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