This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 4, February 26 - March 4, 2006
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 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.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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 © 2006 Bulatlat
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Patronage Politics to Continue
Fueling Military Discontent
Bulatlat
Warning
Preempted
Unnecessary
No financiers
People’s support