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Friday, September 16, 2005
Capillas: Bagasin's well of sympathy
By Stephen Capillas
The Lowdown
FOURTH Infantry Division (4th ID) Chief Maj. Gen. Samuel Bagasin must be feeling quite mushy these days after all the "condolences" sent by various sectors for being shafted by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in favor of Gen. Edilberto Adan for the post of Southern Command chief.
There are officials like Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno who voiced his sympathy for the general while others like the militant groups laced their sympathies with invitations to join their ranks--an invite Bagasin declined of course.
Bagasin for the most part had been credited with a considerably well-managed Fourth ID position and was thus expected to be next in line for the Southcom post, joining fellow luminaries like Gen. Jocelyn Nazareno and Roy Cimatu.
The two eventually became Armed Forces Chiefs of Staff, Nazareno during the time of then President Joseph Estrada and Cimatu at the tenure of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Cimatu in fact got luckier when he was eventually appointed as the lead envoy in the evacuation of Filipino workers in Iraq not long after retiring as AFP chief. Certainly there was little if any at all political considerations for their appointments.
The only few times the selection of an top military official got infused with politicking included the controversial selection of then Gen. Lisandro Abadia into the AFP top post over the more combat-seasoned Gen. Alexander Aguirre by then President Corazon Aquino.
As pointed out in last Monday's editorial there was a sense of irony there as Aquino is now identified with the still fragmented opposition against Arroyo who likewise made a controversial choice by picking Adan to head the Southcom.
Interestingly Sun.Star photojournalist Joey Nacalaban got a photo of Bagasin's wall of portraits showing the various military officers. Noticeably absent, he said, is the portrait of Adan there.
Of course one feels sympathetic to Bagasin for this as he himself admitted that being human there is a trace of "frustration" on his part over this episode.
One could only hope that he lands a better post before the military's one year attrition limit ends and he is subjected to a forced retirement. But then again there may be other things that may pre-occupy his time while he retains command of the Fourth ID.
* * * * *
APPARENTLY the fight by environmental groups against the Mindanao coal fired plant is far from over as lobbying efforts by them had apparently taken some significant advances.
This is evidenced by the growing number of credible, top figures in government and in the environmental scene like former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary General Cielito Habito and Dean dela Paz, former consultant for Energy Affairs of the Joint Congressional Power Commission who guested in last Wednesday's "Energy Review Roadshow" held at Xavier University's Little Theater.
Problem is, they are up against a moneyed foreign investor who enjoys much support from the powers-that-be.
During last Wednesday's forum Task Force Macajalar (TFM) spokesman BenCyrus Ellorin even remarked that the plant's proponent, STEAG-AG, had transformed into a "non-government organization (NGO)" of sorts as evidenced by the numerous programs they are undertaking to win support for their project.
Knowing the environmental groups, however, it probably won't take long before they take their cause to the streets.
(September 16, 2005 issue)
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