AFP: Let Arroyo decide on Ibrado’s term extension

The Armed Forces of the Philippines told its men on Thursday to ignore speculations on the fate of its chief of staff and appealed to politicians to stop trying to politicize the military. In a press briefing on Thursday, AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the AFP is a professional organization and it could function whether or not the term of chief of staff Gen. Victor Ibrado is extended beyond March 10. Brawner also appealed to politicians to stop questioning the reputation of Army chief Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit, who is reportedly being groomed as Ibrado’s replacement because of his links to Malacañang. “We should not resort to destroying the reputation of our officials. The unified commanders are all eligible to become chief of staff," he said. Ibrado is set to leave the military service on March 10 – or two months before the May 10 automated elections – upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56. Support In a manifesto in November last year, some presidential candidates urged President Arroyo to extend Ibrado’s term in office until June 30, to ensure the stability of the military during the election season. [See: Arroyo urged to extend AFP chief’s term] The Magdalo, a group of reformist military officers involved in an attempt to overthrow the Arroyo administration in 2003, also expressed support for Ibrado’s term extension, saying it would be beneficial both to the military’s reputation and the country’s political stability. Even detained Col. Ariel Querubin, a key leader in a failed attempt to overthrow Arroyo administration four years ago, is in favor of extending Ibrado's term, describing him as a “man of integrity" who will not allow anything illegal to happen. “I want his term extended so that they cannot interfere with the coming elections," said Querubin, alluding to the Arroyo government, which has been rocked of election manipulation in the past. Querbuin is currently detained at Camp Aguinaldo for a charge of mutiny for his involvement in the February 2006 attempt to oust President Arroyo on legitimacy and corruption issues. Save AFP from politics To preserve the military as a professional organization, Brawner called on its members to ignore any speculations on the matter. "Panawagan ng leadership of the AFP, kung pupuwede huwag pansinin ng mga sundalo ang mga ganito (The AFP leadership's call to our soldiers is this: ignore the speculations about a term extension). It doesn't matter who our chief of staff is, as long as we do our own job at our own level," Brawner said in an interview on dzXL radio. To politicians, he said: "Kung pwede, i-shield ang AFP from any politics (Please shield the AFP from any politics)," he added. "The decision of whether to extend or not his term is the prerogative of the president. As far as we know, Gen. Ibrado will accept the decision whatever it may be," he said. He also stressed the AFP would follow its "strict mandate" to provide general security to the public especially during the election period. "You can be assured the AFP will remain apolitical and we will stick with our mandate," he said. Last Monday, Malacañang said that consultation efforts were in progress on the proposed extension of Ibrado’s term. Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales Jr. is in talks with the Armed Forces top brass to get inputs on the matter. - with Andreo Calonzo/LBG/KBK, GMANews.TV