"WE HAVE to appreciate the CPP, NPA and NDF (National Democratic Front) for being consistent and sticking it out with their principles," he says. "They have definite aims, unlike the government…Even our political parties here are not groups of people with the same ideals."

	RAYMUNDO JARQUE Photo by Lilen Uy

Jarque, though, says that while he shares the communists' positions along the lines of social justice and the economy, he hasn't completely embraced their ideology. He also wants to correct the media reports that his flight to the NPA was a "defection." At the time, he argues, he was already retired. Had he been still in the active service, his act would have constituted a crime of treason for which he could have been court-martialed.

Today Jarque is a free man because his case was taken up by the government peace panel negotiating with the communists. The ex-general asked only that he be given a fair trial and was allowed to return to normal life. The rebels, in turn, allowed him to go freely.

Up to now, Jarque is a maverick, remaining in touch with his communist friends while securing a government corporation. In 1998, Jarque's own son, Rene, an army captain, followed a similar path when he opted to leave the military after finding it futile to advocate for reforms from within. Authorities certainly didn't seem interested in addressing the issue, not even after the media kept uncovering one questionable military deal after another. It took until 2004, and only after the wife of AFP comptroller Gen. Carlos Garcia boasted to U.S. officials how her husband's "privileges" allowed their family to accumulate wealth, for authorities to finally stir into action. And seemingly, just on that one case.

Long after Marcos has gone, the military remains mired in corruption and partisan politics. If the AFP continues to uphold and defend the constitution, it is seen more in defense of the status quo. Most generals, after all, owe their position to Arroyo, who has taken off where Marcos had left, buying their loyalty with promotions and perks to ensure her own political survival in the face of corruption scandals and the crisis of legitimacy over her election victory in 2004.

Jarque says there ought to be a way to lessen the power of politicians to appoint people to the top positions in the AFP, and in influencing the choice of commanders in both the military and the police. "Anyway, there's a board of officers to determine fitness and seniority," he says. "At the very least, the role of our political leaders should only be ministerial."

But it is on the shoulders of the country's political leaders that Jarque places most of the blame for the failure to exploit the gains of Edsa 1 for the benefit of the majority. "We returned to democracy," he says, "but the practices are undemocratic."

By 2005, all eight cases filed against Jarque had either been dismissed or won by him. His trust in the justice system has been restored. He also believes that most Filipinos still accept democracy as a way of life. But with damaged institutions and tainted processes, he thinks a more radical but enlightened kind of leadership is what the country needs at this time, one he is certain that a desperate people would only be too willing to take chances on. — Alecks P. Pabico