2 members of PMA Class 1978 vie for top Navy post

Another member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1978, where President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is an honorary member, is likely to be appointed to a plum post in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Rear Admirals Feliciano Angue and Victor Martir are among the three front runners to succeed Vice Admiral Ferdinand Golez as flag officer-in-command of the Philippine Navy. Golez is scheduled to retire on May 16 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56. Philippine laws, however, ban an incumbent president from making appointments 90 days before election day and until his or her term ends afterward. Angue is currently the commander of the National Capital Region Command (NCRCom) while Martir is the AFP deputy chief of staff for intelligence. Sweep If ever Angue or Martir ends up as Navy chief, the top military posts would have been occupied by members of the PMA Class of 1978 — Navy, Army and Air Force. Military chief Gen. Delfin Bangit, Army chief Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu, and Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena are all members of the ruling PMA class. The other prominent members of the class are Lt. Generals. Roland Detabali and Ralph Villanueva, chief of the Southern Luzon and Central commands, respectively; and Maj. Gen. Romeo Prestoza, chief of the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP). Another candidate qualified to replace Golez is Rear Admiral Alex Pama, head of the Zamboanga City-based Naval Forces Western Mindanao and concurrent chief of the Task Force Trillium, which is tasked to neutralize Abu Sayyaf bandits in Basilan. Pama is from PMA Class of 1979. Competent "All of them are competent to lead our Navy," Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said of the three contenders. Arevalo said the three rear admirals contending for the top Navy post "have passed through several levels of command of our Navy. They have gone through shipboard billets and offshore billets, meaning land and sea [positions]." "All of them have the rank, they have the qualifications and all of them are of impeccable record as they rose from commissionship as ensigns. All of them have rose through the ranks," Arevalo added. The appointment of Bangit as AFP chief has earned flak from various sectors, who noted its proximity to the May 10 elections. Administration critics said this could be part of Malacañang’s plan to extend President Arroyo’s term beyond June 30 by means of a junta. President has been accused of rigging the results of the 2004 elections with the help of the military — an accusation Palace officials have repeatedly denied. — KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV