Marine chief says bribery issue affecting soldiers

Philippine Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino admitted on Tuesday that soldiers are now being affected by the reported bribery of congressmen and local government executives amid controversies surrounding the impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Dolorfino made this admission even as he said that the bribery issue is going to be a likely source of dissatisfaction among soldiers. “In one way or another, we are affected but our professionalism should reign over our respective personal and political interests," Dolorfino said after he formally opened a bilateral exercise between Filipino and American soldiers at the Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio. Dolorfino warned soldiers against taking sides on the controversy. He noted that during rounds, he has been telling the officers and men of the Marine Corps that they should be “apolitical at all times." “We should be neutral because we are the only institution that is entrusted by the society to maintain peace and order. We are like solid wall. If the are other groups who will sow violence in our country, there is an organization where they can lay their trust to maintain peace and order," said Dolorfino. “If the Armed Forces join, there is no other group that will benefit from it but the enemies of the state, the CPP/NPA, the rebel groups, the terrorist groups, the organized crime groups. And it’s not far-fetched, there is going to be civil war if the Armed Forces of the Philippines will be involved," he added. The Arroyo administration has survived two major coup attempts since 2001 – including the Oakwood mutiny in 2004 and the February 2006 failed power grab. - GMANews.TV