Alumni head’s reminder: ‘Don’t be like President Arroyo, who played favorites’

(Last of 3 parts)

MANILA, Philippines—In one of the last few appointments that she could make before stepping down, President Arroyo on Monday named as Armed Forces chief of staff Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit, a member of the military class that had made her its honorary member.
 
Arroyo had appointed members of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1978 to sensitive military and police posts throughout her 9-year term, but she’s only adhering a practice that had become increasingly common after the military-backed uprisings of 1986 and 2001.
 
It appears that this tradition of placing one’s adoptive PMA classmates in strategic posts to ensure the chain of command’s loyalty will not end under a new presidency.
 
Lakas-Kampi-CMD bet Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Nacionalista Party standard bearer Manuel Villar Jr. are honorary members of PMA batches whose senior members are ripe for promotion.
 
Teodoro is an honorary member of the “Magilas” Class of 1976, while Villar is of the “Masikap” Class of 1977.
 
This early, PMA Alumni Association chair Rodolfo Biazon is warning the 2 possible future president: Don’t be like President Arroyo, who favored her “mistahs” over other qualified officers.

According to Teodoro's spokesperson Atty. Mike Toledo, Teodoro will only appoint his 'mistahs' from Class '76 to high-ranking positions if they are qualified for the job.

"We should not take it against [Teodoro] if he appoints someone from his class who is deserving and qualified. The bottom line is, even if it's political (appointments), it should be based on qualifications," Toledo said in a phone interview.

Newsbreak attempted to get Villar's side on the matter but his camp has not responded as of posting.
 
Soldiers to watch

With many of Teodoro’s 1976 classmates approaching the mandatory retirement age of 56, only 9 could be considered for promotions or appointments after the elections.
 
Class 1976 has 18 members who are still in the active service, but half of them are scheduled to retire before the next round of government appointments is allowed by law.
 
Section 15, Article 7 of the Constitution bars outgoing presidents from making appointments 2 months before the presidential elections, up to the end of his or her term (June 30). The next elected president will be able to recommend promotions to the Commission on Appointments only on July 1, 2010.
 
Should Teodoro win as president and appoint “mistahs,” these officers will have 1 month at the very least, or 8 months at the most, to serve, before they retire. They are:

• Director General Jesus Versoza, current Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, who is scheduled to retire on Dec. 25, 2010.
• Police Director Jefferson Soriano, PNP Deputy Chief for Administration,  scheduled to retire on Nov. 11, 2010.
• Lt. Gen. Hernanie Perez, Western Mindanao Command chief, scheduled to retire on Aug. 11, 2010. He was a contender for the Philippine Air Force (PAF) Chief of Staff post.
• Rear Admiral Geronimo Defensor, commander of the Navy’s Philippine Fleet, scheduled to retire on Dec. 28, 2010.
• Police Superintendent Abner Cabalquinto, Regional Disaster Coordinating Council Director in Eastern Visayas, who is scheduled to retire on Oct. 9, 2010.
• Police Director Edgar Acuña, Chief of the PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management, scheduled to retire on Aug. 1, 2010.
• Police Director Luizo Ticman, head of PNP’s Directorate for Logistics, who is scheduled to retire on Oct. 10, 2010.
• PMA Superintendent Leonardo Calderon Jr., the youngest of the batch, will retire on March 24, 2011.

 
2 chiefs of staff

Class 1976 has already produced 2 AFP chiefs of staff, the highest rank in the military: retired Gen. Alexander Yano and Gen. Victor Ibrado, who will retire on March 10.
 
Meanwhile, there are about 3 dozen officers from the younger and larger PMA Class 1977 who may be ripe for promotions when the next president assumes office.
 
Villar, their honorary member, can pick from 33 “classmates” from Class 1977.
 
Three in the class would have been eligible to replace Ibrado as AFP chief of staff. These include Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, Eastern Mindanao Command chief; Gen. Nestor Ochoa, National Development and Support commander; and Lt. Gen. Ricardo David, chief of the Northern Luzon Command.
 
(See “PMA Class 1977 Officers Who Will Be in Active Service Beyond June 30, 2010.”)
 
Ten of these officers are scheduled to retire within 5 months after a new president is elected. Nineteen are set to retire in 2011.
 
Four in the batch—ranging in rank from colonel to 3-star general—can serve in the military until 2012.
 
A high-ranking military official should normally stay at a post for a minimum of 6 months to get service credit, and a maximum of 2 years to give way to other officers. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, however.
 
The tour of duty (service period) of AFP chief of staff or service commander, on the other hand, depends on vacancies and appointments by the president, subject to the approval of the Commission of Appointments.
 
‘Causes strife’

Biazon said that the promotion of a president’s “mistahs” to high-ranking positions became increasingly common after the People Power Revolts of 1986 and 2001.
 
Those events established how the support of key military officials could propel presidents to power and how the opposite could break a regime.
 
“The promotion of ‘mistahs’ became even more common especially during the term of President Arroyo. She had given a political role to the military,” Biazon told Newsbreak.
 
During Arroyo’s term, among those from Class 1978 who rose rapidly through the ranks were Bangit and Maj. Gen. Carlos Holganza, commander of the 10th Infantry Division.
 
Another Arroyo “mistah,” Brig. Gen. Celedonio Boquiren Jr., was appointed director of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission just 8 days after he retired as Presidential Security Group chief last year.
 
Biazon says presidential candidates—especially Teodoro and Villar—should not play favorites when it comes to appointing people for military posts because it causes resentment among junior officers.
 
Long shot

“The perception of professionalism suffers. Young officers will say, ‘That’s why he or she was appointed in that post because they adopted the [president] in the class.”
 
Biazon had previously stated that classes whose senior members are “on deck for promotions” are usually the ones that adopt politicians, raising questions about their motive.
 
He suggests that the government gives police and military generals “a major role” in the selection of officers for promotion instead of depending solely on the recommendations of the president.
 
At the same time, there should be stricter rules on the adoption of politicians by PMA classes. This is to prevent “politicking” between members of PMA Classes and politicians.
 
While there are calls within the AFP to shield the organization from partisan politics, University of the Philippines professor Clarita Carlos, who has extensively studied the military, suggests this is a long shot.
 
“That the military is a non-partisan organization is a myth. Empirical data suggests there is no significant difference between a military regime and a civilian regime in terms of governance,” she said.
 
Carlos said candidates must have a clear idea of the military's historical role in our country. “They have been development agents in society. They are not apolitical.” (Newsbreak)

PART 1:  Some famous PMA adoptees are illegitimate

PART 2: Record number of PMA adoptees running in polls