GMA to AFP: Thank you for your loyalty

Still smarting from a reported aborted coup d’état last week, President Arroyo personally conveyed her gratitude yesterday to her loyal supporters in the military and lauded them for standing behind her and her administration in times of crisis.

The President also backed her thanks with financial support in the form of P5 billion released yesterday to fund the AFP’s short-term reform programs.

In a speech delivered during the 70th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, a happy Mrs. Arroyo twice acknowledged the loyalty of the AFP’s officers and enlisted personnel to the constitutional authority.

"Thank you for your loyalty to the chain of command, the flag and the commander-in-chief amid the turbulence caused by our degenerated political system," the President said.

The Chief Executive was apparently referring to reported moves by disgruntled military and police personnel to unseat her last week.

The coup did not push through because the AFP, in its entirety, is solidly behind the Arroyo administration, top military officials said.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said the Army could have delivered a major blow had the so-called coup plotters pushed through with their plans.

In her speech, the President also hinted that the political opposition was the brains behind the all-out efforts to destabilize her administration.

"I thank you for your faithfulness to the Constitution, the rule of law and the chain of command," she said. "I thank you and the Filipino people thank you for your victories in the battlefield and in the hearts and minds of our people."

Buoyed by the soldiers’ loyalty to her and her administration, Mrs. Arroyo said "our soldiers deserve the financial benefits at par with our teachers." She added that she would launch a "massive housing program" for military officers and enlisted personnel.

The AFP is undertaking several housing projects for soldiers in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

"Your Commander-in-Chief is determined to lift the morale and welfare of the men and women in uniform," she said during a closed-door AFP Commissioned Officers’ County (AFPCOC).

The President told key AFP officers headed by chief of staff Gen. Generoso Senga that the P5-billion funding will be used to address the issue of soldiers’ welfare under the Philippine Defense Reform (PDR) program, a brainchild of Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz.

"This is part of the P35-billion multi-agency fund that will pump-prime the economy for near-term gains for the poor in the areas of public works, housing, food, health and education for our soldiers’ families," Mrs. Arroyo said.

Before going to Camp Aguinaldo yesterday, the President announced that she had instructed Budget Secretary Romulo Neri to facilitate the release of funds as early as January.

"I want the armed forces to march with the people in our journey to join the First World within 20 years," the Commander-in-Chief said.

Mrs. Arroyo also took the opportunity to call on soldiers to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas: "Let us observe Christmas in togetherness despite the challenges. Let us face a bright new year ahead and a bright next 70 years with renewed hope and strength."

In his speech, Senga praised the AFP officers and enlisted personnel for remaining apolitical.

"Thank you for being loyal to our Constitution and believing in our democratic institutions," Senga said as he congratulated the AFP personnel for effecting reforms in the military’s finance and procurement systems — a move triggered by the corruption scandal involving former military comptroller and now convicted and dismissed Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia.

Earlier this month, a general court-martial convicted Garcia on graft charges and sentenced him to two years of hard labor and stripped him of his rank and retirement benefits.