BY GERARD NAVAL

TWO senior bishops yesterday said President Arroyo’s decision to extend the tour of duty of AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon could cause more unrest within the military ranks.

"There are many others who are worthy of trust and who can also deliver," said Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of Lipa City, Batangas.

"When it’s over, it’s over. Why not follow the standard flow because there’s a rule for it, a norm for it," said Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, a former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

Esperon is reaching the mandatory retirement age on February 9. His three-month extension was announced by President Arroyo Malacañang Saturday in Davos, Switzerland in a conference with media. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the President extended Esperon’s term to maintain the military’s momentum in the war versus insurgency. His successor is Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano, Army chief.

Cruz said the extension would only delay the promotion "of everybody else left behind – with probable disgust on their part."

Arguelles said that by prolonging of Esperon’s term, Arroyo has missed a "big chance of bringing back public trust to the disgraced military image."

"It’s about time Arroyo appoints someone who is not controversial. Also, many are against him (Esperon) in the military. There’s dissatisfaction," said the former bishop of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines.

Esperon was implicated in the alleged cheating by the Arroyo camp in the 2004 presidential elections. He was one of three generals named in the "Hello Garci" wiretapped conversations between President Arroyo and former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano on alleged electoral fraud.

Esperon yesterday said he knows the right "style" and "approach" in the fight against the insurgents.

He said it was possible Yano, who he said is "very competent," could do more during the three-month extension given to him "but we cannot say because I am still going to lead the Armed Forces.

Esperon has been making a pitch for an extension for the past weeks.

"What I can say is that during my stay (as AFP chief) for one year and seven months, I learned the style, the right force mix, what is the approach in addressing the guerrilla fronts (of the communists)," he said.

Esperon said the military intends to dismantle 17 or the 87 guerrilla fronts of the NPA during the fist quarter of the year. The President wants the military to end the insurgency problem before her term ends in 2010.

"General Yano may also know this, why not, but this is the issue. The issue here is that there is an order that was issued. As soldiers, we should be following it. I’m sure General Yano will always be very capable, no doubt about it, but that is not the subject of the debate," he said.

With Esperon’s extension, Yano will head the Armed Forces for only a year and a month, or until he turns 56 in June next year, unless Arroyo also extends his term.

Esperon said he is listening to the objections for his extension, among them due to his alleged role in the 2004 cheating "but that should not in any way prevent me from doing my job. What is important here is the job given to me."

He added: "I cannot understand their objection because I do not see any doctrine violated because the extension of my term is the prerogative of the President... I am accepting as an order the extension of term as chief of staff. I am considering that not only as an order but also an honor to continue serving for three more months."

Malacañang shrugged off the criticisms.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said among the reasons for the extension was Esperon’s "strong influence" over the military.

""We trust that General Esperon will and can prove wrong his detractors," she also said. – With Victor Reyes and Jocelyn Montemayor