Mr. Alexander Villaroman has accused Col. Edgardo Batenga, chief of staff of the Metropolitan Citizen Military Training Command, of hitting him twice on the head with a clutch bag containing a .45 caliber pistol (BT, Dec. 17).

This method of using a pistol -- keeping it in a clutch bag and swinging the clutch bag at the head of the enemy -- is what one might expect of a woman or an effeminate man. It is shamefully unworthy of a field-grade officer playing a pivotal role in the training of our young people in the proper use of fire-arms.

If the Batenga method of handling short arms is the standard method taught at the Philippine Military Academy and at the CMT, it is no surprise that our armed forces suffer defeat after defeat at the hands of various dissidents, terrorists, and bandits.

Karla V. Castillo