Bangit an Arroyo ‘yes-man’ due to debt of gratitude - ex-general

Incoming Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit may be used by the administration to cheat in the May 10 elections, a retired Marine officer said on Tuesday. Former Marine Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani said it would be difficult for Bangit to say no to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who has been accused of election fraud in the past, due to “debt of gratitude." “We are living in the utang na loob (debt of gratitude) system. How can you say no to somebody who has given you so much favor?" Gudani told GMANews.TV in an interview after attending an election forum in Quezon City organized by the La Liga Policy Institute. “If GMA [Arroyo’s initials] will ask a favor from General Bangit, he is not in a position to say no because of the favor that was given to him by the President," he added. Gudani was the military official who exposed alleged election anomalies in central Mindanao in 2004 where President Arroyo defeated her closest rival, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., by a small margin. A former commander of the 1st Marine Brigade and Joint Task Force Lanao in the Lanao provinces, Gudani was also among the names mentioned in the controversial conversations contained in the "Hello, Garci" tapes, in which a poll official and a woman believed to be President Arroyo discussed ways to rig the 2004 elections. Apolitical Army spokesman Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos denied Gudani’s accusation, saying Bangit has remained “apolitical and was never involved in partisan politics" throughout his military career. “He will never allow the organization to be used to advance any political interest," Burgos said in a statement on Tuesday. Gudani said President Arroyo seemed to be doing everything to ensure that she would not get persecuted once a presidential candidate from the opposition wins in the May elections. “She knows for a fact that after June 30 all directions will lead her to jail," Gudani said. He even noted President Arroyo's reported attempts to hand pick the next Supreme Court justice to replace retiring Chief Justice Reynato Puno. Bangit is being linked to “Oplan August Moon," where members of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class of 1978, of which President Arroyo is an adopted member, will be placed in key positions in the police and military institutions. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, meanwhile, challenged Bangit to ensure a peaceful and orderly conduct of the May elections. "There should be no repeat of the 'Hello, Garci' scandal," said Belle Enriquez, spokesperson of Lim, who is detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center on charges of rebellion for the 2007 Peninsula siege. Lim, a senatorial candidate running under the Liberal Party, dared Bangit to display impartiality and “commit to democracy and the rule of law, not the rule of Mrs.Gloria Macapagal Arroyo." - KBK, GMANews.TV