Ambassador Esperon?

‘If the key qualification is lapdog loyalty to Gloria Arroyo, Esperon is the top contender for the DND position.’

He said the AFP succeeded in dismantling eight rebel guerrilla fronts. While the accomplishment was seven fronts short of target, he said the number of guerrillas and their firearms has been trimmed down. By Esperon’s reckoning the figures justified his three-month extension.

On the follow-up question of whether the three-month accomplishment is enough reason for another extension, Esperon said: "I would not make that as a justification for my extension. Only the extending authority could do that."

We take that to mean that Esperon is definitely leaving on May 9. His remarks were in marked contrast to his practically begging for an extension as February 9, his original retirement date, approached.

It seems Esperon has finally come to recognize that the AFP can survive without him. Or has he? Or is it because he is angling for a bigger plum - the defense portfolio – when the Cabinet is reorganized this month to accommodate the losing administration candidates in the 2007 elections?

Esperon said he would be honored to continue serving the Republic, which was more or less what he said when his extension was under consideration.

If the key qualification is lapdog loyalty to Gloria Arroyo, then Esperon is the top contender for the DND position. But if rebuilding the AFP’s integrity and professionalism is the primary concern, Esperon should be given a sinecure somewhere where he cannot do no more damage to the institution.

The AFP is more politicalized and riven by divisions than it has ever been since the time of Ferdinand Marcos and his trusted general, Fabian Ver. Esperon could probably have made it as chief of staff on the basis of his intellect and his leadership qualities. But he is seen as having cheated for Gloria in 2004 and his rapid promotion after that has always been tainted by this perception. It doesn’t help that he is also seen as being more concerned with rooting out perceived anti-Gloria officers and siccing the military on above-ground Leftist organizations and the political opposition than fighting the armed rebellion.

Our unsolicited advice? Make Esperon an ambassador. That, of course, is an insult to career foreign service officers, but they have already long been bearing without complaint the burden of Gloria’s packing of overseas missions with political appointees.