Arroyo breaks tradition, to attend Army anniversary

After skipping for the first time the graduation rites of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) last week, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will attend on Monday the 113th founding anniversary of the Philippine Army, which is a break from military tradition. Unlike the PNPA graduation rites, which is traditionally presided by the President, the Army anniversary is usually presided by the incumbent secretary of the Department of National Defense (DND). The Army is currently headed by Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu, President Arroyo’s mistah (classmate) in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class of 1978, where she is an adopted member. Also a class member is newly installed Armed Forces chief Gen. Delfin Bangit. “Maybe she had a lighter schedule tomorrow [Monday]," Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said on Sunday when asked on why President Arroyo would attend the event when she had skipped the PNPA rites last Friday due to a prior appointment. Among the military activities that traditionally require the President’s presence are the turnover ceremony for the Armed Forces chief, the celebration of the Armed Forces anniversary, and the PMA graduation. Nothing sinister Torres said he was not aware of the last time a President acted as guest speaker for an Army anniversary. He, however, said “there is nothing sinister" about the invitation for President Arroyo to attend the Army event that will be held in Fort Bonifacio. “She was invited, that doesn’t mean anything. This may be the last [Army] anniversary that she would be attending as the President, that’s all," Torres said, adding that the public “should not put malice" to the invitation. Mapagu, in an interview last Friday, said President Arroyo was invited to attend the anniversary when Bangit was still the Army chief. Bangit took over as Armed Forces commander last March 10 while Mapagu assumed as top Army leader two days later. Bangit, who is expected to be present in the Army event, is described by some quarters as an Arroyo loyalist. He had served as the commander of the Presidential Security Group during the early years of the Arroyo government. Disgruntled PMAers? As this developed, a statement came out Sunday saying that members of the PMA class ’77 are disappointed with the appointment of PMA class ’78 members to key positions in the military, bypassing class ’77 members who it said are “equally competent." “Many qualified officers were sidelined and bypassed. Infighting will not be avoided. This has been a problem among officers, especially those who have no connections," the statement quoted an unnamed class ’77 member as saying. “Class members feel that something big is about to happen in the next few weeks or months so they just have to be prepared," the statement further read. The statement, however, bore no signature from any class ’77 members, prompting Armed Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos to describe it as “black propaganda" meant to “polarize" the military. “The individual or individuals who is or are behind this black propaganda has only nothing but bad intentions not only for the military organization but also for the country as well. It is very obvious that its intention is to polarize the military," he said in a separate interview. - KBK, GMANews.TV