GMA vows to protect military from politics

President Arroyo vowed yesterday to protect the military from politics as she welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court upholding her authority as commander-in-chief to prevent any member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from testifying in a congressional inquiry.

"I am determined to insulate the Armed Forces from politics in the pursuit of its paramount role of defending the republic from threats to its stability and security. I shall not allow any officer or soldier to be dragged into a whimsical inquiry by Congress just to humiliate the uniform," Mrs. Arroyo said in a statement.

"And we shall protect the uniform from undue political interference just as seriously as we shall clean up the military service of misfits and undesirables, promote the strict observance of human rights standards and push the military reform program to build battalions of professional excellence," she added.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the SC decision must be respected and it should be clear by now that military officers and members could not accept invitations to appear in Congress without permission from their superiors.

Soldiers, he said, must follow the chain of command unlike Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani and Lt. Col. Alexander Balutan who appeared in the Senate hearing without the go-signal of the commander-in-chief. The two were subsequently charged for violating the Articles of War 65 and 97.

Ermita noted that all 13 justices of the Supreme Court voted to uphold the absolute authority of Mrs. Arroyo over the military. — Aurea Calica