Adan appointment may cause military unrest — Biazon

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon assailed the Palace yesterday for deferring the appointment of Maj. Gen. Samuel Bagasin and designating Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan as officer-in-charge of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Command (Southcom).

Biazon warned Malacañang anew of brewing dismay from the military brass and rank-and-file over Adan’s last-minute appointment to what is perceived as a plum AFP post.

"Anytime you politicize the AFP, you prostitute the professionalism in the organization," said Biazon, chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security.

Adan reportedly got the last-minute appointment after an influential congressman who defended President Arroyo during the impeachment process at the House of Representatives intervened in the Southcom leadership, sources from the military said.

"This development is politicizing the Armed Forces even more and the young officers can not accept this," Biazon said. "This could only add to uncertainties in the AFP."

Biazon, a former defense chief and AFP chief of staff, criticized both the Arroyo administration and the AFP leadership under chief of staff Gen. Generoso Senga for recklessly "disregarding of the functions of the Board of Generals" regarding recommendations for the advancement of senior military officers in position and rank.

Biazon issued this statement after he was informed of Adan’s appointment despite the approval of the AFP Board of Generals to appoint Bagasin as Southcom commander as early as a month ago.

Mrs. Arroyo even initially approved of Bagasin’s designation as Southcom chief, Biazon said, adding that Bagasin’s relatives and friends had flown home from the United States to witness the turnover ceremony.

Biazon said Bagasin is the most senior division commander and he would have been, if not number one, among the top four or five names submitted to the President by an establishment that honors seniority.

"It only shows that there could have been political intervention, especially if it is true than Maj. Gabriel Habacon, who was mentioned in the Garcillano tapes was initially being considered to replace Lt. Gen. Braganza," he said.

Biazon said Adan’s appointment elicited a strong reaction from both the military rank-and-file and the AFP leadership.

"Everyone is asking (politicians) to insulate the AFP from politics," he said. "If the reports coming out from this Southcom fiasco are true, then this is politicizing the AFP even more."

In another development, Biazon also announced that his committee will tackle a resolution filed by Sen. Jamby Madrigal calling for a probe into the alleged involvement of Habacon and three other military generals in rigging last year’s elections, as was mentioned in the controversial "Hello, Garci" tapes.

Lt. Gen. Buenaventura Pascual, AFP’s public information office chief, defended Adan’s appointment, saying that everything remains normal within the ranks of the military.

"The officers’ corps knows that the Board of Generals is a recommendatory body and the final decision is with the Commander-in-Chief, the President," Pascual said.

After being passed over for the Southcom post, Bagasin is reportedly thinking of retiring from service but his classmates in Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class ’73 are trying to convince him to reconsider. Habacon belongs to the same batch.

Pascual dismissed allegations made by several senior military colonels that Adan’s appointment violated the AFP’s rule that bars any officer due to retire in less than a year from being transferred from his post. Adan has barely four months left before he retires at the age of 56.

"Adan’s appointment is legal under the law," he said.

Through telephone interviews and text messages to The STAR, a number of military commanders claimed the rank-and-file are now restive because of the controversy.

"This is the first time it happened. Even during the time of (the late strongman Ferdinand) Marcos, this did not happen. The situation is now sickening," a brigadier general said.

A full colonel described Adan’s appointment as a clear violation of AFP policy, while another official of the same rank criticized Adan’s military service record.

"He is not an exemplary commander to be given such a sensitive post. He did not even become division commander. Ask the people at PMA. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will not affect our anti-terrorism campaign," he said.

Another Army colonel said that with Southcom under Adan’s command, soldiers in the area are demoralized because "their commander does not have any combat experience."

Adan, in a previous report, dismissed these allegations and said his detractors appear not to know him well.

"They don’t know me," he said, adding that he spent 12 years of his military career fighting Muslim rebels in Mindanao. — Christina Mendez, Jaime Laude