A group of senior military officers served notice to President Estrada yesterday about the "widespread demoralization" within the Armed Forces because of the "dubious" promotion of two colonels to brigadier general.
In a paid newspaper advertisement, the group calling itself the "Concerned Senior Officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines" said that the two colonels had jumped the queue and were promoted to the star rank ahead of "hundreds" of more senior colonels.
They identified these officers as Brig. Gen. Rodulfo Diaz, commander of the elite Presidential Security Group, and Brig. Gen. Jake Malajacan, the senior military aide of Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado.
Malajacan is a former leader of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement who was arrested for a plot to oust then President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
But President Estrada assured yesterday the officers and men of the AFP that there is no "favoritism" in his issuing of promotions.
"There is a board of promotion for that. That is what I follow. I have no favoritism there," Mr. Estrada said.
The group, whose members were not identified, said it suspected these promotions could be part of "attempts to assert control over the Armed Forces by unseen hands blindly loyal to this administration."
"Many say (that Malajacan) is the protégé of Mercado, but those in the know say he is in fact a protégé of PNP chief Director General Panfilo Lacson and the Zamora brothers," the ad said, referring to Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora and his brother Manny.
These elements could then use the military "as an instrument of repression against the people."
The group also said the President personally ordered Diaz’s and Malajacan’s promotion.
Mr. Estrada is facing street protests and mounting calls for his resignation after he was impeached last week by the House of Representatives. He goes on trial at the Senate next month on charges of bribery, corruption, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.
Government television said Mercado has sought to allay the officers’ fears, saying the AFP is under instruction to remain neutral.
In an interview with another television station, Mercado advised the military not to be "used in partisan political dynamics of today."
"Do not let yourselves be used, and we (the Estrada administration) will not use you," he said.
Press Undersecretary Mike Toledo, on the other hand, said the issue being raised against the promotion of Malajacan should not be construed as a brewing military plot to take political power.
"I don’t think there is anything to fear as far as alleged disgruntled junior military officers are concerned," Toledo said.
For his part, AFP chief Gen. Angelo Reyes told a press conference the military must be spared from intrigues and politics.
"Whoever placed this ad obviously had some vested interests. Please spare the AFP from intrigues and politics. We need a loyal and professional AFP, especially in these times," he said.
Mercado defended Malajacan, saying the position being occupied by his senior military aide requires a one-star rank.
He said he chose Malajacan for his competence and integrity.
Mercado suspects that disgruntled suppliers and other businessmen could be behind the paid advertisement.
"It would not be surprising if many would be angry with me or those close to me because of their losing income from (defense) contracts," he said.
Reyes admitted that there are complaints whenever there are promotions, but said such grumblings are also true in other organizations.
"Whenever you promote somebody, there are winners and losers. When you send one on military schooling, 20 people in the zone of consideration are unhappy," he said.
For his part, Sen. Gregorio Honasan, who was a former Army colonel that led coups against the Aquino administration, challenged the "shadowy" group to come out in the open. – Paolo Romero, Jaime Laude, Perseus Echeminada, Des Ferriols, Marichu Villanueva, AFP