Noynoy to AFP: Stay true to your promise

Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, who is likely to win the presidential race, on Thursday said he expects the military to stay true to its promise that there would be no coup d'etat in his administration. Aquino answered in the affirmative when asked whether he believes the assurance of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deputy chief of staff for operations Maj. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan that the military will be "very stable" and "more professional" with Aquino as its commander-in-chief. "Hindi ko maiisip na magiging hadlang sila sa pag-asenso ng bayan (I can't imagine them getting in the way of the country's progress)," Aquino said in a text message. On Wednesday, Pangilinan said the only coup d'etat the AFP will mount in the Aquino administration is "against corruption, against poverty and against insurgency." "I don’t think pababayaan niya ‘yung (he will take for granted the) Armed Forces. We are a great component, a big component of the society and also of the government. We can accomplish a lot for the society, not only for the administration," Pangilinan said. Pangilinan also appealed to Aquino to pick a good secretary for the Department of National Defense. The administration of Aquino's mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, survived several coup d'etats. In one military uprising in August 1987, the younger Aquino was among those shot near the gates of Malacañang. A bullet remains lodged in his neck. In the just concluded elections, a former military officer who joined the bloody December 1989 coup — Danilo Lim — sought a Senate seat under Aquino's Liberal Party. Lim failed to make it to the winning circle. The Philippine military is currently headed by Gen. Delfin Bangit, who is closely associated with outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Bangit belongs to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class of 1978, of which President Arroyo is an honorary member. Several other ranking officials in the military are from the same batch. — Johanna Camille Sisante/KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV