On June 14 at 1 p.m., the family and friends of retired Major General Alexander Ferrer Balutan of the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) will host a book launching about the colorful life of the general who is now the general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). This will take place at the Aguinaldo Hall of the AFP Commissioned Officers Club (AFPCOC) in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
Defense reporters gave the general the moniker “Mandirigma” (warrior). His name reverberated when he defied a gag order from his commander in chief during congressional inquiries on the 2004 presidential election fraud in Mindanao because of the “Hello Garci” scandal. Then a lieutenant colonel, he was placed in a floating status and his promotion was frozen indefinitely while facing court martial proceedings.
Unlike some military and police officers who had a stint in Davao del Norte and came to know personally then-Davao City mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte, Mandirigma was just one among many military officers who paid the President a courtesy call. Thus, it came as a surprise when Duterte appointed Balutan to the top post of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), the government’s maximum penitentiary allegedly under the influence of drug lords that control the multibillion-peso shabu industry.
He was Navy vice commander when Duterte appointed him BuCor chief. He has to file an early retirement as he still has a few months to remain in the service. A member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Matikas” Class of 1983, Balutan is a multiawarded officer in the corps.
Before the Hello Garci scandal, Mandirigma had fought and survived countless battles in Mindanao, including the historic capture of Camp Abu Bakar in Maguindanao in 2000, the main camp of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), where he led his warriors at the frontline.
Balutan is outspoken on issues involving public interest, always ready to defend what is right and just and willing to take the consequences of his action. Reporters love him because he is media savvy, giving the best “quotable quotes” to journalists to help their stories land on the front page.
In more than a decade that I covered the defense beat as reporter, I have written stories about corruption and the lingering “bata-bata system” in the military. The officers involved hated me, spied on me and even threatened me when I keep writing about their shenanigans. But it was this kind of news gathering where I built reliable contacts and earned the trust and confidence of my news sources. These officers and men of the military will volunteer information to me through a secured line to avoid electronic interception.
Madirigma is one good source that journalists love to have in the defense beat. He has that charisma because of his “to-set-the-record-straight” statements on military and social issues. He is a decorated Marine general, and, to his men, he walks the talk and leads by example.
Mandirigma is a no-nonsense PCSO general manager. Although vilification campaigns are par for the course, his unbending integrity as a public servant cannot be tainted. That’s because of his transparent method of running the agency coupled with his compassion as a leader.
Mauro Gia Samonte wrote the book—MANDIRIGMA, In War Time And In Peace—to be launched on Thursday. I don’t personally know the author, but I admire his writing style. Folks can have the 116-page book that portrays the colorful life of Mandirigma for only P250.
See you at the book launch.
E-mail: fetad@yahoo.com.