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Monday, August 15, 2005
Military will stay apolitical: incoming chief
INCOMING Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Generoso Senga said Sunday that he would keep the military away from the ongoing political crisis hounding the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Senga will formally assume office as the next AFP chief after a turn over ceremony at the Camp Aguinaldo Grandstand in Quezon City Monday that would be presided by President Arroyo. He replaced General Efren Abu, his classmate in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1972 who reached the mandatory age of 56 last June 24 but his tenure was extended by the President to August 15 at the height of destabilization efforts against the Arroyo Government.
Senga, in a press briefing, asked the officers and men in the military to be apolitical from the current political tension in the country and just concentrate on their role as soldiers.
"The AFP chief (Abu) has issued directive on AFP, that two-page conduct...The conduct of the military pertaining to the current political situation will remain," he said.
The incoming AFP chief also said he would pursue the investigations against the military officers who linked to vote-rigging allegations.
In the controversial Hello Garci tapes, it was implied that some military generals, one of them was incoming Army Chief Hermogenes Esperon "allegedly conspired with President Arroyo and officials of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in manipulating the outcome of last year's presidential elections in favor of the President."
The generals are being investigated by a military fact-finding board headed by AFP Inspector General Office Chief Mateo Mayuga. The military junked calls for the relief of the "erring" officers pending the investigation.
"The ongoing investigation (against those generals) will continue," said Senga.
Abu, who served as AFP chief for more than a year, was marred by several controversies, including the expensive renovation of the Camp Aguinaldo pavement and construction of a 60-room resort in Boracay.
Meanwhile, Esperon is scheduled to take over Senga in the Army chief position on Wednesday with Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz as the guest speaker.
But the shadowy Young Officers Union new generation (YOUng) called for the recall of Esperon's appointment.
"The AFP, this coming August 17, will once more mock and add more insult to injury to the very foundation of military professionalism if the appointment of General Esperon as the new Army chief is not rescinded," said YOUng in a statement.
The statement, signed by YOUng spokesman Arsenio Alcantara, described the appointment of Esperon as "clear manifestation of the existence of political mafia within the Armed Forces and will further erode the rank and file's dwindling trust with the military leadership."
YOUng also said Esperon's takeover will also widen the "crack of horizontal division and mistrust" in the Philippine Army because the officers and men see his appointment as "unfair and politically-motivated". (JFF)
(August 15, 2005 issue)
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