‘Militarization’ is Arroyo's way to stay in power - solon

(Updated 4:20 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines - The alleged “militarization" of the government is President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s way to stay in power, a senator said Sunday. Senator Francis “Kiko" Pangilinan made the statement following the appointments of retired Adm. Tirso Danga to the National Printing Office (NPO) and former Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. to the Presidential Management Staff (PMS). Retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan is also reportedly being groomed for a position at the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB). "It's all part of the arrangement. This is an issue of survival. She (Arroyo) has to stay in power, to keep her ship afloat. An issue of consolidating her power base," Pangilinan told radio dzBB’s Nimfa Ravelo in an interview Sunday morning. He added that President Arroyo needs to keep retired and active military officials in her power base to deal with her waning popularity as a result of the “Hello Garci" scandal in 2005. "What is her power base? The base is no longer the Filipino people in that sense because almost eight out of ten are disappointed. So, if the people are no longer trusting the President, where will she getting her support? She is getting it now from the active and retired military men. She's getting it from the Armed Forces," he said. The “Hello Garci" scandal refers to the wiretapped conversations allegedly between President Arroyo and former Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano on a plot to rig the results of the 2004 presidential elections. Curiously, Danga and Esperon were among the ranking military officials being linked to the scandal. Danga was appointed to the NPO post supposedly to get rid of syndicates in the agency, which prints government forms and documents, including electoral ballots and election returns. On the other hand, Esperon, as PMS chief, will head an agency that is tasked with managing the development and formulation of the projects and policies of the Office of the President. Last Friday, Senator Manuel Roxas II said President Arroyo may be brewing plans for term extension and Martial Law by “surrounding herself with yes-men who won't question any illegal directives." But in an interview on government-run dzRB radio, outgoing Presidential Management Staff (PMS) head and incoming Press Secretary Cerge Remonde turned the tables on the political opponents of President Arroyo, saying they might be the ones cooking up plans for a martial rule. "Those who think of Martial Law, perhaps, are the people who will use Martial Law when they’ll have the chance to use it," Remonde said. 'Undermining democracy' Pangilinan said the militarization of the government is undermining democracy. “At ito ay hindi maganda sa ating demokrasya sapagkat kapag nakasandal sa military, ang military ngayon ang mangingibabaw. Militarization ang magiging patakaran at ito’y hindi maganda sa demokrasya." he said. [“This is not good for our democracy because you are leaning on the military. Militarization is becoming the policy."] A pro-administration lawmaker, however, said the appointments of these former soldiers to civilian offices are not something to be alarmed about. In a separate interview, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile denied that a “militarization" is ongoing in the Arroyo government. “Hindi naman siguro militarization ‘yan. Kanya-kanyang style ‘yan kung ikaw ang president [I don’t think it’s militarization. Each president has his or her own leadership style]," he said. Enrile scored statements that President Arroyo is giving plum posts to military men to show people that she has a strong hold of the Armed Forces. He stressed that under the Constitution, an incumbent president is automatically the commander in chief of the Armed Forces. No surprise "Why should we be surprised? I’m not defending President Arroyo, but under the Constitution the incumbent president is the concurrent Armed Forces’ commander in chief, rank-wise. She is the five-star general of the entire Armed Forces. She can utilize the military organization if there’s a need for it," he said in Filipino. Enrile said there is nothing to worry about with the appointments because retired officers are no longer in the position to order and be obeyed by active soldiers. “Hindi ako nangangamba sa ganyan [I’m not worried]… if you’re out of the military … wala ka nang poder [You no longer have the clout]. You don’t have the influence whatsoever," Enrile said. Enrile also said that those who branded Palparan’s impending entry to the DDB as a militarization of the government should have made the same move when former Armed Forces chief Gen. Dionisio Santiago was appointed director general of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in 2006. “Andiyan si Dionisio Santiago, heneral din ‘yan. Bakit di nila sinabi na militarization? Chief of staff yan. Ngayon ilalagay nila si Jovito Palparan, sasabihin nila militarization," Enrile asked. [“Why were they silent when Dionisio Santiago, a former military chief of staff, was appointed? But now that Jovito Palparan will be given a post, they say it’s a militarization?"] Palparan’s looming appointment had drawn flak from groups like the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and the Citizens Crime Watch, which urged Palparan to clear his human rights record first. Palparan had been accused of ordering extrajudicial killings of activists while in the military. Remonde, for his part, said it is "unfair to "discriminate" against former members of the Armed Forces. "Are they (former AFP officials) lesser persons? Are they lesser qualified because they are former generals? On the other hand, I think we have to recognize the training and the experience that they have accomplished… that qualifies them for the position," he said. - GMANews.TV