Bangit faces PMA Class 1976 for top AFP post

MANILA, Philippines - Aside from Army chief Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit, there are other key contenders who are equally qualified to replace Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Victor Ibrado if President Arroyo does not extend his term.

Ibrado is due for retirement on March 10 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56, or two months before the elections.

A well-placed military officer who asked not to be named said that the selection of the next military chief is not limited to Bangit.

“Bangit, no doubt, is highly qualified but others are as competent as the Army chief. In fact, some of his lesser known classmates are gunning for the top post,” the official said.

Bangit, said to be a favorite of Mrs. Arroyo, is a member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1978, where the President is an adopted classmate. He was also a former chief of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) under the Arroyo administration.

The official pointed out that other senior officers of PMA “Masikap” class 1977 and “Magilas” class of 1976 are also being “considered” because of seniority.

“Class ’77 members are fielding their bets also and they’re making their presence felt. Four from class ’76 are also very much qualified to replace their mistah (Ibrado)” the official added.

He acknowledged that Bangit is the most popular and most controversial among the contenders because of his affiliation with the Chief Executive.

“Naipit talaga si Gen. Bangit. He’s deserving and so are his classmates and members of class ’77,” the official said.

Pool of qualified officers

Aside from Bangit, those who are also qualified to be the next AFP chief are Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena (class ’78), Maj. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu (’78), commander, National Capital Region Command; Gen. Nestor Ochoa (’77), commander, National Development and Support Command or NDSC; Gen. Ricardo David (’77), commander, Northern Luzon Command; Roland Detabali (’78), commander Southern Luzon Command (Solcom); Gen. Ralph Villanueva (’78), commander, Central Command (Centcom); Gen. Raymundo Ferrer (’77), commander, Eastern Mindanao Command; Gen. Ben Dolorfino (class 76), commander, Western Mindanao Command and Navy Flag Officer-in-Command Ferdinand Solis Golez (’76), Lt. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang – AFP vice chief of staff (’76), Vice Admiral Emilio Marayag, AFP deputy chief of staff (’76) and Vice Admiral Leonardo Calderon, PMA Superintendent of Class ’76.

Ferrer is an Army general known for his peace-building efforts in the conflict-affected areas involving Moro rebels in Mindanao.

David was the former commander of the 4th Infantry Division before he was named to head the Northern Luzon Command based in Tarlac City. He took over from Lt. Gen. Isagani Cachuela who recently retired as commander of the Central Command in Cebu City.

Villanueva is former commander of the 7th Infantry Division based at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and is now commander of the Central Command.

Ochoa, former commander of the 5th Infantry Division based in Gamu, Isabela is now the commander of the NDSC based in Camp Aguinaldo.

Mapagu is the commanding general of the AFP’s National Capital Region Command, the anti-coup force in Metro Manila. He was commander of 10th Infantry Division based in Davao City.

Former Marines commander Gen. Ben Dolorfino is the incumbent Wesmincom chief and has been in charge of the government anti-terror campaign in the troubled island provinces of Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, in Western Mindanao.

Golez is the younger brother of Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, a former national security adviser-turned critic of President Arroyo. Roilo, incidentally, is a product of the United States Naval Academy class of 1970.

Maclang and Marayag are both retiring this year while Calderon, the youngest of class ‘76, is retiring next year.

Prior to his current post, Rabena was the Air Force inspector general, commander of the 15th Strike Wing and commander of the Presidential Airlift Wing in charge of the aircraft used by the President and her family.

Calls for Ibrado’s extension have snowballed months before his mandatory retirement at the age of 56. Administration lawmakers have surmised that Mrs. Arroyo might use class ’78 to perpetuate herself in power.

AFP: Keep your hands off

Because of persistent talks on Ibrado’s retirement, senior military officials yesterday asked politicians to keep their hands off the issue.

They said the decision on who replaces Ibrado and when the replacement takes place is the prerogative of President Arroyo.

Under the law, all military senior officers are qualified to be AFP chief.

The senior military officials emphasized that there is an established procedure based on certain parameters in the selection of the next AFP chief of staff.

The AFP Board of General recommends five candidates through the Secretary of National Defense (SND) from which the president can choose.

The senior military officers issued the statement following calls by all the presidential candidates, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon and the Magdalo for the extension of Ibrado, who is set to retire on March 10, about the time all appointments are banned by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The politicians claimed that Ibrado is widely accepted in the ranks of the military and his extension would prevent the appointment of Bangit as his replacement.

The senior officers, through a statement, reminded the politicians that administration candidate Gibo Teodoro, a former defense secretary, is an honorary member of PMA class ’76 and because of his influence, members of his class are presently occupying top positions in the AFP.

Ibrado extension an attack on AFP

The AFP has a system of retirement and succession that considers ability and capability and qualifications, the senior officers pointed out.

“Extension of the incumbent is a tacit acceptance that there is no one capable of being chief of the AFP except PMA ’76,” the statement reads.

“The issue on the extension of Ibrado is not only affecting the PMA class ’78 but also its upper classmen, the PMA class ’77. This political move to extend Gen. Ibrado does not attack PMA 77 and 78 alone but rather the entire AFP,” it said. The senior officers said that being in the higher echelons of the AFP and PNP, members of the PMA class ’77 and ’78 have earned their places through their own merits.

“It is unfair to say that they got their ranks and positions thru political connections,” the statement said. They explained that seniority in the academy ceases when officers become generals.

The senior officers claimed that all members of PMA ’77 and ’78 would remain non-partisan in the coming May elections.

They said they also believe that the two PMA classes would abide with any decision of President Arroyo, with regard to the fate of Ibrado.

The move to extend Ibrado will be based solely in the system and not on established procedures of the DND and AFP, the statement said.

Putting democracy to a test

Earlier, Magdalo, a group of reformist military officers, said extending the term of Ibrado beyond March is better than appointing “a very unpopular candidate.”

Magdalo spokesperson Lt. Ashley Acedillo said “Ibrado has shown that he is a professional and non-partisan.”

Political analyst and blogger Patricio Mangubat said the extension of Ibrado’s term and the coming retirement of Chief Justice Reynato Puno are the two most contentious issues confronting President Arroyo.

“Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is being de-fanged. Two critical posts, too little time yet too destabilizing to say the least,” he said.

“If you look at it, these symbols of democracy are now being put to the supreme test. We speak of justice here and of the symbol of state power, two pillars on which democracy rests,” Mangubat explained.

He said Mrs. Arroyo should listen to “people from all persuasions” who are convincing the Chief Executive to desist from appointing a new chief of staff.

“If Mrs. Arroyo makes a wrong move, she will weaken not just the institutions of justice and of state power but of the Office of the President itself. She has mocked these institutions for nine years and definitely, with the elections just four months away, people will not allow her to continue her ways,” he said. – Non Alquitran