Choice of next PSG chief down to 2

The choice for the next commander of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) has been narrowed down to two candidates, reliable sources from Malacañang and the Armed Forces of the Philippines said yesterday.

The ranking officials, who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to talk to the media, said the choice for the successor to PSG chief Brig. Gen. Delfin Bangit has been narrowed down to Air Force Col. Romeo Prestoza and Army Col. Mario Chan. All three are members of the Philippine Military Academy Class ’78, of which President Arroyo is an honorary member.

The officials said Prestoza, currently a deputy in the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), is apparently the leading candidate.

Other senior Air Force officers said they too have heard Prestoza’s name being mentioned as Bangit’s possible successor. Army officers, however, say otherwise.

When sought for comment, Bangit said there is nothing definite yet as far as his successor is concerned but admitted that Prestoza is one of the candidates.

"I have not yet seen the formal recommendation for him (Prestoza) so I cannot comment yet and there is also another one being eyed," Bangit said.

"Unless I see the formal papers, I don’t want these things coming from me," he added.

Another previously reported candidate for PSG chief, Brig. Gen. Carlos Holganza, currently senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, was no longer included in the list as he is soon to be posted in the field to command a brigade or act as a deputy in an Army division.

Bangit was supposed to have been assigned to be a brigade commander or assistant division commander earlier this year but Mrs. Arroyo reportedly wanted him to remain at his post a little longer.

Prestoza used to serve as defense attaché to the Philippine embassy in Washington and also had a long stint in the Armed Force’s intelligence community.

If not assigned to the PSG, Prestoza is likely to be appointed to a post at the Air Force’s intelligence unit.

Chan, currently chief of staff of the 6th Infantry Division in Cotabato, also served as defense attaché in India. In 2001, he reportedly was part of a team that went to the United States to investigate the alleged undeclared dollar accounts of opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson. — Paolo Romero