I
DO NOT DISCOUNT the prospect of an invasion by troops of the People’s
Republic of China to our shores in the future caused by our country’s
defiant stance against them on their claims of the whole of the
Spratly Islands Archipelago and on Scarborough Shoal. I never trust
this Asian neighbor, who had never abandoned socialism despite
enjoying economic windfall by embracing capitalism. It had
demonstrated its assertiveness against other nations that have
conflicting claims with them like India, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam and
Indonesia.
The
last time we were invaded by an Asian power was in World War II.
Although not our conflict, the Americans stood by us and fought with
us against the military might of the Japanese Empire because they
were here and we were their territory then. We were prepared at that
time, as the Americans took care of the early warning systems, war
materiel, logistics, troops, air support and firepower but, still, we
and the Americans lost at Bataan.
The
Americans are not around anymore and the Armed Forces of the
Philippines is a puny force compared to the People’s Liberation
Army. We could not stand toe-to-toe against the Chinese in more than
two days of conventional warfare. We do not have a strong navy and
our air defense is full of air with no force. Our best war assets
are our ground troops which is still the most experienced in Asia but
that is just all about it. We will be facing a million-strong army,
come to think of that. An elephant against a shrew.
We
cannot rely on that Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951 with the Americans
as they themselves are an economic slave of the Chinese. The PROC
owns majority of stocks of the big banks in the US of which the US
government has outstanding debts. When these banks freezes funds
belonging to the US government, defense and federal spending would be
a very big problem for them. It is best that Filipinos should rely
only among themselves.
Conflicts
would bring out the best in us Filipinos but we do not hope and pray
that it will come to our shores. When the Americans came to colonize
our country after the Spanish-American War of 1898, they found the
Filipinos already united and enjoying the euphoria of helping to end
the 333-year Spanish occupation. The American forces did not expect
to be held off by hundreds of bolo-and-stick-wielding Filipino
warriors in savage jungle warfare and changed their tactics to
subjugate the natives.
When
the Japanese came, they swallowed more than what they could chew.
Filipinos who survived Bataan and Corregidor, withdrew or escaped and
regrouped, formed small units and employed guerrilla tactics on the
invaders. It is not a secret that the beginning of the defeat of the
Japanese campaign in the Pacific War Theatre started right here in
Cebu with the recovery of their War Plan Z. The native blades made
the Filipinos lethal but possession and mastery of the firearms
increased their lethality.
Because
of the Chinese threat, I shed off my liberal tendencies and my
advocacy of a gunless society by teaching people about Gun Safety and
Firearms Proficiency Training starting in 2010. My skills in
firearms are just average but I have a wealth of unconventional
training and experience which cannot be taught to civilians. I teach
what is only prescribed at their level. Just the basic stuff.
I
have a handful of people with me on this oppressively hot day of
November 23, 2014. I am leading the Apurado family, father Jonathan
and sons Justin and Jon Daniel, up a trail to an undisclosed firing
range in the south of Cebu. Some of the participants that are not
with us may have arrived at the designated area since they rode in a
private vehicle driven by Jerome Tibon. They are Nelson Orozco,
Dominic Sepe and the couple Mark and Marisol Lepon.
Me,
together with the Apurados, opt to ride a bus and so we walked. I
could have ridden that car since I am the organizer and, believe me,
when you are organizing this kind of activity, you get to earn a good
income, as I have done so for other people. I could have packaged
this as a group or I could price it individually. It depends. But I
choose to give it for free. I am a little bit crazy. Perhaps, but I
am not a creature of greed. And I do not like the behaviour of
China.
Glenn
Pestaño had scouted the range a day ahead of us and may have had
prepared the most important tool for this occasion: a handgun that
could fire caliber .22 bullets. Yes, I insisted on a low-powered
ammunition since this will be done under the radar. The higher the
caliber, the noisier it gets. With a caliber .22 LR ammo, people
would take it as a pre-Christmas reverie of exploding firecrackers,
as was, and is, practiced in the Philippines. Besides that, caliber
.22 LR ammo are cheap and firing is a very expensive activity, is it
not?
Me
and the Apurados arrive at the site. Glenn met us and there is no
sign of the people riding in the car. It is almost 10:00. Why are
they delayed? They should have been here hours ahead of us since we
commuted and walked. I could have started any minute now if the
others would have been already here or earlier if some people would
have been punctual. After a long wait – at around 10:45 – they
arrive. Someone who did not arrive at the assembly area preferred to
be whisked from his home and delayed the car further when this
someone was unprepared.
I
do not like people taking hostage of my itinerary. The ETD says
06:00 but some people do not take this seriously despite being
contacted by mobile phone – a wondrous gadget that is supposed to
give you instant messages and replies in real time. I kept my cool
and marked this day where my patience is strained and promised myself
to leave people behind if they failed to come on time on the next
activity. No more time extensions. No more superstar attitudes.
Anyway,
we all decide to boil water and drink coffee first before I start the
lecture on Gun Safety. A few individuals may have taken this same
seminar but I inform them that it is best to be refreshed and learn a
different interpretation from another to broaden their knowledge.
For the first timers, it is a personal adventure. This is the same
program of instructions when I started teaching people again how and
it come as follows:
GUN
ETIQUETTE AND SAFETY. FIREARM TERMS. KINDS OF FIREARMS.
GUN
CONTROL LAWS. AGENCIES TASKED TO ENFORCE GUN-CONTROL LAWS.
DOMINANT
EYE PRINCIPLE. DIFFERENT STANCES. SIGHTING TECHNIQUES.
SQUEEZING
TECHNIQUES. BREATHING TECHNIQUES. FIRING RANGE SAFETY
After
the first part of the lecture is finished, the cooking fire is
quickly resuscitated. The big pot for the rice is immediately hanged
from a tripod as a frying pan quickly appear to start the cooking of
the chicken adobo. Another fire is made and a trio of stones are
produced to accommodate the frying pan. One more fire is made to
make embers while a thick-gauge GI wire is foraged and converted into
an impromptu iron grill. This would accommodate a yellow fin tuna
which Jerome bought at a Carcar market.
The
last viand to get cooked is the mussel soup. We take our
well-prepared hot meal at 13:30. In a matter of minutes we will
start the firing practicals. Glenn had produced a French-made
caliber .22 LR semi-auto pistol that had seen better days. Magazine
release is located at the heel of the grip. The safety button
doubles as a slide stop if you just twist it 180 degrees. The slide
design shows an exposed barrel. It is an old gun and I suspect
mechanical parts may cause malfunctions.
We
transfer to a new location where the backyard firing range is
located. It is underneath a copse of mangoes, the ground leveled.
The excess earth are used as a bullet dampener. It is about six feet
high and six feet wide. Two bamboo poles are planted on the front
and is now securing the classical target cardboard. Meanwhile, I
provided an eye protector and an ear muff as safety gears. I will be
supervising the firers one by one as they take their turn.
Twenty-five
rounds are allocated to each firer who would shoot the target on four
different positions at 10 meters like Standing Strong Hand, Kneeling,
Seating and Prone and another at 5 meters for Standing Weak Hand.
Those who provided themselves ammunition were able to fire. After
the smoke had settled, Justin spread 17 aces out of 25 tries and
topped the shoot-out with 97 points. Mark came next with 92 points,
Glenn at 80 points, Jonathan with 47 points and Jon Daniel with 37
points. Nelson and Marisol got tied at 24 points but Nelson got the
sixth spot for hitting 3 aces to Marisol’s one.
We
leave at 16:30 for the lowlands. The Apurados, and me will walk the
path were we had taken in the morning while the rest will ride the
car. My group, now joined by Glenn, reach the highway at 17:45 and
we wait for a bus that would accommodate us which is rare. We were
able to catch one but we stood along the aisle from here to Cebu
City. I am able to sit down at the vicinity of Basak but it was a
very welcome rest, nonetheless. The one who delayed the activity, on
the other hand, is very comfortable on a seamless car ride.
The
firearms training had exposed the participants to the standards of
proper gun safety and lessened their anxiety about guns through
firing familiarization and adjustment to the initial shock of an
explosion and a recoil. This is just a simple training but it had
opened to the participants a good understanding of a firearm that
would lead to a safer environment. One more thing, the Camp Red
Bushcraft and Survival Guild is not a militia organization and I am
not organizing a local militia unit. Against the PROC? Why not?
Document
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