Esperon ‘confirmed’ as next AFP Chief of Staff: Is Ambassador Willy Gaa headed for Washington DC?

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita rang me up from the Palace to say that the President had released me from my previous vow of omerta and that this writer could freely write that (as everybody already guessed) Lt. Gen. Hermogenes C. Esperon is definitely going to be the AFP Chief of Staff.

To be sure, the retiring AFP Chief, Gen. Generoso S. Senga has been cheerful about his impending exit from his military career on his birthday, July 21. He was born on that day in 1950 in Calumpang, Marikina. When we spoke last Monday, I had asked Gene Senga about his plans – and whether La GMA has offered him an important government post, or whether he intends to pursue a political or civilian career.

Senga chuckled and tactfully evaded the question by saying he had been too busy chasing coup plotters, touring military camps around the country to stiffen the backbone of officers and men (and, indubitably, to shake hands and say "goodbye.") He hadn’t had time, Gene sidestepped the query, to think about post-retirement. That’s the polite way of saying, "no comment," but handsome General Senga was always a smoothie anyway. There goes Philippine Military Class ’72, the former "ruling class" in the military and police.

In comes General Esperon (PMA ’74). Hermo Esperon has all the right qualities. A hard-bitten soldier, used to combat from the Moro Wars in Mindanao to battles with the Communist New People’s Army, he’s commanded all the major units, from the 7th Infantry Division in Fort Magsaysay to the Special Operations Command (SOCOM), Philippine Army – which has under its wing the restive Scout Rangers Regiment formerly under the "withdrawal of support" video-star, Brig. Gen. Danny Lim (now in the brig awaiting investigation), as well as the equally combat-proficient and hardstriking Special Forces Regiment (based in Magsaysay and Bonifacio) which stayed loyal under the command of Medal of Valor holder, Col. Arturo Ortiz. Under Esperon’s SOCOM was also the Light Reaction Battalion, a sharp-edged counterterrorist unit.

It had been Esperon, after his 602nd Infantry Brigade captured MILF stronghold, Camp Rajamuddah, in the Liguasan Marsh (Buliok) complex, who was quickly pulled out by GMA from Cotabato in June 2001 to take over the 103rd Infantry Brigade in Basilan and instructed to pursue the Abu Sayyaf bandits who had raided Dos Palmas resort in Palawan and taken numerous hostages including American Missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham, the murderous Islamic thugs beheading their captives as they went along, including American hostage Guillermo Sobero. Esperon’s brigade managed to rescue most of the captives, but unfortunately Gracia’s husband was killed in the ultimate rescue operation, caught in the crossfire.

Esperon’s closeness to La Presidenta was confirmed when she named him Commanding General of her Presidential Security Group (PSG) in 2002, giving him his first star. He received his second star when he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, later assuming command of the 7th Infantry Division in July 2004.

Promoted to 47th Commanding General of the Philippine Army, he earned his third star. Now, he’s going to be top man in the military establishment. A fighting soldier, I’d say, from Asingan, Pangasinan. Is he a Ramos "man" as well, since he hails from the same hometown? Once, kiddingly, Esperon remarked: "Max, our former President FVR was actually born in Lingayen." (That cryptic comment, of course, dissolves none of my suspicions).

In any event, now that it’s out, we expect General Esperon to take a more active commanding role in ferreting out insurgents in the military, from Magdalo to simply Magulo. He’ll expectedly be raked over the coals when his appointment comes up before the Commission on Appointments, particularly over his alleged links to the "Hello, Garci" celebrated . . . well, scandal. However, what Gloria wants – thus far, Gloria gets. And she obviously wants her trusted Praetorian and skilled "warrior" Hermo at the helm of the Armed Forces.

Someday, I trust, we’ll get an officer from the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) to become AFP Chief of Staff – 70 percent of our men in the field are ably and valiantly commanded in battle by officers who came from the ROTC. (Me, I was one of them, but now retired – not only commissioned from the Ateneo ROTC, but schooled in the Infantry Training Group (ITG) in Camp Floridablanca, Pampanga. My military and combat correspondent days are over – in war here and overseas, I instead send my younger reporters to be cannon fodder).

I remember what I told that compleat warrior, now retired Maj. Gen. Alberto "Boysie" Braganza, a former military aide of GMA and former commander of the SouthCom who distinguished himself in the end commanding the fighting in the Zamboanga area and in Sulu. "You’re truly qualified, Boysie," I regretfully said when he was reputedly short-listed to become Chief of Staff. "But," I warned, "you’ll never become Chief of Staff because you’re from the ROTC. The trouble is that you ROTC officers are steadfast and don’t ever stage coups, mutinies and other messianic shenanigans – while the glamor boys from the PMA are always in one plot or another. Of course, the President strives to please the PMA’ers, which is why they always have the top posts in the military and the Philippine National Police."

Anyway, the best of luck to our friend, Hermo Esperon! Go in there and fight, fight, fight! However, beware the political booby-traps.

* * *

Former Ambassador to Washington, Albert del Rosario, is returning from the US to Manila this weekend. He’s scheduled to deliver speeches at local and foreign chambers of commerce next week, so we won’t try to preempt anything he’ll say.

In DC, in his final weeks, however, he’s been allegedly making uncomplimentary remarks about La Presidenta and how he had unceremoniously been . . . well, sacked. Albert ought to cease and desist, if that’s true. La Gloria gave him five happy years (for him) as our envoy to the most-desired post in our foreign service, even though he continued to merrily make money here at home from his insurance and other multi-million enterprises. Isn’t an Ambassador, even a political one like Don Albert of Sikatuna, supposed to divest just as every government official does? Del Rosario should be grateful, not sullen.

Susmariosep. He even tried to sell off our best Philippine government-owned building in Stockton, San Francisco City, right in the city center of "I Left My Heart in" Baghdad by the Bay. Sanamagan.

He even tried to sell our jewel in the crown, the Philippine Center building on the main street of the world, Fifth Avenue in New York City! By golly, a dozen foreign countries, when informed about the prospect of the "sale," scrambled to be first in line to snap that building up – for our Philippine flag flies proudly from its flagstaff daily. Imagine that, our Flag snapping in the breeze, or even limply hanging when it’s windless in the pollution, on the most famous avenue on earth – seen by millions of passersby, including the powerful, the ritzy and the glitzy, every day.

Long may our Flag wave, by golly – it’s beyond the commerce of man.

Since Ambassador del Rosario has been telling many people in Washington that he was cashiered, I’m compelled to reveal that even if La Glorietta might have gotten pissed off at him for something (I didn’t know), the President had already decided to replace him more than four months ago. In fact, it had been agreed at that time that the new Ambassador to Washington DC would be Ambassador Willy Calaud Gaa, our former envoy to Beijing (2002-2006), later assigned to a second posting as Consul General in Los Angeles, California – where residents there had happily hailed his return. In preparation for his promotion, Gaa had briefly been assigned as Deputy Chief of Mission to Washington, but was abruptly "recalled" through somebody there complaining – was it del Rosario, or who was it?

Maybe – more than maybe, he’s back on track.

I’m forced to say this since somebody influential in Malacañang whom I can only describe as belonging to the "Brokeback Mountain" Gang, has recently been moving heaven and earth, and perhaps even hell, to grab the appointment to the Washington post just vacated.

I wouldn’t mind too much if he were gay, but he’s also conniving. Fie on this fellow! Get him (as Hamlet’s once famously and cruelly told his ill-fated girl friend Ophelia) to a Nunnery instead.

* * *

As everybody in the Department of Foreign Affairs and beyond, but especially La Presidenta know full well, Gaa is not a grandstander but eminently qualified to be our envoy to America.

Perhaps, he’ll acquire more flash and dash when he realizes he’s now dealing with the likes of Condi Rice and "The Suits" and other boys and girls in Old Foggy Bottom or Capitol Hill, plus belting it out with the big spenders and big pretenders within the Beltway.

What about our "lobby" in Washington DC? It’s in tatters. The high-priced lobby and PR firms we’ve hired are either shortchanging us, or don’t have the Republican connections of which they boast. There’s one bunch called B & M, which doesn’t even seem to have the clout of M & M (chocolates).

Gaa, who hails from Looc, Romblon (our marble province), has a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Law Studies from New York University (1985), a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines (1970); a Bachelor of Arts (A.B. Political Science) from MLQ University (1966). He graduated Salutatorian from Looc National High School. He even had special training in Maritime Dispute Settlement from the UP College of Law in 1999.

Willy is a member of the American Society of International Law, Washington DC; Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP-Lifetime); American Bar Association (1991-1992) and the State Bar of California (inactive status).

He received the Distinguished Service Award from the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2000, and the Gawad Sentenaryo (Centennial Award 1999) from the National Centennial Commission.

He was Consul-General in New York (1997-1999), but has also served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Australia (2002-2003), and, as already mentioned, to the People’s Republic of China.

Gaa was Ambassador etc. to Tripoli (Libya) and non-resident Ambassador to Tunisia, Malta and Niger (1992-1997), and previously was Minister-Counsellor and Consul-General in Tripoli (1991-92).

As is well known, he’s been posted to Los Angeles and New York twice, as well as been assigned to working groups in Singapore, Bangkok, and Hua Hin, Thailand, and to Intersessional group meetings on Confidence Building Measures in Tokyo and Singapore. Willy further attended the United Nations Seminar on International Law in Geneva, Switzerland (1979) as a UN Fellow.

But that’s enough for starters. He’s the man to watch – if PGMA remains determined to nominate him for Washington DC.

* * *

THE ROVING EYE . . . I followed much of the just-completed World Cup (being a diehard football fanatic, and having once played in the dear old days beyond recall). It was with both shock and disgust to see a man whom I had previously admired when he lead the French team to World Cup championship four years ago, and during his days as one of the Los Galacticos in my favorite European team – which has fallen on bad days – the Réal Madrid, do that deliberate and disgusting head-butt on the chest of Italian player Marco Materazzi in the 110th minute of the championship clash in Berlin, which Italy went on to win 5-3 in penalty kicks. What an ugly thing it was for France’s Zinedine Zidane to end his long career in football with that disgraceful act, which got him slapped with a Red Card and summarily sent down by the Referee to the locker room, barred from returning to the upper stadium to join his teammates in getting their medals. Zidane shamed himself – and he shamed France, even though President Jacques Chirac who was present for the Big Game attempted to put a good face on it, and even received all the crestfallen French footballers who had almost made it, with honors in the Elysées Palace, lauding Zidane – while many of the French snarled that the head-butted Materazzi must have said something horribly insulting to Zidane to merit that naked assault from their idol. Fallen idol, I must insist. The irony of it is that sports journalists had taken a vote at mid-game – long before the disgusting headbutt (witnessed by 1 billion televiewers all over the planet!) – and still awarded the Gold Bowl as "Best Player in the World Cup" to Zidane. Sacre bleu and tant pis! It leaves a sour taste in the mouth . . . As John Vinocur, commenting from Paris, headlined his brilliant column in yesterday’s International Herald Tribune, "A Shadow Obscuring France’s World Cup Grandeur", and I quote him on Zidane: "As a human being, hundreds of articles reported on his personal grace, his respect for everything insignificant, small or weak. He also took no crap: lean on Zidane and he came back at you. Yellow cards, red cards, St. Zinédine protected his livelihood, his wife and four sons. He knew the rules from growing up in Marseille. Sometimes you throw the first punch." Vinocur recalled that Zidane had "stomped on a fallen player from Saudi Arabia and gotten expelled from an early match in the ’98 World Cup." He added that having "deservedly" (been) thrown out of the last game of his career last Sunday for a dumb head butt, it’s a guess to say a soccer career provided a safety valve for the inarticulated rage inhabiting a ‘saint’ from the La Castellane housing projects." Why, Pelé of Brazil who had come up from a favela and slums far worse than where Zidane originated – never nursed no such bitterness or rage. Shame on you, Zinédine! Vinocur commented that Zidane "the now retired and slightly less saintly Lord of the Pitch is of Berber, not Arab origin" – but, of course, like more than six million French, a Muslim. If you noticed, France field a fine but basically "black" team, they had come from the colonies of France’s former imperial grandeur and become "French". Egalité existing in La Belle France, and the Constitution which prohibits racial or religious distinction among its citizens (Vive la France!) you can’t comfortably count the number of blacks, very few whites, and a lot of North Africans playing for the national team, since all are regarded to be "French" as baguettes and French Toast, and are French Fries not in America’s sneer, Freedom Fries. Le Figaro, the powerful right-of-center daily, did mention as the team approached the Final: "The ‘negritude’ of the French team has become an absolute taboo. And yet it’s the subject that keeps coming back in conversation." Alors . . . Italy played well, and if you watched the Italians battle their way to the top, one knew they were seeing champions in action. Their ball-handling, with their flashing feet, their stamina, their verve, were aggressive and excellent in every game – even while their home teams back in Italy like A.C. Milan, Lazio, Juventus, etc., were involved in an investigation which stinked of great scandal. (In Italy, they are like us – scandals galore with their morning espresso or cappuchino). They were compelled, though, to win their last game, their Championship which clinched the World Cup, with penalty kicks. Tanto auguri, you wonderful Italians – it warmed the heart to see them in Roma and Milano erupting into wild delight! . . . The real winners in the World Cup were the Germans. They were great hosts, taking their defeat in stride – by golly, that team exceeded my fondest expectations (and those of their fellow Germans it must be said). The world came to Germany, the cash-registers were ringing, and a good time, it’s evident, was had by all!