GMA kin to take over ISAFP helm

A senior military aide of President Arroyo is slated to take over the helm of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) soon, succeeding an officer who is being eased from the post for reasons still unknown.

Commodore Leonardo Calderon, a relative of Mrs. Arroyo, will soon take over the post of Brigadier General Marlowe Quevedo, who is being given another assignment outside the ISAFP.

Calderon, a graduate of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1976, is based at Malacañang. He is the brother of Deputy Director Oscar Calderon, the Philippine National Police Deputy Chief for Operations.

Insiders at Camp Aguinaldo claimed Quevedo’s ouster as ISAFP chief was brought about by an intense rivalry among military officers eyeing his post.

They also said Quevedo, who is not a PMA alumnus, had reportedly fallen out of favor with his superiors following a series of lapses he committed as ISAFP chief.

In several instances, Quevedo allegedly failed to observe the chain of command and reported directly to Malacañang major intelligence issues, leaving his immediate superiors in the military and the Department of National Defense out of the loop, sources said.

They cited that during the Valentine’s Day bombing in Makati City earlier this year, Quevedo went straight to Malacañang instead of first reporting the matter to AFP chief General Efren Abu.

"Hindi lang iyan. Marami pang mga intelligence projects sila diyan na under question (That’s not all. They have many intelligence projects under question)," said several insiders, who added that financial questions at the ISAFP also contributed to Quevedo’s ouster.

A senior naval officer dismissed the insiders’ claims as mere speculation, saying that Calderon’s reassignment to ISAFP was long overdue.

"Matagal na siyang nakasalang sa puwestong iyan. Kaya hindi naman issue iyan kung makukuha niya (He is in line for that post. It is not an issue if he gets it)," the officer said.

Lieutenant Colonel Buenaventura Pascual, AFP public information office chief, said he had yet to be informed of the change in leadership at the ISAFP.

He said questions regarding this issue would be best answered by the military’s personnel department.

Quevedo could not be reached for comment on his supposed relief.

Last month, Abu clipped the wings of the ISAFP by placing its military intelligence groups (MIGs) under the operational control of the five area commands.

The AFP has five area commands, namely the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) based in Tarlac; the Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) based in Lucena City, Quezon; the Western Command (Wescom) based in Palawan; the Visayas Command (Viscom) in Cebu; and the Southern Command (Southcom) in Zamboanga City.

Pascual said with MIGs under the operational control of area commanders, they could work jointly with intelligence units of each area command and there would be no need for an MIG commander to report his moves to ISAFP headquarters.

"This is for the purposes of timeliness and immediacy," he said, adding that, in the past, some intelligence reports that required immediate action could not be addressed immediately by area commanders.

However, several military sources described the move as disturbing since MIGs, with their vast power, have been the major source of intelligence information on internal security threats in the country.