Espinosa promised juicy Taiwan post?

Marine Lt. Gen. Edgardo Espinosa will no longer push his bid to be Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief after he was told he would be appointed to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei, Taiwan, military sources said yesterday.

A ranking official at Camp Aguinaldo said Espinosa would be named to the "juicy and coveted" post as a "consolation prize" after senior military officials objected to his appointment as AFP chief.

The top AFP post will become vacant on March 17 when AFP chief Gen. Angelo Reyes reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56. Espinosa was said to have been angling for the post.

But another source said Espinosa’s appointment to the top AFP post would be objectionable because of his own impending retirement in August and an allegedly checkered track record as chief of the AFP Southern Command in Mindanao.

"He would be a very unpopular and unwise choice," said a senior military officer.

Reports that he would be named to MECO, instead of the AFP top post, allegedly offended Espinosa who now purportedly blames the President for succumbing to the pressure.

Espinosa, said to be a favorite of the President, was credited for mobilizing military support for Mrs. Arroyo as early as last year and the top AFP post was to be given to him as a "reward."

"General Espinosa is said to have taken it against the President’s camp. He really wants to succeed General Reyes," said another military official.

But officers close to Espinosa dismissed the reported falling out between the officer and Mrs. Arroyo as nothing but propaganda against their boss.

"As far as we are concerned, General Espinosa is still a strong contender based not only on his record but also on the role he played during EDSA II," said Marine Col. Marcelino Yacat, Espinosa’s intelligence officer.

Espinosa’s camp has boasted that they were the first military group to have made contact with the then-United Opposition and would have come out on Jan. 20 to withdraw support from President Joseph Estrada.

On Espinosa’s impending retirement, Yacat recalled that Sen. Rodolfo Biazon served for only three months as AFP chief of staff during the time of former President Corazon Aquino.

Yacat likewise dismissed allegations that Espinosa had been involved in illegal transactions while he was Southern Command chief.

"Those are not true. If they were, they should have charged him," Yacat said.

Espinosa was unceremoniously relieved of his Southcom post on Feb. 19 last year for still unknown reasons. Even Reyes has repeatedly dodged the question.

Espinosa, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1968, is the most senior contender for the top AFP post.

Others in strong contention are AFP vice chief Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim, deputy chief of staff Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos and Army chief Lt. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva.