Arroyo inviting a new military revolt — detained ex-general

(Updated 9:40 PM) A resigned military official facing rebellion and mutiny charges on Friday warned of a military uprising if President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo insists on appointing the replacement of Chief Justice Reynato Puno. “Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is inviting a new military uprising," former Brigadier General Danilo Lim said in a press statement. He denounced the recent Supreme Court decision allowing the President to pick the next Chief Justice. Lim, running under the Liberal Party’s senatorial line up, is a former chief of the Scout Ranger Regiment accused of masterminding the February 2006 coup. Days before the standoff between government troops and restive military officers, the Arroyo government was prompted to declare a state of national emergency in the country. The move immediately revoked permits to hold demonstrations and protests against the Arroyo administration, which, at that time, was reeling from the backlash of the “Hello, Garci" scandal. The controversy alleged that Arroyo called up Commission on Elections official Virgilio “Garci" Garcillano to reportedly rig the May 2004 elections. Restive soldiers? “Lest we forget, the possibility of a military uprising becomes real when democratic institutions are weakened to the point where the check and balance mechanisms are severely skewered, and when civilian authorities blatantly contravenes the rule of law and the Constitution; as what this government has done so many times," said Lim, who is currently detained at the Philippine National Police detention center. Restive sections of the military are reportedly disgruntled anew after the High Tribunal ruled on the appointment issue. “Can we blame the ordinary soldier? When the judiciary is anything but luminous, when the legislature is the plaything of Malacanang and when our poll body is widely perceived as a cheating apparatus, can we fault the ordinary soldier if he decided to heed his conscience and rise up?" Lim asked. Some sectors maintain that President Arroyo is barred from appointing the next Chief Justice, citing Section 15 Article VII of the 1987 Constitution. The provision prohibits the incumbent president from making appointments two months before an election and until his or her term expires. Applied this year, the election ban started on March 10 and will last until the end of President Arroyo’s term on June 30. Puno will hang his robes on May 17, or seven days after the May 10 polls. Puno took a two-week sabbatical leave starting Thursday. He named Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio as acting head of the SC. [See: Puno takes sabbatical leave, names acting chief justice] It is the first time that the retirement of the chief justice falls on the period covered by Section 15, Article VII. When it released its decision regarding the matter, the Supreme Court also considered the opinion of retired justice Florenz Regalado. “He is a very respected jurist. He holds the record of having the highest rating in the Bar exams," Court administration and spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said during a separate press briefing. The Court rejected the claim of other constitutional commissioners such as Christian Monsod and Fr. Joaquin Bernas, who helped frame the 1987 Constitution. The same ruling was defended by retired Court of Appeals associate justice Regalado Maambong, who is also a constitutional commissioner. “There is no way that we can prevent the President to appoint the (next) Chief Justice. There's no problem about the SC decision," he said. Mockery? Lim appealed to the high tribunal to overturn its decision. He said he supports the Filipino people in calling on the sense of the court to forbid Mrs. Arroyo from making a mockery of our judiciary. “Gloria has already done so much damage to our political institutions. The Supreme Court has the unique opportunity to settle this peacefully. Let the rule of law prevail. Lest they want to witness an uprising powered by the people and military, the high tribunal must heed the public’s clamor," he said. However, Lim distanced himself from the prospect of new military uprising saying he has already chosen a new path to pursue his advocacy for social change. “I have already done my part and I have no regrets. While ‘a new rising’ may not come from our end, I am certain, as long as this government is in power and continues to rule with total disregard for our democratic institutions, the possibility of a soldier’s revolt is always there," he said. For his part, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Delfin Bangit appealed to critics to spare the military from the allegations. “Please do not drag us into politics. We have a mission to do. If you want us to serve better, then leave us alone, allow us to do our job," he said after the closing ceremonies of the RP-US Balikatan exercises in Camp Aguinaldo. Asked to comment on the impression that he is known to be close to the President, Bangit said: “That’s not my problem. They are the ones saying so maybe that’s their problem but not mine." In the event of failure of election, Bangit said he will remain true to his oath as a soldier, which is to protect and support the Constitution. “I have my oath. I will not go beyond my oath." No restiveness in the military, AFP spokesperson says AFP public affairs chief Lt. Col. Arnulfo downplayed Lim’s pronouncements in a press briefing held later in the afternoon in Camp Aguinaldo. “There is no restiveness in the military. There is no problem. Everyone is still adhering to the chain of command," Burgos said, adding that the military has an enhanced feedback mechanism from its officers and men owing to the modern technology. “Our troop information and education continue. There is no problem with our troops," he said. The military has become more mature ever since the days when Lim was figured in “military adventurisms," the last of which when he led the siege of the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City in November 2007. “The military is now very professional...The Armed Forces of the Philippines has transformed well enough. We’ve learned so much already," said Burgos. Military personnel would no longer join any future upheavals “because they know where they are going," he added. “The safest thing to do is to follow, adhere to the chain of command." More chaotic The military has played major roles in two major uprisings that toppled President Ferdinand Marcos in February 1986 and President Joseph Estrada in January 2001. “What should we write so that this can be understood by our countrymen is the dedication and sacrifices of our troops. If they say that we have the last say (in ousting and installing a president), that’s what the people think but I have said in my statement…I have my oath and it will be to the protection and to the support of the Constitution, nothing more, nothing less," Bangit added. Presidential deputy spokesperson Charito Planas believed that the growing opposition to the SC decision will result in instability, adding that it would be more chaotic if the decision will not be followed. She added that critics have their right to rally but when the ruling becomes final and executory “there is nothing we can do. Let's wait for developments." In the meantime, different groups on Friday staged a rally in front of Supreme Court condemning nine justices who voted in favor of the decision allowing Mrs. Arroyo to pick the next chief justice. Party-list group Kabataan even set on fire pictures of the nine justices — Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin, Jose Perez, Roberto Abad, Martin Villarama, Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Arturo Brion, Diosdado Peralta, Jose Mendoza and Mariano del Castillo. Among those who joined the protests were independent presidential candidate Senator Ma. Ana Consuelo Madrigal, senatorial candidate Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, Senator Francis Pangilinan, and Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño. Also joining the group — which numbered less than a hundred —former Socio Economic Planning adviser Solita “Winnie" Monsod, lawyer Adel Tamano, former Arroyo peace process adviser Teresita Deles, and Transparency and Accountability Network head Vince Lazatin. The groups said they will be filing a motion for reconsideration against the SC decision. For its part, the Supreme Court appealed for sobriety, saying that it is the group’s constitutional right to hold protest actions. “It seems to me that many of them are the same people who have given their views on this issue already even before the Court issued the ruling. I can’t blame them for standing by their views. I just hope they would not resort to violence," Court administration and spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said during a separate press briefing. At the same time, he warned members of the Philippine Bar who would “go beyond the line" and join violent acts to oppose the ruling because they could be disbarred. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV