EDITORIAL - Merit system

The controversy over the appointment of Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan as head of the military’s Southern Command underscores the need to overhaul the promotion system in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The President and commander-in-chief has the final say on AFP appointments and deserves to have a military chief who enjoys her full confidence. It will be to the advantage of any Chief Executive in the long run, however, if appointments to other key military positions, including the top Southcom post, are insulated from politics.

This can be possible only if the promotion system follows strict criteria at every level of command – criteria that cannot be set aside for political considerations. The criteria must be so comprehensive and detailed that military officers know when they have fulfilled all the requirements for promotion, and when an officer does not deserve it.

It has been decades since promotions in the Philippine military were based on merit rather than connections. Ferdinand Marcos needed the military to enforce his dictatorship, and used promotions and appointments as rewards for loyalty. Demoralization over those rewards led to the creation of a reformist movement in the AFP that in 1986 triggered the people power revolt. The dictatorship ended, but the AFP remained politicized for a long time, with power-hungry cliques attempting coup after coup to install their political patrons at Malacañang.

The promotion system remains politicized, with even lawmakers and local government officials wanting to have a say. AFP officers learn early enough that performance alone is not enough; they need connections if they want to rise in their profession.

This system has been one of the biggest hindrances to efforts to professionalize the AFP. Some security officials recognize the problem and in recent months have been drawing up measures that will institutionalize a promotion system based on merit. If there are clear-cut guidelines on promotions, you wouldn’t hear the kind of bellyaching that accompanies almost every promotion in the AFP, including the latest involving Adan.

The new promotion system, however, can succeed only if the merit criteria are strictly followed, and if politicians can keep their hands off the military. If national leaders are serious in their aim of professionalizing the AFP, they should give their full support to reforms in the promotion system.