Patronage Politics to
Continue Fueling Military Discontent
A retired military
official believes there will be a silent crackdown among the ranks of
the military after the attempt of certain military officers to march and
withdraw support from the Arroyo government was foiled Feb. 24. However,
the retired officer said the repositioning in the military leadership
would surely favor those who remained loyal to the president and this
practice of patronage politics will only create more restiveness among
the men in uniform.
BY DABET CASTAÑEDA
Bulatlat
Magdalo flags fly at
the Aquino monument at Ayala Avenue during the Feb. 24 rally
PHOTO BY DABET CASTAÑEDA |
A retired military official in an
interview with Bulatlat confirmed reports that young restive
officers planned to march at the historic Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA)
and join the rallies Feb. 24 commemorating the 20th
anniversary of the 1986 People Power uprising. The march, the source
said, was supposed to be their collective withdrawal of support from
their Commander-in-Chief, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Before daybreak, however, Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Generoso Senga
announced before the media that the AFP leadership has just thwarted a
coup and has put under its custody Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim who Senga
identified as one of the core leaders.
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Warning
The retired army official warned
that the arrest and demotion of Lim, who has been “restricted at
quarters” and removed from his post as commanding officer of the Scout
Rangers Regiment based in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, will not be the
last. “Expect a silent crackdown, a repositioning in the leadership,”
the source said.
The source said it is most likely
that those who remained loyal to the president would be promoted to
higher positions and those who were suspected to be part of the “coup”
would be demoted like Lim.
“Loyalty to Macapagal-Arroyo has
become the primary consideration for placing people to positions,” the
source said adding that this practice has destroyed the value of
professionalism in the military. “This is most disadvantageous to the
performing officers who are not involved in either camps,” the source
added.
“While trying to consolidate the
ranks by giving promotions to her favored officers, lalong nagagalit
yung mga tinatawag na restive block,” (those in the so-called restive
block are more angered) the source explained.
This was the same effect, said the
source, when the president promoted the so-called “Garci Generals”,
referring to the military officers mentioned in the “Hello Garci Tapes”
who were suspected of facilitating the commission of fraud during the
May 2004 elections to favor Macapagal-Arroyo. The president has been
facing calls for her removal since last year because of accusations that
she cheated her way to the presidency and is responsible for widespread
poverty and human rights abuses.
To date, a police officer and three
military officers who were supposedly mentioned in the controversial
wiretapped conversations allegedly between the president and Comelec
Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, more popularly known as “Garci”, have
been promoted. These include Brig. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, former
commander of the Joint Task Force Comet in Western Mindanao, currently
commander of the 1st Infantry Division of the Philippine Army
(ID PA); Gen. Arturo Lomibao, formerly with the Criminal Investigation
and Detection Group (CIDG) and now Philippine National Police (PNP)
chief; Rear Admiral Tirso Danga, former deputy chief of staff for
intelligence and now head of the Western Command; and Lt. Gen.
Hermogenes Esperon who was former deputy chief of staff for operations,
a post he held during the 2004 elections, and currently the commanding
officer of the Philippine Army.
“It is sad they have to be in
cahoots with Macapagal-Arroyo for them to get their much coveted
promotion,” the source said.
“But given that, they will have
something to answer for to the people,” the source added.
Preempted
Informally, the source said it was
Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon who was decisive in preempting
the planned concerted action.
The source said that the core group
of the junior officers had initially believed that Senga would agree to
withdraw allegiance from their Commander-in-Chief. But Senga allegedly
wanted to make sure that Esperon would take the same stand because the
latter has command over a bulk of ground troops.
Unfortunately, Esperon did not agree
and that was the end of the plot, the source said.
The source however said it was
expected that Esperon would remain loyal to Macapagal-Arroyo because of
his alleged participation in election fraud.
Asked why the core group wanted the
participation of Senga, the source said the restive officers did not
want bloodshed.
Unnecessary
Given this situation, the source
said, the declaration of a state of emergency was unnecessary. “There
was nothing to fear because there was no threat anymore. Macapagal-Arroyo
had everything under control as early as Thursday night (Feb. 23). No
coup would have happened on Friday (Feb. 24),” the source said.
The source said Esperon, after
telling Senga he would not withdraw support from the administration, had
all the ground troops checked and monitored as early as the evening of
Feb. 23.
“The real intention of Proclamation
1017 is to
clamp down
on media and take over vital industries owned by people critical of or
opposed to the government. They are just using the opportunity to sow
terror against the opposition,” the source said.
No financiers
The source also clarified reports
that the junior officers were being financed by certain politicians and
other entities. Rumors circulated Friday that the foiled coup was
financed by former Pres. Joseph Estrada who was ousted by a people power
uprising in 2001. Other reports said giant network ABS CBN, which has
been critical of the government, also provided money to the coup
plotters.
“No funds are necessary for a coup,”
the source said, “ After all, the plan was just to march along EDSA and
withdraw support from the president.”
Although the source admitted that
there were numerous offers, “The young idealistic officers refused any
offer of (financial) support from any group because they do not want to
be beholden to any group especially those who have vested interests,”
the source said.
People’s support
While admitting that the loyal
followers of Macapagal-Arroyo have won the battle now, the source said,
the fight is not yet over. “They (the young officers) have actually
become more restive,” the source said.
The source however said that the
success of any military uprising depends on the support of the civilian
population. “At this point, it is the people who would decide when and
how to unseat the illegitimate president from the palace,” the source
concluded. Bulatlat
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