Issue
Analysis No. 25
November 14, 2006
The new defense chief is also expected to play a major role in supporting
the concentration of political power under the chief executive and
her political allies now that the congressional elections are just
a few months away. In this enterprise, he – unlike Cruz –
is expected to be nothing less than a team player, come hell or
high water.
Loyalty
to the Commander-in-Chief, Above All Else
Whoever
will be appointed as the new secretary of defense will be heading
an institution that is considered a pillar upon which the political
future of the current president rests. Loyalty – over and
above career qualifications – will determine President Gloria
M. Arroyo’s choice for the post soon to be vacated by Avelino
Cruz. Cruz, who had lawyered for the Macapagal family, has resigned
over policy differences with a cabinet clique who reportedly pressured
him to influence a Supreme Court (SC) decision on the people’s
initiative for charter change. The SC shot down the proposal for
charter change.
Said
to be topping the list of likely successors is Hermogenes Ebdane,
former director general of the Philippine National Police (PNP)
and currently public works secretary. If he is appointed to the
defense post, which is held by Mrs. Arroyo in a concurrent capacity,
Ebdane will be the second police chief to occupy it since 1986.
But he will also be a mainstay with a military or police background
in a cabinet and top civilian bureaucracy that are increasingly
being dominated by ex-generals and other senior military-police
officers - at least 27 in all based on the latest count.1
Appointing
another military or police general to the Department of National
Defense (DND) top post will continue a policy set by President Corazon
C. Aquino since 1986 giving preferential choice for generals. Out
of nine individuals who have occupied the DND position since that
year, six were former AFP or police chiefs and generals: Rafael
Ileto, Fidel V. Ramos, Renato de Villa, Fortunato Abat, Eduardo
Ermita and Angelo Reyes. The rest were civilians, namely, Sen. Orlando
Mercado, who served under Joseph Estrada; Avelino Cruz and, presently,
Mrs. Arroyo herself.
Before
them, out of 16 defense secretaries who served from 1939 to 1986,
eight were civilians, including lawyers and legislators, and eight
were military officials who either came from the defunct Philippine
Constabulary (PC, now PNP) or were World War II veterans. Most of
the generals had prior civilian careers, including law or medical
practice, before war summoned them to active military service thus
qualifying them to acquire military ranks.2
Even
at the height of the Huk rebellion during the 1950s, the defense
secretaries were civilian: Ramon Magsaysay, an engineer by profession;
Oscar T. Castelo, a judge; and Sotero B. Cabahug, a lawyer. During
his dictatorship, Ferdinand Marcos saw to it that the DND is headed
by a civilian, which included himself, and former customs chief
Juan Ponce Enrile, who kept the position for 14 years. Enrile, a
corporate lawyer and Marcos protégé who later turned
against the dictator, of course just served to deodorize the defense
establishment with a civilian façade when it actually functioned
as a powerful martial law implementor. It was during this period
when the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) became highly politicized
and, as a major pillar propping up the dictatorship, it imbibed
the culture of military supremacy and a sub-culture of corruption
while paying lip-service to the pre-eminence of civilian authority.
The
period following the fall of Marcos rule was politically and economically
volatile marked by military coups d’etat, the escalation of
armed conflicts with the Marxist-led New People’s Army and
Moro guerrillas, followed by contrived terrorist threats and spectacular
challenges to the presidencies. The situation called for relying
on defense secretaries who have military background that could be
tapped not only for pursuing a total war policy but also as a practical
presidential bridge to a military institution that had become politicized.
This
made it more conducive for applying militarist solutions to what
essentially would have required an all-sided social, economic and
political reform. Except in the “peace process” with
the fragmented Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1993, the
defense establishment has pursued a policy of capitulationism in
peace negotiations with the armed Left. But the military institution,
which the DND is supposed to provide the policy command, has also
been weakened by corruption and disillusionment particularly among
junior officers.
Under
Mrs. Arroyo, the post of the defense secretary has become central
in extending military support to a presidential office tainted not
only by corruption but more so by a credibility problem arising
from allegations of electoral fraud in the 2004 presidential race.
The electoral fraud was reportedly committed with the confidential
support of military and police generals. Had they pushed through,
the two impeachment charges filed against Mrs. Arroyo in 2005 and
this year would have dragged the names of these co-conspirators
and, in turn, would have further divided the military institution
or fueled yet another civilian uprising.
Others
see however that another civilian should replace Cruz if only because
this is in line with the recommendations of the Davide and Feliciano
commissions that investigated two major coups. Likewise, in the
context of our highly-politicized military, the problem of massive
corruption (e.g., the retirement and pension funds mess, among others,)
and the unresponsiveness of the top brass and security officials
to the resumption of peace talks with the NDFP, a military person
is most likely to be a captive of the existing powerful networks
of interests in the military who see no urgency in addressing these
problems. Thus, it is believed, it might be better to live with
a civilian Arroyo-loyalist rather than a military Arroyo-loyalist,
all things considered.
However, there should be no surprise if Mrs. Arroyo will appoint
a military or police man to the defense post. After all, the appointee
will be enlisted into a familiar territory: a cabinet packed with
former generals. The president will appoint a defense chief who
will carry out basically the major expectations demanded of the
post. These include, making sure that the AFP and police systems
remain loyal to the chief executive; a modernization program which
is being implemented with the U.S. government; a “counter-terrorism”
campaign which aggressively targets suspected legal and vulnerable
political infrastructures of the militant mass movement and progressive
political parties; and directing all such efforts under the coherent
framework of U.S.-Philippine security cooperation.
The
new defense chief is also expected to play a major role in supporting
the concentration of political power under the chief executive and
her political allies now that the congressional elections are just
a few months away. In this enterprise, he – unlike Cruz –
is expected to be nothing less than a team player, come hell or
high water.
Likewise,
he should be able to thwart further coup plots and “instabilities”
supposedly fomented by disgruntled former generals and active junior
officers. This pre-emptive function is to be pursued by rallying
the military, police and paramilitary forces behind the counter-insurgency
campaign.
And,
by the way, he should also be ready to serve as the shock absorber
for the president who faces an increasingly worldwide condemnation
sparked by reports of extra-judicial executions, enforced disappearances
and other human rights violations widely believed to be perpetrated
by government security forces and “special secret missions.”
______________________
- They
include: Gen. Eduardo Ermita, executive secretary and former Marcos
colonel; Gen. Angelo Reyes, environment and natural resources
secretary; Police Director General Leandro Mendoza, transportation
and communications secretary; Police Director General Hermogenes
Ebdane, public works secretary; Gen. Roy Cimatu, special ambassador
to the Middle East; Gen. Benjamin Defensor, ambassador-at-large
for counter-terrorism; Gen. Narciso Abaya, president of the Bases
Conversion Development Authority; Gen. Efren Abu, special envoy
to the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth
Area; Police Director General Edgardo Aglipay, chief of the Philippine
Retirement Authority; Police Director General Arturo Lomibao,
administrator of the National Irrigation Administration; Gen.
Pedro Cabuay, deputy for counter-insurgency of the National Security
Council; Gen. Ernesto de Leon, ambassador to Australia; Gen. Honesto
Isleta, presidential assistant on strategic information; Police
Director General Roberto Lastimoso, MRTC director; Gen. Dionisio
Santiago, Dangerous Drugs Board; Glenn Rabonza, Office of Civil
Defense executive director; Angel Atutubo, MIAA assistant general
manager for security; Thelmo Cunanan, SSS chairman; Edgardo Espinosa,
MECO managing director; Florencio Fianza, Philippine Racing Commission
acting chair; Reynaldo Berroya, transportation assistant secretary;
Enrique Galang, Bureau of Immigration executive director. Others
recently appointed are: Edgardo Espinosa, Enrique Galang, Vidal
Querol, Pedro Bulaong and Thompson Lantion. Immediate past AFP
chief of staff, Gen. Genoroso Senga, has been groomed as president
of the government TV National Broadcasting Network (NBN). Recently-retired
Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, tagged as the “butcher”
of activists, has received three government offers. If Senga and
Palparan are on board, the total number of generals in the Arroyo
cabinet and other key agencies will be 29. (Based on reports by
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Nov. 12, 2006; and Bulatlat.com, “Is
the Country now Ruled by a Civilian-Military Junta?” Sept.
17-23, 2006.)
-
The defense secretaries with absolute civilian background during
this period were: Teofilo Sison (who served in 1939-1941, a teacher
who became a senator); Tomas Cabili (1945, lawyer); Alfredo Montelibano
(banker/landlord, 1945-1946); Ramon Magsaysay (1950-1954, engineer);
Oscar T. Castelo (1953, judge); Sotero B. Cabahug (1954-1956,
lawyer); Ferdinand Marcos (1965-1967, 1971-1972, lawyer who became
president); and Juan Ponce Enrile (1970-1971 then 1972-1986, lawyer).
The
defense secretaries with military or constabulary experience
were: Jorge B. Vargas (1941, also a lawyer-businessman); Basilio
Valdes (1941-1945, also a physician); Ruperto K. Kangleon (1946-1950);
Eulogio Balao (1956-1957); Jesus M. Vargas (1957-1959); Alejo
Santos (1959-1961); Macario Peralta (1962-1965, also a lawyer);
and Ernesto S. Mata (1967-1970).
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