20 QUESTIONS
GRINGO HONASAN
By Mikhail Lecaros
Photography by Jervy Santiago
1. PLAYBOY: What do you wish people knew about you?
HONASAN: Well, the fact that I’m human! I’m just an ordinary person thrust into a temporary job, and
12 million Filipinos have decided through the ballot that I must speak for them here, and make laws.
Okay, that’s one. Second, I’m not as... I don’t have the violent tendencies that media have pictured me
to have. I still suffer from---well, since 1986---the loss of my anonymity. I’m just a former soldier, a
former rebel, a former peace advocate, and now (I’m) a senator in my 11th year, trying to serve our
country to the best of my ability for the future of my children and grandchild.
2. PLAYBOY: Your ability to inspire loyalty is legend. Where does this come from?
HONASAN: Apparently, I have been thrust into this position of prominence---or notoriety, depending on
how you look at it---because of circumstances. I lost my anonymity in the People Power Revolution of
1986. I was about 38 years old, and we just decided that enough was enough; our people deserved
better, in terms of good government, and that requires unity and reform. That is a dream that has kept
the fires in my heart and in my mind burning. Whether I deserve this position of leadership or not, it’s
just a consequence of how I have treated other human beings---and not necessarily my subordinates or
officemates---by the same measure of how I want to be treated, as well as my family, my loved ones and
my friends to be treated. It’s the law of nature, you get exactly what you give, and of course, you cannot
give something you do not have.
3. PLAYBOY: How difficult a choice was it to make, deciding to stand up to the Marcos
administration?
HONASAN: Well, when you make that decision, it’s what you call the crossover point. You decide the
price you are willing to pay for what you want for your country. But it was not a very difficult decision,
since I was a soldier. You know, the job description of soldiers is, you must be willing to die, or to do
what is necessary, including take another human being’s life in the performance of duty. Once you come
to terms with that, everything is easy. My family accepts that, or rather, accepted that as a matter of
fact, but what made it extraordinary was the fact that we went outside our barracks. I was a soldier, I
was supposed to follow orders without question! But when you feel what the people feel at a grassroots
level---because I got exposed to the population’s suffering, their dreams, their aspirations, it’s different.
The fact that they became unwitting victims, when in fact they should have been beneficiaries of good
government, I began to realize that no matter how hard we tried to reform ourselves from within
(shrugs).
Reform was incorporated into the so-called RAM, the Reform the Armed Forces Movement. In fact,
REFORM itself was an acronym Restore Ethics, Free-mindedness, Order, Righteousness and Morals. We
tried to perform surgery on ourselves, we communicated to our superiors, to no avail, until we realized,
painfully, that a reformed armed forces---an armed forces that is trusted by the people---is only a
consequence of the government and society that we serve. So we decided to go for the jugular. We
planned an operation to attack Malacanang, and of course the rest is history. People Power happened,
and it became a peaceful revolution, state of the art. In fact, it was emulated all over the world, so we’re
very proud of that. Now, my role, depending on how you look at it, became more prominent, because I
was identified with then-Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, and of course former President Fidel Ramos. The
drama actually, is not in the action, but in the moral dilemma you have to resolve when you decide to go
for it. Can you imagine, me with 30 men, assaulting Malacanang Palace, which is defended by at least
2000 people? But since I had been trained in the Special Forces, in the rangers, and by other experts in
other countries, along with my men, we had a very high level of confidence that we could accomplish
that mission and breach the defenses of the Palace, capture or take control of its occupants (the then-
President and his family) and present them to our people for judgment. That’s how we operated against
very overwhelming odds. Now, we said that even if we died in the process, it would have been worth it
becaue we would have shown our countrymen and the world, with our dead bodies as exhibits, that
inside the Philippine Armed Forces during that time, there were still some decent and professional
elements.
This came about after years of awakening and self-examination and coming to terms with what we
inevitably had to do. We did not do it to grab power, as was described by those who choose to rewrite
history. But there’s a rule in media: “In any argument, whoever can write has the last say,” (That’s why
I’m supporting the Right to Reply bill, but that’s a side issue). It was a cumulative effect. We used to go
to barangays, and we’d run after the armed components of any underground or illegal ideologies and
promise the barangay captain that after we had neutralized the so-called enemies of the state or
captured them, after we had cleared the area, we would report to our headquarters then make paalam
to the barangay captain or the mayor with the promise that, “Don’t worry, we will leave, wala na yung
armadang grupo,” and then, “Don’t worry, because the other government agencies will come in and
help you develop your barangay or municipality,” only to return to the same localities years after
without any improvements! So we turned out to be liars, because in those areas, we represented
national government. We realized we had to intervene, so we did it step by step. We formed a reform
movement, something that was unheard of in a traditional, western-oriented armed forces, but of
course, we were younger then! Figuratively, we thought of ourselves as shockproof, bulletproof, water-
resistant, anti-magnetic… That was the kind of confidence and sense of mission that we had during
those years, as I can imagine some of our younger officers have now.
4. PLAYBOY: You mention that those were your sentiments in 1986, but what about your
subsequent coup attempts in 1987 and 1989?
HONASAN: Well, they call these coup attempts, but these are just continuations of what we tried to do
in 1986, since we did not get good government. I will admit to you, to a certain extent, that we were
more impatient then, but considering the fact that, not only People Power, but the group I was a part of,
risked everything: our lives, or families, our careers. We did not want this to go to waste. In 1986, had
that plan pushed through to assault Malacanang, we imagined that we would have suffered at least a
60-percent casualty rate, but the problem was that God spared us from death. So there’s another
problem---we had to pursue what we originally set out to do, and that was the reason for the uprisings.
Of course, they call them “coup attempts” (now) because they (the media) think---they wrote---that it
was a naked grab for power. No, we never wanted to install ourselves. In fact, we wanted a national
unification council comprised mostly of civilians and credible civilians from the entire political and
ideological spectrum. So ’88 and ’89 were just continuations of what we started in 86. I do not offer any
excuses. Now, you might want to ask the question, “What about the people who died?” In 1987, 150
people died, and in 1989, 300 died. Okay, so let’s talk about justice. Why did we not hold the Secretary
of Environment and Natural Resources accountable for the flash floods in Ormoc after he allowed the
denudation of the forest? That killed 8000 people in two hours. Who assumes responsibility for the lives
lost, the jobs lost, the families---especially the children---who died from malnutrition after the series of
brownouts during that administration after the Marcos administration in the late ‘80s? Who assumes
responsibility for that? So if we are to be punished for the so-called loss of lives---which we regretted
very much---then, for the sake of consistent application of justice, we want the others to be lined up
with us and also be held accountable. Since that did not happen, then no way! I will not be the whipping
boy for the generic incompetence, inefficiency and vindictiveness of the administration that succeeded
President Marcos. That I cannot help, because that is their thinking up to now.
5. PLAYBOY: Does it get awkward when you bump into Cory Aquino these days?
HONASSAN: No, no. You know, I believe that when you become a senator, and at my age---I’m a senior
citizen now, I’m 60 years old, about to be 61---we must be bigger than these little issues that are the
consequences of little minds and little hearts. We must learn to be compassionate, to forgive if
warranted, and to move forward for the sake of our people. Now, if others cannot do that, that is not
my problem.
6. PLAYBOY: Tell us about the hazards and injuries you’ve sustained over the years, both in combat
and in the underground. For instance, how did you lose your finger?
HONASSAN: I nearly got captured when I was in the underground. I went over a fence that had bottle
fragments and barbed wire. My wedding ring got caught, and I jumped to the other side. My wedding
ring and half of my finger remained on the fence. I had to (retrieve it), even if there was hot pursuit. I
would rather face the interrogation of the law enforcement agencies than face my wife and tell her I lost
my wedding ring. So I had to look for my finger, and it’s now with the trauma surgeon who attended to
me, and I recovered my wedding ring. Priorities! Ha Ha! It’s important for us to know what things in life
are important. And then, of course, I had a bullet wound in 1973 during the Mindanao wars, I have
grenade shrapnel wounds, I have injuries in my feet, but all (the injuries) are in the name of the
continuing struggle for a better country. I have never been run over by a tricycle or a jeepney---I don’t
know if I should be proud of that.
7. PLAYBOY: How does one stay underground as long as you have been able to in the past?
HONASAN: Well, you only get doses of sunlight and vitamin D only when the situation warrants. Since
you can’t get sunlight at night, the specifications of your temporary safehouse would have to be
configured to that effect. I had to go through many changes in appearance, but your best weapon when
you’re underground is your anonymity. Well-- I’m not offering unsolicited advice to fugitives--anonymity
is also the cardinal rule in VIP protection and security, which was once part of my job. Anonymity is your
best weapon. I would lie down in coffins, I would be wearing ladies’ clothes, I’d be riding motorcycles
with a helmet on, things like that.
8. PLAYBOY: We noticed your fish tank in the front office. What can you tell us about the pet
piranhas you had back in the day?
HONASAN: I don’t have them anymore, you know, it was a novelty. Piranhas have this reputation for
being carnivorous, so it caught my interest. But I actually developed that interest from a friend who
showed me his tank full (of piranhas). After realizing that this was illegal, I decided to properly dispose of
them; it was just a novelty. The same is true with the so-called python I used to wrap around my neck,
and how I went skydiving with it. These are the stuff that the media feed on. How can you put a python
around your neck and jump, skydive with it? I used to put a small python in my pocket during my special
forces days; just for company. It has no practical value, it’s in your pocket, sleeping… no value, it can’t
even guard you! But it’s nice to play around with it! Of course, when I shared this with some of my
friends in the presence of media, they blew it out of proportion and developed stories around it.
9. PLAYBOY: When you ran for senator, did you see it as a continuation of your quest for good
government?
HONASAN: The group I belonged to, the Reformed Arm Forces Movement (RAM)---which has now
evolved into the Revolutionary Alyansang Makabansa, a broader based revolutionary movement---
decided “Let’s try the parliamentary struggle,” pushing for the same reforms, but using a different
methodology, which laces you on what I believe is higher moral ground. All things being equal, I believe
the best way for change, for reform, would still be the peaceful, legal and constitutional means. But
then, I go back to my earlier years, and my thinking then: I’m only a soldier. The tools at my disposal…
I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t have the law (an intricate knowledge of the law) in my arsenal, and I’m not a
businessman. I’m a soldier. I am trained in the management of violence. Maybe that accounts for the
impatience, the canalized, structured way of thinking of how to push reforms, but you learn, and you
continue learning. Now, as I was exposed to a broader sector of our society, including policy level, we
decided then that we couldn’t continue trying to overthrow the government. Let’s try doing it the
slower way, but the correct way. That’s how I got into politics.
In fact, modesty aside, I became the first truly independent senator in Philippine history to win a
national election. To this day, as we speak, I did not only do it once or twice, and this is my eleventh year
as a senator, and we’re proud of that.
10. PLAYBOY: After 11 years, do you feel you’ve made a difference?
HONASAN: Well, the judge of that will be the people, and of course, God. I will just continue to work
hard, given the best lights and abilities that God has given me, and the continued trust of the people,
because as you remember, this last election, I came from detention. In a ninety-day period, I was given
three weeks to campaign. You know, Philippine politics is interesting, it’s personality-oriented.
Interesting, funny at times, exasperating most of the time. But, that’s democracy! According to Winston
Churchill, “Democracy is the worst form of government, with the exception of others that have been
tried before,” so until we develop or discover a better system, a better strain of democracy, we have to
live with this. Ironically, after being given only three weeks, and relying on my family and friends, I
landed at number ten, spending only a fraction of what the other candidates spent. That is not a tribute
to my abilities as a candidate, or even as a public servant, former soldier or a former rebel. This is a
tribute to the maturity of our people, and a testament to their continued search for alternative leaders.
I’m proud of that.
When I say I have faith in our people, I mean our collective capacity to move this country forward to
where it belongs. This is such a beautiful country. We are such good people, and we are considered
geniuses as we are scattered (10 million Filipinos in 200 countries all over the world), I cannot disregard
that. I have faith in the Filipino people and I have faith in the Filipino youth. Included in that description,
that definition, are my own children and my grandchild, so how can I lose hope, even for their sake? The
only things I really have to manage nowadays are my energies. All of a sudden, it’s as if all my past
experiences, good and bad converged on one point in time, and that’s where I am now. So sometimes, I
just want to sleep, but I can’t! I just want to, you know, take it easy, watch television, have a good time
with my family, go out with my friends who are still alive, but I cannot, because I still have a long way to
go.
11. PLAYBOY: Prior to the last senatorial election, you were in detention for your alleged role in the
2003 Oakwood mutiny. How did you come to be associated with that mutiny?
HONASAN: Well, I had this national recovery program, something I started to put into writing (I consider
it a work in progress). I did not want it to be something original. I consulted with experts, young people,
old people, middle-aged people to contribute to that. So necessarily, I had to meet with young officers---
being a young officer once myself---to ask for their input. Apparently, this was given the wrong partisan
color and meaning, which warranted my inclusion in the list of so-called destabilizers. But events have
vindicated me; I was first released on bail, and eventually the case was dismissed, and I was acquitted.
12. PLAYBOY: Can you tell us about your consistent ability to escape incarceration?
HONASAN: Well, I guess it’s a function of, first, your inherent energies---spiritual, mental, physical
energies---at the point in time. The first time I was detained, because I was from the army, the
authorities decided to detain me in the navy, on a ship floating in Manila Bay, guarded by two SEAL
teams. What they forgot, apparently, among Special Forces operators, we do not recognize inter-service
boundaries. If you’re a Ranger; if you’re Special Forces; if you’re Airborne; if you’re a SEAL; you share a
common bond. I simply told the SEAL team commander (when I was planning to escape) that whatever
the consequences were---I asked him for a meeting---I told him, “You have three choices, because I’m
planning to rejoin the struggle. You can shoot me, and I will not take it against you. That is your duty,
and those are the orders you have been given. Second, you can let me go. You might be court-martialed
for dereliction of duty, you will go through a period of difficulty, but I think you will survive that. The
third option is you join me. No guarantees, it’s going to be a hard life, we might lose our lives, we might
lose our freedom… But it will be worth it.” They decided to join me, and then I went underground.
But even before that, I was underground for about seven years; we were always the favorite names to
be included in the shortlist of targets or destabilizers. These were times when the political situation was
really heightened, and the rule was, if you’re not with me, you’re against me! And that list, that
judgment was not even based on evidence, but I don’t hold anybody responsible for that. We went
underground again before the last election, I won again, and then things started happening; Oakwood
happened, there was a withdrawal of support, so many events! There was activity in the streets, mostly
initiated by the opposition with the intention to remove, through People Power, the sitting president,
and then I got captured. I spent around five to six months in detention in Sta. Rosa before the political
leadership decided I must be allowed a fair trial. I went through the process, and I was acquitted, and
here we are (laughs). So from the darkness to the light!
13. PLAYBOY: There was controversy with regard to your voting not to open the second envelope at
President Estrada’s impeachment trial. May I ask what prompted that decision on your part?
HONASAN: Of course, that was when the Senate was converted into an impeachment court. I have been
the object of criticism and unwarranted attack for operating outside the Constitution, outside the rules.
The opening of the second envelope violated the rules of that court, but how was I to know that the trial
would be brought to the streets? Here I was, a reformed and rehabilitated rebel trying to be guided by
what I considered the rules of the court, following the rules and voting according to the rules not to
open the second envelope. I paid the political price for that. In fact, I was the only survivor of the
election after. I did it out of principle because I decided, “Okay, let’s see. Whether it is perception or
fact, let me operate by the rules. And I operated by the rules, I voted according to the rules, but
apparently, this new wave of anger and hatred swept across the land. In fact, I was one of the eleven,
“labing-isang Hudas”, who were vilified. That is, to me, a tribute to the growing political maturity of our
people. They can tell the difference, in fact, that is something we grossly miscalculate. We think that just
because they cannot speak straight English or articulate their dreams and aspirations as eloquently as
others can---those who allow their mouths to move faster than their brains---that makes them stupid.
No! Far from it. They are more mature than we can ever imagine, because their maturity does not come
from their brain---which is a function of what they read, what they hear ---it comes from the heart,
which is the moral compass we must always check for true North.
Sometimes, consistency is more important than the truth. Who is to say if we were right or wrong? You
only find that out later on, but to be consistent, you have to constantly calibrate and check your moral
compass to make sure that what you started out to do is driven by your faith, your hope and your
convictions. To address issues that are bigger, humanely bigger, than your normal concerns will take
consistencies and stamina. I’ve gone through the painful experience of believing that some of my
comrades and brothers in arms were running a marathon with me, only to discover that they had only
prepared for a 100-meter dash. So they were already resting at the finish line while I was still running,
holding an empty bag. That’s why I always end up in jail, though it is with the few who are equally
consistent people.
14. PLAYBOY: What is your opinion of the new, younger breed of politicians, whose political
perspective is different based on their experiencing the EDSA People Power Revolution not
being as involved as your own?
HONASAN: Well, I’m not sure about their having a different point of view. Maybe a different style of
communicating with our people, but I still have to determine if they are products of an earlier bad habit,
which we call traditional politicians. I still have to make that determination, but as to whether they
signal to us a new wave, a fresh wind that I hope will sweep across the archipelago, I don’t know yet. I
am hopeful that that will happen. First, because I think they have better access and faster access to real
time information. EDSA to them is maybe a matter for history books, but if you press the proper button,
you can access what EDSA was all about from different viewpoints. Second, I think they will not be
burdened by the very heavy political baggage that some of us suffer from, and they can move this
country in the proper direction. Now what do I mean? If you traverse history from Marcos to President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, you will discover that, even now, the Marcos issue haunts us. The Marcos
issue, the Cory Aquino issue, the Fidel Ramos issue, the Erap issue, and now, the GMA issue. If we want
to move forward we must discard unnecessary political baggage without violating thresholds of due
process and the rule of law. If there is clear evidence, whoever you are, even if you are president and
you have served two terms, I think the law must be applied. But if it is clear that this is just politically
generated, I think we have to bury the issues once and for all. I think the next president must be
determined to bury these political issues once and for all, so that we can move forward. It should be an
act of amnesia, deliberate amnesia. I have consulted Chiz and other young legislators and I asked them,
very candidly, “What is the solution to most, if not all of our problems---mostly political---that keep us
from developing economically?” and you know what their answer was?
Tabula rasa. Clean slate. Bury the Marcos issue, bury the Cory issue, bury the Ramos issue, bury the Erap
issue, but the problem lies in how to bury, with political expediency, the issues that the present
administration is confronted with. There might be some misinterpretations because, unfortunately, the
trust rating of this administration is not too high, and that’s an understatement. But we have to make
the difficult decision and bite the bullet. But I have difficulty coping with the organized hypocrisy that
even the Church is propagating. I will allow them---because of the theology of liberation---to express
concern for the poor, for the farmers. But for them to dictate to government what it should do and what
it should not do, declaring its moral ascendancy, when in fact, we know that the Church, generically, not
only the Catholic Church, does not pay its proper taxes. I just want to come to terms with that. Fix your
backyard and then venture into the world and become the guardian of our morals. Until you do that, the
recruitment of the Catholic Church and other Churches will suffer, as is happening now in developed
countries. But in developing countries like ours, you expect that, because where logic ends, when your
temporal needs are not met, you believe what 400 years of colonization did to us. You Filipinos, you
indios, it is okay for you to suffer in this lifetime because your reward will be in Heaven after you die. So
you have to die before you enjoy the fruits of our democracy? I’m not going to buy that. So I fall back on
the principle I articulated earlier, you cannot give what you do not have. If you’re part of the clergy,
every week, every first Friday, every Ash Wednesday, you preach compassion and forgiveness, you
know, Godliness. And then you point fingers at who are corrupt and who are not. So where is the
compassion? I have difficulty reconciling what I am hearing with what I see being done by those who
espouse these things.
I’m also talking about media. Media has this interesting habit of regularly coming up with a list of the ten
most corrupt or twenty most corrupt institutions, but it’s interesting to note that they never include
themselves on the lists. This is because they are the most corrupt, in my view, at least. Now they are
raising hell over the Right to Reply! Now, some of them are getting killed---that, I do not subscribe to,
let’s go after the killers---but this may be a consequence of the absence of a release valve where you can
answer or refute issues that are raised against you. They (the media) are concerned about space for
their editorials, for their news, whether it’s newspapers, TV or radio. What about the names and
reputations of those who are destroyed irreversibly? Or their children who cannot go to school because
you have accused (not even convicted) the father or the mother of wrongdoing? Is a “sorry” adequate? I
feel very strongly about this because I am a victim of media. I lost my freedom because of media! Some
wonderful ace reporter from a major network said that the intelligence community, whose sources
refuse to be named, had included me in their list of destabilizers. Now how do you cope with that, losing
a year, two years of your life? I’m so blessed by the fact that my children do not carry baggage of hate
and anger. They’ve grown up to be quite normal, in fact much stronger, which validates the saying that
what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. What you go through spiritually, physically, emotionally,
psychologically will make you spiritually, physically, emotionally, psychologically stronger much
stronger! My family has emerged from all these interesting experiences stronger, and I’m proud of
them.
15. What is your stance on the Reproductive Health Bill?
HONASAN: The Constitution is a reflection of our democratic principles. Democracy is about choices. To
me, from where I sit as a lawmaker, what we need to explain, articulate and promote is a long-term
population policy. You cannot impose certain methods, artificial or natural, on a family that has difficulty
keeping body and soul together ---they don’t’ know where the next meal is coming from! When you
don’t have a television set, and your candles are burning to the wick already, the cheapest form of
entertainment is to multiply. Now how could the Catholic Church possibly impose on that? By faith?
Does the Church generically accept responsibility for AIDS victims? For malnutrition? Families reproduce
without thinking of the consequences, and that’s the problem. Now if we had the information base to
make that determination, we would probably be in the position---government, with all its rules and
regulations---to tell a barangay or a municipality, “Your quota for the year is you cannot make more than
100,000 babies this year. If you do, we will penalize you with some legal intervention.” That’s how it
should be done, and the Catholic Church must submit to that rule, without making any bones about it.
Well, we’re talking 400 years. Even our national hero, Jose Rizal was not anti-Spaniard, he was anti-
clergy! He even served in the Spanish army in Cuba! And he’s our national hero! Unless the Church
decides to excommunicate him retroactively (laughs).
16. Now, we’re sure you received your share of criticism when you decided to run for public office.
What is your take on celebrities as politicians?
HONASSAN: Well, I earned this from the late Senator Raul Roco: We are in that chamber, not because
we are entertainers or soldiers or businessmen or some other profession, no. We are there to make a
judgment call for those who gave us that mandate. And the point of impact is when you cast your vote.
We’re there to make a judgment call based on best available information. I think that issue is not
material to whether we like politicians or not. It’s a judgment call. The only thing I would probably
recommend is for standards to be set, for qualifications to run for public office. There must be some
standard we can impose on those who aspire to become public servants. Not only senators, but also
mayors, barangay captains, etc. Ultimately, whatever standards you impose, it’s the call of the people
who will cast their votes based on the principle of one man, one vote, and that’s what we’re trying to
tackle on the floor now.
17. Why does the Philippines fare so poorly when it comes to surveys on human rights?
HONASAN: Well, because the rules are not applied consistently. There are different rules for soldiers, for
policemen, for the rich, for the poor, and no one enforces the rules, because the enforcers are
sometimes also violators. So what is the solution? One is education. An educated people are a strong
people. They take possession of the issues, and they impose their collective will as the majority,
effectively, in any democracy. That’s one solution. Second is to strengthen our institutions. Strengthen
the COMELEC, strengthen the Senate, strengthen the Presidency, strengthen the police, strengthen the
media! Teach them how to police themselves. Before they learn to police themselves, impose the Right
to Reply on them---by force if necessary---by law. Strengthen the institutions and then maybe develop a
sense of national identity. We are more concerned about our parochial needs, our family, our clan, our
province. I think it should start with concern for our nation. We must take pains to keep the fountain
from which we all drink pure and fresh, because we will all drink from it down the line, and our families
eventually benefit. And then lastly, there’s the basic principle that whatever we do, there will always be
a cost. If we do this, there will be a political cost, if we do something for our social well being, there will
be an economic cost. People should also recognize that there will always be a short term cost for a long
term benefit. Now, let’s talk about productivity. Until we are able to produce a respectable hammer
made in the Philippines or a respectable car with all Philippine-made components, we will never be able
to say that we are truly a strong republic. Until we are able to feed our population with what we plant,
without importing or smuggling, we’re not getting anywhere. So, productivity, self-sufficiency, a clear
sense of long-term direction is what we in the senate are trying to do as a matter of long-term policy.
18. PLAYBOY: Do you believe that the Philippine Military Academy has become a sort of fraternity
where graduates are more loyal to their officers and batch than to the country?
HONASAN: Possibly. But we need a PMA that responds to the need of the people, rather than a
praetorian guard or a private security agency of any political administration. We have to educate them,
but the PMA is still a consequence of the society and government it serves. Unfortunately, it is the
production line where we manufacture the leaders of the armed forces. We keep them in a centrally air-
conditioned place like Baguio, teach them that this is what theory says, and when they go out, they
develop culture shock. What we teach them inside the confines, the insulated confines of their
classrooms is very different from what reality is, even by example. That’s not good---they cannot bridge
the gap between theory and reality or practical application. So we have to start in the educational
centers of our country.
(With regard to ROTC) I think we should reconfigure. What, to me, is the ultimate objective of ROTC? It
is immersion. We cannot continue playing toy soldier using colonial Western models. What we want to
do is develop a citizen army that will protect the interests of the majority of our people, and for that,
you need to immerse them. Let them go to the farms, to the countryside, learn how it is. Learn how the
majority of our people live: Without lights, without potable water, without toilets… That should take the
place of what we now call the National Service Law. I see no utility or value in making our young people,
our students, as a requirement for graduation, having to march through parade grounds without any
purpose. I would rather have them reconfigure the curriculum and immerse them in the countryside so
they know what they’re doing it for, for whom they’re doing this for, and the value of that experience
when they become more productive members of society after graduation.
19. PLAYBOY: How about your own offspring? How do they see you?
HONASAN: At home, they think of me as “Papa”. My granddaughter now, who is one and a half years
old, twists me, throws me up in the air, catches me, using only her little finger. I’m speaking figuratively,
of course. I hate to say this, but she excites me more, and that includes her future, than my work in the
Senate. Of course, it’s a symbiotic relationship. My work in the Senate is precisely geared towards
making her and other grandchildren more secure in their future, so yes, at home, they call me Dad. They
call me Papa. They put up with me, I’m not sikat in my own home (laughs).
20. PLAYBOY: What happens for Gringo Honasan after 2013?
HONASAN: I think I’ll think about retiring. If I were a tricycle or a bus or a taxi or a jeepney, I think I have
made the boundary already. Our people cannot ask, I think, more from me. But if, you know, our
country needs me for whatever I am worth, this broken, bullet-riddled, imperfect body and mind, then I
will stand to the call of our country, our people, and of course, God. You know, I was telling my staff, old
soldiers never die, they fade away. I’ll probably fade away quietly.