CHARGES ranging from kidnapping, murder, robbery, arson and other related offenses were finally filed by the Philippine National Police against Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commanders Umbra Kato and Bravo.

The cases were filed with the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in North Cotabato against Umbra Kato, and with the Prosecutor’s Office in Lanao del Norte against Commander Bravo.

I have ordered both prosecutors to expedite the proceedings and, considering that these two MILF commanders cannot be served with subpoenas because they are in the jungles, and who even announced that they will resist anyone who will serve them with subpoenas, I have ordered the prosecutors to invoke Section 3b of Rule 112 of the Rules of Court, which provides that, “If the respondent[s] cannot be subpoenaed, or if subpoenaed does not submit counteraffidavits, the investigating officer shall resolve the complaint based on the evidence presented by the complainant.”

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I believe it is time to go full blast with the full force of the law against these MILF commanders who cause so much grief and damage in many Christian towns in North Cotabato as well as in Iligan City.

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I am happy that according to reports, the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the MILF’s 14th Brigade under the 102nd MILF Base Command, Commander Alvin Canto, surrendered to the military forces in Iligan City together with 30 of his men. Canto clearly identified Commander Bravo as the perpetrator of the deadly acts in Lanao del Norte.

Let us hope that more MILF commanders who have been misled by their bloodthirsty leaders will follow, so that peace in Mindanao may be given impetus by the disenchantment of MILF troops against the illegal acts of their commanders.

Indeed, the loss of confidence by Commander Canto and his men prove to us that within the ranks of the MILF are fighters who can still discern between right and wrong. We are happy with this development.

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that victims of violent crimes resulting from the recent MILF attacks in Mindanao may apply for compensation with the DOJ’s Board of Claims, which, under Republic Act 7309, authorizes payments to victims of such offenses as rape, murder, torture, cruelty and barbarity, among others.

While the amount allowed under this Act is only P10,000 per victim, nonetheless, I want to emphasize that this shows that the government is not insensitive to the plight of innocent victims of crimes.

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President Arroyo’s concern for the families of military personnel who fell in battle is again illustrated by her visit to Iloilo City today, to commiserate with the family of Lt. Col. Angel Benitez in Tabuc Suba, Jaro, Iloilo City.

The Commander in Chief has shown that she shares the grief and sense of loss of those left behind by these brave heroes who fell in battle.

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The downside of the brain drain is now clearly apparent as reflected in the recent news item: “Pinoys dying from lack of doctors.”

According to former health secretary Jaime Galvez-Tan, seven out of 10 sick Filipinos die untreated due to acute lack of doctors in the country. There are some 120 municipalities around the country without doctors, and although the number is an improvement from the last count, it is still a lot of towns without professional medical care.

Tan added that the health-care delivery system is now nearing collapse due to lack of doctors.

The disparity in income is simply one-sided in favor of overseas employment. In Europe, physicians receive a salary from $6,000 up while nurses are in great demand in the US and in many countries in Europe and the Middle East.

Because of the dollar factor, Filipino doctors have enrolled in nursing courses to hasten their migration into foreign lands. This compounds the situation. We can always propose to offer attractive compensation for doctors and nurses who opt to stay in the country, but how high can we go?

There are nurses who work without pay in many local hospitals simply to improve their résumé to qualify for foreign employment. Unless we find long-term realistic answers, the problem will continue to intensify.

Is some form of “creative capitalism” a solution? Just as Bill Gates and his friends are proposing, we can ask these countries who employ most of our medical professionals to invest in the education of a like number of poor but deserving Filipino students to offset the number of medical professionals they hire in their hospitals.

This is being done in several countries from where industrialized countries import their manufacturing needs in order to make the supplier-buyer relationship mutually beneficial to the contracting parties.

By helping in our students’ education, these foreign countries can have an inexhaustible pool of medical professionals while the country, too, will enjoy the luxury of having doctors and nurses available for local assignment.

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