After retirement comes eviction

Retired Armed Forces Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza and two other retired military generals will be evicted from their quarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City today.

Braganza will be the highest-ranking officer to be evicted from military housing at the AFP general headquarters.

Brig. General Jovenal Narcise, Camp Aguinaldo commander, said military police will move the belongings of Braganza at 435-A on Arevalo street starting at 8 a.m.

"Sixty days after their (generals’) retirement, they should get out to give way to others," he said, referring to AFP housing regulations.

After clearing Braganza’s quarters, the MPs will help retired Maj. Gen. Efren Orbon and retired Brig. Gen. Ramon Santos to move out of their houses, he added.

Narcise said roughly 1,000 housing units are available for officers and men at military general headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo.

Narcise said the eviction of the three retired generals was aimed at giving younger military officers a chance to avail themselves of the AFP housing program.

"What we’re fighting for here are the younger officers, so that they can avail themselves of housing (units) in Camp Aguinaldo," he said. "One of the problems of our young officers is housing."

Before quarters are assigned to an officer, a six-man committee screens the applicants for housing units, using a set of criteria, such as seniority, sensitivity of position, and proximity of present residence to Camp Aguinaldo, he added.

Narcise said soldiers with houses in Metro Manila, or within a 25-kilometer radius from the camp, are barred from availing themselves of the housing units.

The AFP charges only P1,000 monthly rent for housing inside the camp, a rate over 10 times cheaper than apartment rates outside the camp, he added.

Braganza had been notified thrice that he had to vacate his quarters but he has not responded, Narcise said.

When reporters tried to contact Braganza, he was not at his quarters.

However, parked in the garage were two cars — a white BMW with license plate TSZ-600, a gray Mitsubishi Lancer with license plates WBC-468 — and a bicycle.

Braganza and Santos had retired last September, while Orbon bowed out of the service in December.

Last month, Narcise had evicted two retired military officers from their quarters in Camp Aguinaldo. — Cecille Suerte Felipe