Reyes gets DND post

President Arroyo named yesterday newly retired Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Angelo Reyes as her new secretary of defense, replacing Eduardo Ermita who may now concentrate on his post as presidential adviser on the peace process.

This developed as Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos formally takes over today as Army chief, succeeding Gen. Diomedio Villanueva who assumed the top AFP post vacated by Reyes during the weekend.

Reyes, who retired Saturday upon reaching the mandatory age of 56, was instrumental in Mrs. Arroyo’s rise to the presidency following last January’s ouster of former President Joseph Estrada.

Reyes led major service commanders in the withdrawal of support for the Estrada administration, prompting the disgraced leader to vacate Malacañang.

Reyes graduated from the elite Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in 1968 and was a classmate of Mrs. Arroyo when they were both pursuing their master’s degrees in economics at Ateneo.

In her speech during last Saturday’s turnover of command between Reyes and Villanueva, Mrs. Arroyo said she intended to "make sure that his (Reyes’) capabilities are not wasted, nor his momentum for service interrupted while I am the President."

However, military sources predicted that Reyes’ appointment to the defense department would come after at least two weeks.

Sources said Mrs. Arroyo hastily gave the defense portfolio to Reyes in a bid to quash a growing rift in the military hierarchy.

Presidential Spokesman Renato Corona said Reyes enjoyed the "full trust and confidence" of Mrs. Arroyo that he could help end factionalism in the military.

Corona hailed the President’s move, saying "everything quieted down" after the announcement of Reyes’ new job.

There were so many wranglings and bickerings going on, but when the announcement was made, things settled down, Corona noted.

He said Ermita would need more time as presidential adviser on the peace process in the light of the possible reopening of the peace talks with the communist insurgents on one hand, and with the secessionist Muslim rebels on the other hand.

Meanwhile, not a few senior officers of the AFP were surprised to learn that De los Santos, erstwhile AFP deputy chief of staff, would be named Army chief.

Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling and 4th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Roy Cimatu were largely considered as the strongest contenders for the post.

De los Santos, who served as commanding general of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in East Timor last year, is a member of PMA Class 1969. He is due for retirement on April 2 next year.

Filling the void created by De los Santos’ designation to the top Army post was Rear Adm. Arthur Garrido, who is also deputy chief for personnel.

For his part, outgoing AFP vice chief Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim, who has opted for early retirement, may be designated head of an anti-smuggling task force.

Calimlim, who is due for retirement on Nov. 29 yet, offered to retire earlier for still undisclosed reasons.

It would not exactly be a new job for Calimlim since he was also chief of the defunct anti-smuggling Presidential Task Force "Aduana" during the Estrada administration.

Corona said the Palace was still studying whether to place the Calimlim task force under the finance department or the Customs bureau, "but definitely not (under) Malacañang."

Corona clarified that the creation of the task force was not meant to revive the controversial Economic Intelligence and Investigation Bureau which was dismantled by Estrada.