President Arroyo appealed to the Armed Forces of the Philippines yesterday to trust her judgment as commander-in-chief.
"You just trust me. That’s the prerogative of the President," a ranking Palace official quoted President Arroyo as saying after she dismissed reports that factionalism is rocking the uniformed services amid intense jockeying for choice positions.
The President stressed that being a politician herself, she was aware of how military officials behave every time key appointments or promotions arise, the official said.
"They (the aspirants) have to shout so that they will be noticed and not forgotten. Kaya tirahan sila nang tirahan (That’s why they keep on hitting each other)," the official added.
"The important thing is President Arroyo is in control and she is not being influenced by any power. She will make her decisions after consultations with all sectors affected, in or out of the military," the official said.
Malacañang confirmed that the President met with members of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1969 but stressed that senior military and police officers only called on the President to reaffirm support for her administration.
"The President just reassured them their concerns will be addressed and that no single group will have exclusive monopoly of power," said presidential chief of staff Renato Corona.
However, a member of the group leaked to media that the Class of ’69 members went to see the President to complain about how their class was being eased out of vital positions by members of the PMA Class of 1970.
A member of Class ’69 said that three factions, supposedly known as "SIR" among ranking military officials, were now lording it over the military and police chains of command.
According to the source, "S" stands for Philippine Military Academy Class of "Seventy" (1970); "I" is for the "Ilocano" bloc of generals headed by incoming AFP chief Lt. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva and "R" stands for outgoing AFP chief Angelo "Reyes."
Palace officials did not hide their disgust for the media leak and dismissed the "SIR" report as a yarn.
"Baka naman "KSP," not "SIR," quipped another Palace official. "KSP as in Kulang Sa Pansin (Lacking attention)."
"It’s normal to aspire," said Acting Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita, himself a retired general.
"But it is not normal when this aspiration becomes public and appears in newspapers. The professionalism of our senior officers is tainted," Ermita said.
In a report to Malacañang, Reyes said the report could be a part of the continuing attacks against the AFP to malign the current AFP leadership, cause disinformation and division within the AFP.
"The AFP through the years has transformed to become a professional organization and remains to be united. There are no efforts to remove or ease out any particular group in the AFP," the Palace statement quoted Reyes as saying.
PMA Class ’69 president and Air Force commanding general Lt. Gen. Benjamin Defensor also wrote The STAR to "express amusement at the apparent slant against PMA Class ’69."
He said their meeting with the President last Wednesday was not to express personal concerns but to commit support to the programs of the new administration.
"The reportage is misleading as it admits of two things: first, that PMA Class ’69 is to be feared, and second, that the high leadership and command of the Armed Forces and the PNP is driven by personal motives and agenda," Defensor said in his letter.
Defensor said "there is no need to fear Class ’69" whose members pride themselves in their "sense of professionalism and dedication to the service."
"We have come too long a way to throw our values to the winds. And we have faith that the leadership of the AFP and PNP would preserve the strength and esprit de corps of the uniformed services now being undermined by a group whose intentions are (far) from noble," he added.
Both Defensor and acting PNP chief Deputy Director General Leandro Mendoza, also a member of PMA Class ’69, said that their meeting with the President on Tuesday night was simply a courtesy call whose discussion revolved mainly on their respective golf handicaps.
Mendoza called a press briefing to belie reports that there is a "brewing war" between members of the PMA Class ’69 and Class ’70.
Mendoza also dismissed perceptions that he is threatened by efforts to unseat him and place Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) chief Director Hermogenes Ebdane as new PNP chief.
"We are in good terms," Mendoza said. "Being my deputy, both of us are serving under the pleasure of the President."
"We are all professionals and we all believe in the appointing authority and that is the President," Mendoza stressed. — With reports from Paolo Romero, Jaime Laude, Mike Frialde