'Militics' coming out anew at AFP

Day 12 — President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, or P-Noy, is presiding his first command conference of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City today. The newly minted Commander-in-Chief of the AFP already had his formal ceremonies of assumption of Command a day after his inaugural into office on June 30. So it’s now time to get into the brass tacks.

This early, P-Noy must be sensing Military politics seeping back in the AFP organization. Let’s call it “militics” for brevity. Its ugly head stared us in the face at the “surrender” of cashiered Marines Capt. Nicanor Faeldon who was presented to the media on Thursday. The press conference for the Faeldon “surrender” was held at a resort in Antipolo City where Philippine Navy public information officers headed by Col Edgard Arevalo were undergoing a weeklong seminar on effective communications.

Faeldon, one of the Magdalo officers in the infamous Oakwood mutiny in July 2003, is supposed to be one of the “most wanted” fugitives. But lo and behold! Faeldon was not in handcuffs. As a fugitive, Faeldon should have been dropped from the AFP. Why was he flagrantly given such undeserved accommodation from the institution he openly shamed and publicly bad-mouthed?

Faeldon was even seated at the press conference table beside his two most senior officers, acting Navy flag-officer-in-command Rear Admiral Danilo Cortez and Marines Commandant Maj. Gen.Juancho Sabban. Faeldon declared he finally gave himself up because he believes he would be given justice under the P-Noy administration. Were Generals Sabban and Cortez trying to win “pogi” points for themselves with Faeldon as their talking head?

Such poor attempt of “militics” are coming out in the open again in what could be the aftermath of the forced early retirement of erstwhile AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Delfin Bangit. This was of course the honorable exit taken by Gen. Bangit after P-Noy expressed publicly he would like to have his own AFP chief-of-staff appointee.

So even before P-Noy could officially assume as Commander-in-Chief, Bangit retired and his vice chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Nestor Ochoa took over in an acting capacity. Bangit’s misfortune started with his being a “mistah” or classmate of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). She was adopted as honorary member of Bangit’s PMA Class 1978. To the consternation of more senior PMA classmen, Bangit, along with several “mistahs” were promoted ahead of them in key AFP posts before Mrs. Arroyo stepped down from power.

In the promotion system at the AFP that gives due respect to seniority as one of the major criteria, Bangit stepping over several heads more senior than him in the coveted post, of course, did not sit well with those affected. In the more than nine years in power of ex-President Arroyo, her “mistahs” enjoyed fast-tracked promotion through the years.

During the May election campaign, The STAR presidential forum series asked this common question to all candidates about their respective views on the controversial appointment at that time of Bangit as AFP chief-of-staff. As the presidential standard bearer of the Liberal Party, Noynoy reiterated his public stand on the matter that he would appoint a new AFP chief. if elected into office. At this juncture, he disclosed about his personal policy of not accepting invitation to be adopted by any of the PMA classes.

By becoming adopted honorary member to a particular PMA class, he rationalized this would naturally be to the exclusion of the other PMA classes. It was a valid reason and a sound decision. Not identified with any particular PMA class, P-Noy would not be accused of favoring one PMA class over the others.

Now that he is the Commander-in-Chief of the AFP, P-Noy has named Lt. Gen. Ricardo David, PMA class 1977 as his choice of AFP chief-of-staff. During the presidential campaign, Gen.David was then the commander of the Army’s Northern Luzon Command that included Aquino’s home province – Tarlac. David, by the way, is a provincemate of P-Noy. Maj. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan who belongs to PMA 1979 replaced David as Nolcom chief.

Gen. Ochoa (PMA Class 1977) returned to his post as AFP vice chief- of-staff. He, too, decided to leave the military service earlier than his scheduled retirement in December. Ochoa is no stranger to P-Noy because he was among the Palace defenders during the coup d’ etats that tried but failed to unseat his late mother, former President Corazon Aquino. Ochoa was still a young Major assigned at the Presidential Security Group (PSG) headed then by Col. Voltaire Gazmin who is now P-Noy’s Defense Secretary.

P-Noy disclosed he plans to appoint Ochoa as ambassador to one Asian country, possibly to Cambodia. Our incumbent ambassador there is also a retired military general, Noe Wong. He is one of the 21 ambassadors who were all political appointees of ex-President Arroyo, but the Palace extended their tour of duty for another three months until new ones are appointed by P-Noy. That’s why career officers at the Department of Foreign Affairs are also up in arms after P-Noy bared his plan to appoint his first political appointee, another retired military general, in the diplomatic service.

Like in the civilian bureaucracy, P-Noy is still in the process of organizing his own corps of officers in the AFP. So for now, he would conduct his first command conference with the present service commanders in the AFP whom he inherited from his predecessor — Army chief Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu, Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena and Adm.Cortez as Navy acting chief.

Generals Mapagu, Rabena and Sabban all belong to PMA Class 1978, of Mrs. Arroyo who have not been replaced in their posts while their other “mistah,” have followed Bangit’s lead like former chief of the Intelligence Service of the AFP, Lt. Gen.Romeo Prestoza who also opted for early retirement.

The first wave of military reassignments have obviously re-ignited “militics” and rumors that some officers being dissatisfied with the way promotions were granted to favored ones, are nothing new in such organization like the AFP. P-Noy is no stranger to “militics”. He survived it during his late mother’s term with a bullet still lodged in his neck.