u/Cold_Wind_6189

So for those who are familiar with my posts before, I separated from service sa Army last 2023 as an O3 (captain).

So last night our retired group commander who lived in the province messaged us that he will be in the city to process some post-retirement documents. Timing din na it was tgif so why not?

So we reached out to the other officers who are in the area if available sila. And we went to our usual tambayan before, a bar/grilled barbecue place that is near a police regional office. It was one of our go to places because even though it was on a landlocked and semi-mountainous area, they sell some of the biggest talaba ever 😂

So during dinner/inuman, it was our retired group commander (lieutenant colonel), a major (nasa sebisyo pa), ako (separated from service, and two captains (they were both lieutenants when I was in the service pa, and active pa rin).

Naturally, nakaabot ang usapan sa current security and political situation sa Pinas. And of course Chinese domestic operations ang pinag-usapan namin.

To those that are still in service, they shared (in general terms) of the current situation. How difficult it is to unravel the damage done since 2016. So lahat yan na discuss, from WPS, to political influence, POGO, and finally drugs from Chinese drug syndicates in Davao.

The major who was at this time (around 10pm) kinda tipsy na din, said in a loud voice "Eh ano magagawa natin kasi ang pinakamalaking criminal na sindicato sa Pilipinas ay mga Duterte!"

Out of the corner of my eye behind the major and our GC, is another table with another 5 or 6 guys drinking. And based on what they are wearing and their bearing, (polo shirts, crew cut hair, Merrell shoess, sling bags) they are policemen from the regional office not far from us. (Trust me, if matagal ka na sa serbisyo, lalo sa intelligence side, you can easily smell out mga kapwa tropa niyo kahit naka civilian attire haha).

So yun nga, when the major said it out loud, lumingon yung mga ibang pulis sa kabila. I quickly said, "uy sir, careful mga pulis ata yan sa likod niyo, baka magagalit na minumura mo idol nila."

He then said, "Wala akong pake! Parinig mo sa kanila na drug lord ang poon nila." Si GC tumawa, yung dalawang captains napa facepalm na lang habang tumatawa din. But I saw two of them look back again at our table, then said something to their group. And several more of them looked back at our table. Since nakatalikod si GC at si major, hindi nila makita pero ako at ang dalawang captains sa tabi ko kitang kita talaga na mejo papalag yung mga sa kabilang table. 

Yung isa biglang tumayo and we assumed pupunta sa table namin to confront us, pero yung isa bigla siyang hinatak na umupo ulit. Probably to tell him to let it go. 

Sabi ko kay major, "Uy sir dahan lang, kung magkagulo dito always remember sila may hawak sa crime scene" hahaha.

Thankfully everyone went home without a brawl happening pero bwisit talaga si major muntik na kami napahamak 😆 lalo na silang tatlo na nasa serbisyo pa rin haha.

I hope yung mga pulis na yun walang Reddit, otherwise malaman nila na I posted last night's near incident haha

Last night was one of the most manic monday's in our country's turbulent history.

When I was in the AFP we rarely interact or had joint operations with the NBI. Usually their agents I met are those during inter-agency meetings. But I did get to know one of them fairly close. Frank was one of them.

So during the Senate fiasco let me add some of the details behind the scenes. First there was already an ICC warrant for Bato as early as last week. However, the administration decided to let the DOJ/NBI take the lead, whereas if DILG/PNP there may be complications, particularly the PMA mistah system that may protect Bato should the police take lead on this. Ideally, with the Senate building so large it would have been the PNP, where SILG Remullah boasted of having a 10,000 strong PNP to hunt down Bato.

But due to the complexity, the tasked fell to the NBI and the less than 100 agents they deployed to arrest him. As early as 11am NBI agents are already prepositioned outside the Senate.

Around 1pm or so Bato arrived for the Senate coup. NBI agents tried to strong arm him but managed to force his way through. Frank was one of those assigned for perimeter security outside the Senate, while 70% of their agents went inside to arrest Bato.

After the coup, Bato fled which led to a chase around the Senate building which led to Marcoleta granting him Senate protection. It escalated into a heated confrontation between the NBI and Senate Security (SS). Newly voted Senate President Cayetano then emboldened the SS to put the building in lockdown and detain all NBI agents. The problem? The outnumbered NBI agents inside are only armed with pistols, the remaining 30% fully armed NBI agents are outside the perimeter, and cannot go inside to assist their colleagues due to the confrontation outside with the other SS personnel at the entrances.

There were already concerns that the PNP or Marines may arrive soon to assist the Senate Security and outmaneuver the NBI.

A police force did arrive. A mix of anti-riot police and a few SWAT personnel.

Around 5PM Frank updated me that most of their people are trapped inside. Their bosses are trying to negotiate with the Senators to allow the arrest of Bato. I implored him that the NBI should not give up. That democracy hangs in the balance. That many people are counting on them, to give them this small win.

Around 5:30PM DDS protesters have already gathered outside and are starting to heckle them. By 7pm the DDS numbers have increased. The negotiations outside still continued. Lovely Granada of La Verite was also there to cover the development outside the Senate grounds. When the DDS crowd saw her, they started to violently intimidate her, forunately some SWAT personnel managed to block them and escorted her back to her vehicle.

By 10:30PM the devastating message from Frank reached me. "Sir nag pullout na kami." No Bato. Minutes later the message was confirmed by mainstream media reporting that the Senate will not be turning Bato over. The NBI stated there will be no arrest.

Even when the NBI convoy pulled out, they were having difficulty as the DDS crowd was everywhere. Until now the NBI still has no plan of action. Malacanang is silent.

Is the future really bleak?