Wednesday, November 29, 2006 Defense chief claims reforms lessened chances of military uprising
OUTGOING Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz said the chances of a coup or mutiny being staged against the Arroyo Government had been reduced in view of the reforms he initiated at the defense department for the past two years.
Cruz said there is a need to continue the implementation of the reform programs and try by court martial renegade officers so the threat would be eliminated.
"The reforms in the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) has greatly reduced that (chances of a coup being mounted) and even an attempt at mutiny is also greatly reduced," said Cruz after leading the defense office's 67th anniversary celebrations in Camp Aguinaldo last Monday.
Cruz submitted his irrevocable resignation to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last November 15. Arroyo said she will handle the defense portfolio for two months, after which the new defense chief will assume.
Cruz however remained tight-lipped on why he resigned from the defense portfolio, saying his discussions with the President should remain confidential. There are insinuations that Cruz was a victim of infighting within the President's Cabinet.
He expressed optimism that his successor, who should be a civilian, would continue with the reform programs he started, including the Philippine Defense Reform program, which he crafted shortly after assuming defense secretary in August 2004.
"I believe this (reforms) should be continued because it is important, the AFP is a very important pillar of our republic," said Cruz, who also attributed the reduced threat of coups to the ongoing prosecution of renegade officers.
Cruz is referring to the impending military trial of dozens of military officers implicated in the short-lived Oakwood mutiny of July 2003 and the failed plot to overthrow the Arroyo government last February.
"If the offenders are charged under the military justice system and the reforms are continued and the military is insulated from politics, I believe that (threat of coups or mutiny) will continue to decrease and possibly eliminated," he said.
Cruz cited the PDR and the Armed Forces Capability Upgrade Program as among the accomplishments he attained as defense secretary.
He also mentioned the insulation of the 120,000-strong military establishment from partisan politics and the signing of a memorandum of agreement with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) limiting the involvement of the AFP in the conduct of elections.
He also abolished the cash-strapped AFP Retirement and Separation Benefits System (RSBS), the submission of the National Defense Act to Congress and the preparation of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) roadmap.
When asked if will continue supporting President Arroyo after his resignation Cruz said he will rest first "and then I will have an abiding interest in good government, in continuing reforms in the government."
Cruz said he would return to the private sector even as he dismissed the possibility of accepting a government post. He has no plans of entering politics.
He also said working with the Arroyo government is an "edifying experience". Before his appointment to the defense portfolio, Cruz - a lawyer - served as chief presidential legal counsel since January 2001.
"It (working with government) teaches you a lot. It teaches you patience. It teaches you to work harder. It teaches you tolerance," Cruz said.
He praised the military's top brass, including Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon, AFP Vice Chief Antonio Romero, Air Force Chief Jose Reyes, Army Chief Romeo Tolentino and Navy Chief Mateo Mayuga, who he described as a "competent, efficient and morally upright officer." (VR/Sunnex)
