BY VICTOR REYES
A SENIOR defense official yesterday corrected
the statement of Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. that
the military will still play a role in the May elections,
particularly in the transport of election materials.
Ernesto Carolina, defense undersecretary for
civil relations, said the soldiers’ role in the transport of
election paraphernalia will be limited to escort duties.
"They (soldiers) are not going to transport
but to act as escort when so requested, provided that the
security provided by the PNP is not adequate to contain, to
address the threat," he said.
Rosulo Manlangit, director of the defense
department’s Office of Public Affairs, said Ebdane could not
face the media to clarify his statement because authorities were
briefing him on defense and military matters.
The United Opposition (UNO) and Anakpawis
Rep. Crispin Beltran asked the Arroyo administration to withdraw
Ebdane’s appointment.
Makati Mayor and UNO chairman Jejomar Binay
said Ebdane "has chosen to effectively rescind a memorandum that
limits the role of the military in the elections."
"And that was only his first day in office,"
he said.
Beltran said Ebdane’s alleged involvement in
cheating in the May 2004 presidential elections is enough reason
to believe he is out on another "mission."
The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
(Bayan) said the problem with Ebdane’s appointment is that the
secretary has "questionable election records."
Ebdane was among those mentioned in the
"Hello Garci" wiretapped conversations between President Arroyo
and former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. The
recordings, according to the opposition, are proof of cheating
by the Arroyo camp in the May 2004 national elections.
Shortly after his assumption as defense
secretary on Thursday, Ebdane asked what was wrong if the
Commission on Elections would request the Air Force to
"transport ballots from Luzon to Mindanao."
A memorandum of agreement forged last year by
then Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz with the Comelec limits the
soldiers’ role in elections to insulate them from politics.
Among others, the MOA states that deputation
of the Armed Forces should not in any way include the transport
of ballots and other paraphernalia and election results.
The MOA states that AFP, subject to approval
of the AFP chief, may be "requested to provide air, land and
naval vessel escorts to the transportation facilities used in
transporting election paraphernalia when the security provided
by the Philippine National Police cannot address the threat, as
determined by the chief of staff, AFP and the Comelec chairman."
Ebdane blew his top when asked by a reporter
Thursday what would be the effect of involving anew the soldiers
in the elections on ongoing efforts to insulate the military
from politics.
"What’s your problem?" he said, adding the
reporter should read the MOA.
ESCORT SERVICE
Carolina said the MOA is clear on what the
Armed Forces can do.
"When so requested and under the condition
cited in the MOA, we can provide escort," he said.
Carolina said one case where the military can
be tapped is in the transport of election paraphernalia to a
"hot spot."
"If you are going to transport ballots in a
hot spot barangay from the city and you are going to pass
through mountainous areas, the MG520 (attack helicopter), if
requested, can provide escort through air," he said.
Carolina said attack helicopters can escort
small vessels contracted by the Comelec to transport ballots to
prevent hijacking.
"Those are specific circumstances where the
Air Force can be called upon to escort the transport of ballots
without actually carrying the ballots… It is clear in the MOA
what the Armed Forces can do when so requested," he said.
Carolina said Ebdane will follow the MOA "and
there is no intention to change any provision."
"I talked to him. The secretary is clear on
that. He knows what are prohibited (from doing)," he said.
Carolina and Ebdane, a former PNP chief,
belong to Class ‘70 of the Philippine Military Academy.
‘OMEN’
Binay said the administration will be able to
show it is indeed committed to clean, honest, and peaceful
elections in May if it withdraws Ebdane’s appointment.
He said Ebdane’s statement is "an omen of
sinister things to come."
As early as October, Binay said, there have
been indications the military will be very visible in the coming
polls.
He said they have documented incidents of
soldiers based in a military camp in Taguig being ferried to the
Makati Comelec, where they registered as Makati voters.
He said there were reports of a similar mass
registration of soldiers in other parts of the country.
Binay advised Ebdane against losing his cool
when answering questions from the media.
"We are not in a dictatorship. In a
democracy, public officials must be willing to submit themselves
to media questioning," he said.
EBDANE’S MISSION
Beltran, detained in connection with the
alleged power grab plot in February last year, said: "Are we to
take it that President Arroyo assigned Ebdane for this specific
mission? To make sure that the AFP has a hand in the elections
and its conduct? … we already have Arroyo’s handpicked defense
secretary asserting that the AFP should have poll duty."
Beltran said Ebdane’s appointment to the
defense department and the naming of Gen. Hermogenes Esperon as
head the AFP are enough indications of a "highly militarized May
elections."
Esperon was also named in the "Hello Garci"
recordings.
He said it is precisely the involvement of
the AFP that makes the elections "violent and highly prone to
fraud."
Bayan said Ebdane’s statement showed
government is already "laying the groundwork for continued
military involvement in the electoral exercise."
"We are moving farther and farther away from
the possibility of having clean and credible elections. With
‘Garci generals’ promoted to strategic positions, and with an
election operator at the helm of the Department of Interior and
Local Government, the credibility of the upcoming elections is
immediately put to question," Reyes said.
Reyes added that it would be better for these
officials to take a leave of absence during the election period,
but he doubted even this can change public perception about the
elections.
"So long as these people are in power, election reforms are
more and more becoming a pipe dream under the Arroyo
administration. What is even more disturbing is that those who
dare question these policies, such as the media, are being
subjected to arrogant answers from those in power," he said.
– With Reinir Padua
