100,000 military, police retirees back FPJ bid

An organization of military and police veterans with over 100,000 members across the country is backing the presidential bid of actor Fernando Poe Jr., spokesman for the opposition Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) Rod Reyes said yesterday.

In a statement, Reyes said the Military-Police Retirees and Veterans Organization (MPRVO) led by retired Gen. Cesar Fortuno has affiliated itself with the Alliance of Generals for Poe (AGPOE) led by retired general Roberto Calinisan, which has "fully committed its support" for the movie actor.

Reyes claimed MPRVO is composed of over 100,000 retired military and police officers and men.

Reyes said Calinisan’s group shared the view of AGPOE that Poe’s "non-political background and lack of political baggage" make him acceptable to all sectors of society as a "symbol of unity."

They described Poe as the "Panday ng Pagbabago (the blacksmith of change)," referring to the actor’s previous role in the hit movie Ang Panday.

Reyes said Calinisan and Fortuno were among the 20 other retired generals who pledged their support during a meeting with Poe at a restaurant in San Juan over the weekend.

Besides Calinisan and Fortuno, among those who attended the Jan. 24 fellowship meeting with Poe were retired generals Tomas Diaz, who chairs the Alliance of Generals; Jaime Echeverria, former head of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers (AGFO); Enrique Cuadra, Antonio Arriola, Antonio Villanueva, Aquilino Jacob, Enrique Atanacio, Cirilo Bueno, Cesar Abella, Antonio Palafox, Salvador Flores, Danilo Flores, Pedro Balbanero, Angel Sadang, Elpidio Ablang, Pedro Navarro, Rodolfo Garcia, Larry Andes. Rey Cabauatan, Edgardo Maristela and Commodore Nick Hernandez.

Reyes said Calinisan and Fortuno also assured Poe they will exhort their fellow officers still in active duty to remain impartial during the election period to ensure that their positions would not be used to advance other political agenda.

In a manifesto addressed to President Arroyo, former President Fidel Ramos, Speaker Jose de Venecia, Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos and the justices of the Supreme Court, AGPOE members belonging to an affiliate organization, the Alliance of Generals, stressed the need to "uphold the impartiality and neutrality of the military and the police in the forthcoming 2004 national elections."

"Any attempt to utilize the officers and soldiers of the Armed Forces and the Police, or any of its offices, in the national political campaign efforts of the administration, under any pretext of legality would be viewed as a brazen violation and usurpation of the Constitution which most of them have sworn to preserve and protect," the manifesto stated. -Jose Rodel Clapano