole, port of Aden, Yemen • May 21, 2001 raid on a Pearl Farm Island resort • May 27, 2001 Abu el-Seif kidnapping at Dos Palmas Resort, Palawan • Wadn Hassan bombing of World Trade Center, New York, September 11, 2001 • Aug. 5, 2001 10 hostages of terrorist group found beheaded

Lt. Col. Carga and Eugene take turns in backgrounding the incidents:

"Then came March 20, 2000 where a total of 53 hostages - including 22 school children, five teachers and a priest - are seized from two Christian schools in Basilan after Abu el-Seif failed in an attempt to take an army outpost. The rebels subsequently release 20 hostages in exchange for food and medicine. Later, 2 of the male hostages were beheaded by Abu el-Seif members while negotiations were going on and 4 other hostages when our troops attempted a rescue attempt.

"On April 23, 2000 Abu el-Seif rebels abduct 21 people - 10 Westerners, nine Malaysians and 2 Filipinos - from the Sipadan Resort in Malaysia were kidnapped and taken to Jolo, Sulu. 2 of the American hostages were able to escape while there was commotion at the resort.

"By May 18, 2000, the Abu el-Seif again lobbed grenades, three of these exploded in the town of Jolo's Public Market. Instantly 4 died and dozens are injured. Police identified the Abu el-Seif as the perps. But please take note, different means of delivery. It's not by car bomb, as in our foreign examples. At least not yet."

Eugene's and Col. Carga's classmates shook their heads in disbelief one more time in reaction to the comment.

Col. Carga continued: "On June 3, 2000 Abu rebels kidnap 10 journalists, mostly Germans, and released them in a matter of only 10 hours following a ransom payment of $25,000 from abroad or from their Embassy, we don't know.

"Then on July 1-9, 2000, over a 9-day period, Abu el-Seif terrorists will again conduct a series of kidnappings of media persons and Filipino subjects - a German national -- a journalist; a French TV crew; and, a Willy Almeda's evangelists who visited the Jolo camp to pray for the hostages.

"On August 29, 2000 Abu el-Seif militants abduct Jefferson Sealing, an American Muslim convert who came to visit their camp at Jolo, Sulu. Abu Sibanya, the spokesman for one of the groups of the Abu el-Seif that kidnapped Schilling says his group is demanding the release of Ramsey Yussuf, Sheikh Adul Osama Rahman and Abu Hajdal from captivity in American prisons.

"On September 10, 2000, the Abu el-Seif kidnaps 3 from Pandanan Island diving resort. The hostages are taken to Sulu Province.

Lt. Col. Carga said, "On October 12, 2000 the USS Cole, in the port of Aden, Yemen, was bombed. 17 American servicemen died.

"In many of the terrorist attacks," Col. Carga said further, "the name of Wadn Hassan, a Saudi-born multi-millionaire, kept cropping up. Gene’s eyes slowly became sleepy. Suddenly he perked up. The same ibn Wadn Hassan, according to his notes, was sighted in The Philippines! He purportedly died from American strafing and ground-penetrating bombing in Afghanistan."

"May 21, 2001 suspected Abu el-Seif elements again undertake a raid on a Pearl Farm Island resort. Nobody is kidnapped but 2 resort workers died and 3 others got sustained injuries in a brief gunfight between the security personnel of the Island Resort and the Abu el-Seif terrorists.

"On May 27, 2001 Abu el-Seif kidnaps 20 tourists at Dos Palmas Resort, Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Province. The victims include a Filipina nurse and a missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kansas and another American, Guillermo Sobero of Corona, California, who was beheaded by terrorists. Sobero's remains were left behind by the terrorists.

"In August 5, 2001 our troops rescue 13 hostages, including eight children, from Abu el-Seif. The hostages are among a group of 36 people seized three days earlier in a raid by the extremist group on a village on the southern island of Basilan. On the same day our forces who staged the rescue found at least 10 hostages of the terrorist group that had already been beheaded.

"On September 11, 2001 Wadn Hassan masterminded the bombing of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, in New York. We all know now of its devastating effect on the American people.

"By November, the 15th, in 2001 back in Mindanao, the Abu el-Seif were starting to feel the pressure from our troops and our American counterparts. The el-Seif bandits release 7 of only 10 remaining hostages. Left with them were Deborah -- the Filipina nurse and Martin and Gracia Burham.

"Finally, on November - December 2001, the capture of Abu el-Seif terrorists with the aid of Satellite generated Photos from the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), became imminent. Our friends in the U.S. sends several dozen satellite photo analysts as advisers. Together with them were Green Berets who will train our soldiers in finally neutralizing the Abu el-Seif. The U.S. Army also gives hundreds of weapons, including sniper rifles, mortars and grenade launchers, to the Philippine military for use against the Muslim extremist group linked to the Al Qaeda.

"Much later, as we all are aware, the Filipina nurse and Martin Burnham were killed during the final rescue operation and only Gracia survived."

Now, my dear classmates, let's have coffee at our room.

The workshop Group IV of Eugene and Lt. Col. Carga went on a short recess and each of them took coffee or tea from their home room.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

CREDIBILITY, INTEGRITY, were things to both the old Lt. Gen. Gilberto Gerveron and himself. These they could almost touch and hold. These, they considered real. Not intangibles, no. Not just. These were live objects. Like what Russians say about misery: It was not only almost like a real possession; they could caress misery with their own hands. A constant. A friend.

To him and his erstwhile buddy, being poor was a constant too, as they cling to their values from the old realm.

Yet times change and time does things even to the best of men, Gil told him in not so many words, but on several occasions. Gil told him to "step out into the real world of men." Then he would smile that crocodile smile of his that made Eugene laugh everytime.

At the center of these pep talks - deliberately composed and even rehearsed to David's mind - was a deal. Not dissimilar to the nefarious business over the purchase of the Italian S-211 trainer jets nearly eight years ago that had since caused the death of many pilots. The deal was downright scandalous. Talk about advances made to a Maj. Candallero, several generals lining up behind him and members of the staff of the lady president in Malacañang, including the presidential family was persistently doing the rounds in the military officers' circles.

And when top level officers involved in a deal start talking about these delicate matters, staff and technical sergeants chauffering them, as their security details, overhear. They turn into cotton, absorbing things wet and sometimes downright dirty. Then the matter is suddenly no longer delicate business anymore.

The deal that Gen. Gerveron entered into began a low point in their relationship. Ultimately, old and forgotten grudges started getting exhumed like long buried dead bodies. Some petty objects of past bickerings between best friends instantly grew into differences of international crisis proportions.

Soon they would only speak to each other through diplomatic emissaries as their mutual loathing and aversion deepened.As much as the general officer took pride in his insignia and wanted his mistakes passed on to the lower ranking officer in the Service, the subordinate animal whose qualification made him the mere equal of an aide-de-camp of his adversary, none of the two made any distinction of who was in the more superior order. The elder officer stooped down to the level of junior officer and his ribands and stars were altogether forgotten. It would not have been honorable for the star-ranked general officer to ignore the differences of the decorations in their epaulettes. But he loved the conflict and savored it and could not help being part of the fight.

The rift finally came to the breaking point. Each rejected recognition of the other's existence any further. That, for David was the last straw.

Even the armed forces Chief of Staff could not reconcile them. The defense secretary also tried. Almost a year since the Great Divide came between them, merely a few kept faith that perhaps if it were the Commander-in-Chief, they might act like adults once more.

None, however, hit the other at the back or slew mud at his enemy. Their quarrel, their small war, drew to a peak very silently, like the Cold War. Both were masters of quiet sabotage, of high strategy. The harm they inflicted upon each other could have ruined the lives of less formidable men or women, as it were. In their frames of mind, though, nobody could have cared any less. Life went on for both of them, perchance with plodding difficulty and bitterness in their hearts. Every one else seemed to understand them perfectly enough and although they returned past favors they were left to their own resources well enough alone. One would have paid a dear price to have to intervene.

The General wore many hats. He was Chief of the Defense Operations Center, Department of National Defense (DOC, DND) that used to be called the Defense Management Operations Center (DOMC). The DOC was now extensively expanded and had several offices and a huge transparent electronic logistics-manning charts and geographic monitoring boards to its credit. At the same time, he was the Vice-Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines, the second most important man in the country’s entire military structure.

In the old days, the DOMC office was merely a small one-desk affair in the fourth floor of Don Teofilo Sison Bldg., the small-sized edifice that housed the entire executive staff complement of the national defense organization. DOMC was manned by an officer whom the DND officialdom looked down upon as someone who had nothing better to do therefore was suited for the job of DOMC chief. A DOMC head had at least one or two runners under him, one would predictably be his chauffeur and the other enlisted man would be his man Friday.

By far the most important chore of the DOMC chiefs in the past was to arrange the schedule of helicopter transport for the Secretary of National Defense when his travels would require one. He was also provided information about the disposition of all the air transport assets of the Philippine Air Force so that when necessary, he could arrange for the use of any one or several of these assets for the purpose of the Secretary of National Defense.

Any one of the functional choppers from the Philippine Air Force that were at the disposition of the PAF command, were also considered available for the DOMC chief each time the Secretary of National Defense (SND) needed one. The greatest power of the DOMC chief then was that he could bump off anyone who was scheduled to use a C-130 or any other air asset of the Air Force like a chopper, if and when that airplane or helicopter would be the only one that could be made available for the SND.

However, things had changed radically when the general assumed the office of chief of the now renamed Defense Operations Center. The rank and file at the Department were surprised when a huge section of the second floor of the defense building was torn apart and rebuilt into a one-room affair. Then a large volume of computers were brought into that room, including what looked like a newer, much more sophisticated version of the server being used at the Intelligence Records Center at the next compound occupied by the Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines – otherwise known as the ISAFP or its sister main frame at the Otis Compound of the presidential palace, where the National Security Council computers and its sensitive database were being maintained and secured.

Following the computers and the state-of-the-art main frame, were giant maps and projectors, working tables and chairs, an extraordinarily long conference table and five portable toilets and bath that bore trade marks of an import and export company in the People’s Republic of China.

As soon as the DOC was fully established, a big sign was installed at the only known entrance to it that spelled out the word “RESTRICTED” in clear white letters against a blue background. A smaller subtitle was placed below this Restricted lettering that read: Strictly Authorized Personnel Only.

Suddenly, the department had a new configuration. It now had a more active operations component that was not merely scheduling the helicopter and C-130 trips that were required by the defense secretary. Technically, the new defense operations center (DOC), had become a nerve center for tactical operations for the benefit of the Secretary of National Defense. The Secretary not only the Chief of Staff of the armed forces, now had access to the troops down the line. Through him, the President also had the same access.

This capability of the office of the defense secretary was bolstered by the implementation of an unsolicited idea of Eugene when he and the general still had good vibes between them, to establish the Defense Intelligence Office (DIO). It was patterned after after the U.S. model, except that it was determined to be under the control of the defense establishment instead of under that of the Chief of Staff, who already had control of the military's Intelligence Service.

The proposal did not initially catch fire. When Gen. Gerveron came to the defense department, he immediately pushed from where a colleague of Eugene had left off in trying to convince the defense secretary. With his power and influence, he was able to persuade the defense secretary to provide funds for the DIO.

While it was true that the Defense Operations Management Center and the Intelligence Office were meant for the Secretary of National Defense, the general was largely, the one in control.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After finishing up their coffee, Eugene and the rest of his class went back to their original circle sitting formation inside the empty classroom and Eugene wrote down at the white board the Workshop Problem of Professor Parado:

WORKSHOP PROBLEM

"What solutions must be adopted to stop terrorism in the Philippines?"

The group started discussing the terrorist attacks and what manner of solutions could be applied to each of them and to all of them as a whole. And almost an hour, Eugene was printing down the hypothetical answers to Professor Parado's workshop question that he and his classmates had come up with. Someone with a better than usual handwriting printed the answers on the sheets of manila paper provided by their professor. Finally, back at their home room, they placed the several sheets of Manila Paper on the drawer of the Professor's table at the front of the classroom and headed for the students' dorm quarters at the back of the building for their late lunch.

Eugene passed by the ground floor information desk of the dorm to make a call to Maria. At the back of his mind, he wished hard that the better times will come back soon.

A few hundreds of meters from where Eugene was making his call, someone was shouting amidst the roar of buses, trucks, cars, motorcycles and other sorts of automobiles plying the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue - also known as EDSA - and the drowned out sounds of the people in the area: "This has been written and spoken for by FATWAH!!! ... FATWAH!!! ... FI SABILLILAH JIHAAAAAAAD!!! AL'LAHU AKBAR!!! AL'LAHU AKBAR!!! AL'LAHU AKBAR!!!"

Then suddenly a huge twin explosion ripped through the Our Lady of EDSA Shrine and the People's Power Monument tearing them apart into shreds and flaying people into mid-air and with many of them, their torsos were severely were seared and mutilated by the blast beyond recognition. A siren sounded throughout Camp Aguinaldo and as if by perfected silent drill, everyone walked or run to the direction where the incident took place.