27 ex-soldiers, ex-cops poll bets, biggest batch in 20 years

He'd rather spy on communist leaders and play with their minds. That's real intelligence work, he'd say. To him, killing an unarmed enemy is a lazy man's work. Nowadays, retired police general Robert Delfin -- the bemedalled agent in the 1980s who captured the big guns of the underground communist movement -- is out of the shadows. He's running to represent the lone congressional district of Antique, the province where he grew up and studied until college. Running under the Liberal Party-administration wing, the shy Delfin is up against Antique's veteran politician, incumbent Rep. Exequiel Javier (Lakas-Kampi). Delfin joins a smorgasbord of at least two dozens of ex-police and military officers seeking election in May. They represent the eclectic values and leadership styles that have characterized the troubled police-military establishments. This year's batch -- at least 27, based on our interviews with sources -- is the biggest since the phenomenon of uniformed men joining electoral politics began in 1987. This isn't surprising; after all, retired cops and soldiers have their eggs in all baskets these days: key assignments in the civilian bureaucracy, top positions in giant companies, election to national and local offices, and, just in case, membership in mutinous groups. The candidates' list includes an ex-Army colonel facing graft charges, five former mutineers, three former chiefs of the national police/constabulary, a former aide of President Arroyo, and an ex-aide of former President Fidel Ramos. “It's a lot better if they run for public office than have them automatically appointed to government positions," said Raymund Quilop, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines. “At least the voters would have the ultimate say on them." Back in Politics From May 1987 to May 2001, at least 47 former soldiers and cops ran for various elective posts, with at least 22 of them joining the 2001 polls. Interestingly, only ten percent of them won in the races during that period. In the 2004 presidential elections, only a handful tried, led by presidential bet Panfilo Lacson, who is now seeking reelection to the Senate. But they're back with a vengeance this time, largely encouraged by the almost-uncontested power that the police and military institutions wield under the Arroyo administration. Some of them assert as well that if leftist militants can make it to congress, why can't they? Probably the most notorious on the list--and Delfin's opposite in style and reputation--is retired general Jovito Palparan, who is a nominee of the party list Bantay. Palparan has earned the moniker “the Butcher" for his widely suspected involvement in the killings of militants. Citing circumstantial evidence, the Melo Commission has linked him to unsolved killings under his command. Delfin is known for hunting down guerrillas, too, but through classic sleuthing aimed at putting them behind bars. Among his “trophies" from his younger days as an intelligence agent of the defunct Constabulary were exiled communist chief Jose Ma. Sison, Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, the late Ateneo student leader Edgar Jopson, the former Communist Party chair Rodolfo Salas, and the slain former chief of the New People's Army Romulo Kintanar. Delfin retired in 2005, and he's now having his first taste of an election campaign. “I think the Antique residents want a new face," he told NEWSBREAK. Javier, his opponent, has been governor and congressman of the province for the last two decades. Brothers No More In the second district of La Union, two former graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) are slugging it out for the congressional seat there. Retired Army Maj. Abraham Purugganan (Liberal Party-administration wing), former presidential adviser on special concerns of President Arroyo and one of the key leaders of the December 1989 coup, is running against a fellow PMAyer, former Army Capt. Thomas “Butch" Dumpit (Kampi). Dumpit, a 1985 PMA graduate, belongs to a political clan in La Union (he ran for governor in 2001 but lost). But Purugganan, a 1978 PMA graduate, is unperturbed. The former coup plotter and battle-tested Ranger officer is not new in politics, after all, having been in charge of sectoral organizing during President Arroyo's campaign in 2004. “I want to push for reforms within the system," Purugganan told NEWSBREAK. Another Arroyo ally and ex-senior aide, former Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza (Lakas), is running for congress in Pangasinan's first district. He is the uncle of Alaminos Mayor Hernani Braganza. Three former heads of the national police and the defunct Constabulary have likewise joined the election bandwagon. Two of them--Lacson and former Constabulary chief Ramon Montaño--are no strangers to electoral politics. Lacson ran for president in 2004 but lost; he's now seeking reelection to the Senate. In 1992, Montaño tried to dislodge Jejomar Binay from Makati City but failed. Staunchly anti-Arroyo like Lacson, Montaño is now running for congress in the 2nd district of Negros Oriental. Retired police general Santiago Aliño, the last PNP chief under the Ramos administration, is gunning for the lone congressional seat of Marinduque--against tough opponents who belong to powerful clans: Gov. Carmencita Reyes and James Marty Lim, president of the Liga ng mga Barangay. Up Against Clans At least six ex-cops, a former mutineer, and an ex-Army colonel linked to the corruption case involving retired general Carlos Garcia are seeking mayoral posts. George Rabusa, a 1981 PMA graduate who is facing charges for alleged unexplained wealth, is running for mayor of Sugod, Southern Leyte. Rabusa has been identified as one of those who belonged to the comptroller family in the military; his former boss, retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, is detained on corruption charges. Retired police general Eduardo Matillano (Ind-Kampi), who figured in past coups against the Aquino government, is running for mayor of Puerto Princesa against the veteran politician Edward Hagedorn. Both are allies of the Arroyo administration. In Laoag City, former Central Luzon police director Rowland Albano (Liberal Party) is running against incumbent Mayor Michael Fariñas, who is 15 years his junior. But cops and soldiers have had a tough luck in Ilocos Norte, the bastion of the Fariñas and Marcos clans. In 2001, ex-police general Wilfredo Nicolas ran for Laoag mayor but lost to Fariñas's uncle, Roger. The slain Rolando Abadilla, who headed a dreaded police unit under the Marcos dictatorship, had served as vice governor of Ilocos Norte from 1988 to 1992, but when he tried his luck for the gubernatorial post in 1992, he lost to then incumbent Gov. Rodolfo Fariñas who, after a brief retirement from politics, is now running again for the same post. Former Marine general Guillermo Ruiz also lost a congressional bid in the province in 1998. An ex-Army captain, Fermin Mabulo (PMA, 1995), is likewise running for mayor of San Fernando, Camarines Sur. Involved in the botched Oakwood mutiny in 2003, Mabulo is the younger brother of Sabas “Abang" Mabulo, mayor of the same town who is now for congressman in Camarines's 2nd district. The others who are running for mayor are retired police general Reynaldo Velasco (Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan), a former aide of former President Ramos; ex-cop Paul Tucay (Bolinao, Pangasinan); ex-police colonel Restituto Mosqueda (who was linked by whistle-blower Sandra Cam to jueteng, an illegal numbers game) and retired police general Renoir Gonzales, both running for mayor in two towns in Iloilo; and ex-Army colonel Artemio Artango (Bukidnon). Against Stars, Too For the gubernatorial post of Batangas, running against actress and Lipa City Mayor Vilma Santos is retired police general Nestor Senares, who earned his stars running after kidnappers at the criminal investigation unit of the National Police. Retired police general Amado Espino Jr. (PMA, 1972) is Kampi's gubernatorial bet in Pangasinan. Those running for Congress also include the following: retired Army general Prospero Noble (Zamboanga del Norte), a 1974 PMA graduate and classmate of Armed Forces boss Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr.; former Army colonel Enrique T. Suplico (Iloilo, 5th district), a 1982 PMA graduate and younger brother of outgoing Rep. Rolex Suplico; retired police general and veteran intelligence officer Gerardo Flores (Iloilo, 2nd district), a 1962 PMA and three-term mayor of Miag-ao town. At least three accredited party-list groups have nominees from the uniformed ranks: Bantay of Palparan; Bandila, which has retired police general Lucas Managuelod as one of its nominees; and Anak, which has ex-police general Defin Genio as one of its nominees. Stay in the Barracks In the Senate race, there are four from the uniformed ranks: dismissed Col. Gregorio “Gringo" Honasan (Independent), a former senator; ex-Navy Lt. Sg. Antonio “Sonny" Trillanes IV (Genuine Opposition), jailed for being one of the ring leaders of the Oakwood mutiny; retired Lt. Col. Zosimo Paredes (Kapatiran), former foreign affairs official and a PMA classmate of Honasan (1971); and retired police colonel Eduardo Orpilla (KBL), a one-time task force commander in Southern Tagalog. Many analysts in civil-military relations argue that the best jobs for soldiers are inside the barracks, saying that to enhance democracy, civilians must lead public institutions and limit soldiers' task to their primary mission of defending the state. But the Philippine military has been a politicized lot, figuring in two people power presidents that brought down President Marcos and President Joseph Estrada. Despite--or maybe because of--these coup attempts, presidents have chosen to reward military and police officers loyal to them with civilian posts. Based on our own research, Ramos named the biggest number of ex-soldiers and cops to civilian agencies--102. On the other hand, Estrada appointed 25 while President Arroyo has named at least 45 to key positions in government. 'The ideal situation is for the military to stay away from civilian work so we can strengthen our civilian institutions," Prof. Quilop told NEWSBREAK. But it isn't an ideal world. - Newsbreak