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Sunday, August 31, 2003
JDV wants Ramos to take DND post
MANILA -- Speaker Jose de Venecia Saturday said former president Fidel V. Ramos, whom he lauded as Asia's top "soldier-statesman," is his leading candidate to succeed Angelo T. Reyes as defense secretary.
On the other hand, peace advocates in Davao prefer to have a civilian as head of the country's Department of National Defense (DND).
De Venecia said Ramos' wealth of experience and tested leadership are what the country needs to heal the wounds in the Armed Forces and the nation dealt by the July 27 failed mutiny of junior officers and men.
"Ultimately the President alone will make the decision," de Venecia said. "But it will be a masterstroke and an act of statesmanship and humility if former president Ramos is offered the defense portfolio-and he accepts it," de Venecia told newsmen during rites in Bulacan honoring the chief propagandist of the Philippine Revolution, Marcelo H. del Pilar.
De Venecia mentioned three other prominent names he said he will ask President Arroyo to seriously consider in choosing Reyes' successor.
Second on de Venecia's list is former defense undersecretary Eduardo Ermita, a Ramos protégé and a former congressman from Batangas who is currently presidential adviser on the Peace Process.
De Venecia also mentioned Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., Rep. Prospero Pichay, Jr., Defense Undersecretary Feliciano Gacis, Jr. and former ambassador Thelmo Cunanan.
He described the four men he mentioned as "extremely capable leaders and dedicated officials."
Ramos held the DND post from 1988 to 1991 before he ran for the 1992 presidential election which he won.
As defense secretary, Ramos was largely credited with repelling seven coup attempts launched against then-President Corazon Aquino by military rebels between 1986 and 1989.
During his presidency from 1992 to 1998, he brought the rebellious Reform the Armed Forces Movement-Young Officers Union (RAM/YOU)) back into the mainstream by concluding a peace agreement, de Venecia said.
Meanwhile, representatives from groups advocating peace prefer to have a civilian and not a military personality to head the national defense post.
Mary Ann Arnado, of the Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID), said the ideal candidate to replace Reyes would be a civilian who knows how to respect the rights of Mindanao's tri-people groups.
She said peace advocates "have been campaigning against Reyes since day one due to his military stick approach in solving the decades-old Mindanao conflict."
Citing February's military offensives in Buliok as a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Arnado said Reyes is a man who cannot be trusted with his double talk.
"He said he was for peace but he kept on conducting military attacks against the MILF, even forcing innocent civilians to get caught in the crossfire," Arnado said.
Datu Al Saliling, one of the convenors of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC), for his part echoed Arnado's sentiment.
For us natives, the ideal candidate for Reyes' replacement is a civilian, or a lawyer, he said, adding that the natives which he represent are relieved with Reyes' resignation last Friday.
Irene Santiago, Mothers for Peace Chair, expressed Saturday her appreciation over Reyes' resignation, saying the move "was a little late but welcome".
Santiago did not name her preferences for the former defense secretary's replacement, but emphasized that the peace process between the government and the MILF, of which she is a government panel member, will not be affected with the recent development.
Reyes was accused by leaders of the July 27 failed mutiny as the mastermind in the twin bombings in Davao City that left 39 dead and 170 injured, among other atrocities. (with Ben Tesiorna of Sun.Star Davao)
(August 31, 2003 issue)
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