Brig. Gen. Tomas Dumapit, head of the Regional Unified Command (RUC-1), should be commended for his willingness to tell the unpleasant truth -- that "the government forces have not gained any headway in the anti-insurgency campaign in Abra and Mountain Province" (Malaya, Mar. 7).

General Dumapit could do much more to improve the army’s credibility by disciplining those subordinates of his who have regaled the press with fanciful stories.

We might start with those officers whose version of what is happening in RUC-1 is quite different from his own. These are the officers who claimed that the rebel forces in Northwestern Luzon had been cut in half -- from the 600 combat-ready regulars last year to 300 today -- and credited this great success to the "sustained anti-dissident activities being waged by the military following the formation of Task Force Amianan . . . headed by Brig. Gen. Tomas Dumapit" (Malaya, Dec. 11, 1984).

General Dumapit might also reprimand the officer who spread the incredible story (Malaya, Dec. 2, 1984) that Fr. Conrado Balweg flies all over the Northwestern Luzon in a red (!) helicopter piloted by a Negro who speaks in "mixed Spanish English" (chabacano?)!

Ruben Muego