Militarization in GMA government

Solons warn vs. military control

Say GMA moves could be prelude to martial law

SENATORS yesterday questioned what they called "creeping militarization" in government with the appointment of retired and controversial generals, and warned that the moves could be a prelude to declaration of martial law or emergency rule.
"Para sa milyong Pilipino na walang tiwala sa administrasyon, ang ibig sabihin nito’y pinaliligiran na ni GMA ang sarili niya ng mga taong walang kwestiyon sa anumang iligal na utos mula sa Pangulo. Martial law na ba ang kasunod nito?" said Sen. Mar Roxas.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the appointments of retired generals could be part of President Arroyo’s plan to consolidate her power base.
"What is her power base? The base is no longer the Filipino people in that sense because almost eight out of 10 are disappointed. So, if the people no longer trust the President, where will she get her support? She is getting it now from the active and retired military men. She’s getting it from the Armed Forces," he said.
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the latest assignments are proof of what he called the awesome influence, if not control, that some generals wield over the Arroyo government.
Tirso Danga, a former vice admiral, has been appointed to head the National Printing Office which prints government forms and documents including election returns and ballots.
He was one of the key figures in the 2005 "Hello Garci" controversy along with former peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon.
Esperon, a former AFP chief, has been tapped to replace Cerge Remonde as director of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS). Remonde will be press secretary effective Feb. 1.
The PMS is tasked with managing the development and formulation of projects and policies of the Office of the President.
Avelino Razon, a former PNP chief and mistah of Esperon in PMA Class 1974, is new peace adviser.
Jovito Palparan, a former major general in the Army, is being groomed for a position at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency or Dangerous Drugs Board.
Palparan has been blamed by militants for the extra-judicial killings and disappearances of political activists reported since 2001.
Roxas expressed deep suspicions on the move of Arroyo to appoint Danga.
"Sa pag-appoint ni GMA kay Danga sa NPO ay lalo lang tumindi ang suspetsa natin na walang balak si GMA na gawing malinis ang susunod na halalan," Roxas said.
Roxas said Danga’s appointment to NPO could be Plan B if President Arroyo and her allies in Congress fail to ram through Charter change through a Constituent Assembly.
"Hindi pa nga nasasagot ni Admiral Danga ang mga tanong sa kanyang naging papel sa kaso ng Hello Garci ay eto at siya pa ang ilalagay sa ahensyang gagawa ng mga balota para sa eleksyon. Talagang garapalan na ang ginagawa ng Malacanang," he said.
"What assurance do we have that this is not a plot to manipulate the printing of ballots for the 2010 elections for the benefit of the administration? None, given this administration’s black record of cheating, stealing and lying," Roxas said.
Pimentel said instead of resurrecting Palparan’s career, President Arroyo should pursue his criminal prosecution.
"We cannot tolerate a situation where suspects in drug-related offenses will just disappear or be found floating in the Pasig River," Pimentel said.
"I believe that it would be better for the Arroyo government to drop its plan to name Palparan as a chief enforcer of our drug laws. It is like putting a hammer and knocking it against one’s head," he said.
Pimentel questioned the qualifications of Esperon for the PMS post.
He noted that during Esperon’s stint as peace adviser, peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front suffered a setback when the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain was voided by the Supreme Court for being unconstitutional.
LESSER PERSONS
Remonde defended the appointment and nominees of retired military and police officials in the Cabinet.
"It is unfair to discriminate against former military generals, I mean are they lesser persons? Are they lesser qualified because they are former generals?"
Retired military officials in government are Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita; Arturo Carillo, military affairs adviser; Honesto Isleta, presidential assistant on strategic information; Glenn Rabonza, Office of the Civil defense executive director and national disaster coordinating council administrator; Angel Atutubo, Manila International Airport Authority assistant general manager; Thelmo Cunanan, chairman of the Social Security System; and Proceso Maligalig, head of Bataan Shipyard.
Retired police generals are Razon; Arturo Lomibao, incoming LTFRB chief; Edgar Aglipay, chair of the Philippine Retirement Agency; Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., public works secretary; Leandro Mendoza, transportation and communications secretary; and Roberto Lastimoso, director of Metro Rail Transit Corp.
Former AFP chiefs of staff in government are Angelo Reyes, secretary of energy; Narciso Abaya, chair of Bases Conversion Development Authority; Dionisio Santiago, PDEA director;
Roy Cimatu, special envoy to Middle East; Efren Abu, ambassador to Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asia growth Area (BIMP-EAGA); and Generoso Senga, ambassador to Iran.
Other uniformed officials who have been appointed are Orlando Macaspac, presidential adviser for police affairs; Florencio Fianza, former chairman of the Philippine Racing Commission; Vidal Querol, ambassador to Indonesia; and Ernesto de Leon, ambassador to Australia.
Remonde dismissed observations that the appointment of some uniformed officials is in anticipation of a declaration of martial law, or even a possible term extension for Arroyo, saying it is an "over reaction" and a "very convenient boogeyman" being raised by critics. – With Jocelyn Montemayor MALAYA

Millions of dollars in funding support appear to have been wasted

By Aries Rufo, abs-cbnNEWS.com, Newsbreak | 01/07/2009 3:11 PM


Millions of dollars in funding support appear to have been wasted as corruption in the Philippines progressively worsened in the past two years, a Millennium Challenge Corp. evaluation report showed.

The worsening status of corruption, which was noted in 2007 and 2008 by the MCC, “raises questions about the efficacy” of MCC-funded anti-corruption programs of the Ombudsman amounting to millions of dollars, the report said. The MCC is a US government-owned corporation managing the Millennium Challenge Account aimed at helping governments lick corruption.

Ironically, the increase in the level of corruption was noted just as funding support poured. In late 2006, the Philippines received a $6 million grant from the MCC because of its high percentile ranking in control of corruption indicator. The country is eligible for a total amount of $21 million from the MCC.

Before the MCC account, the Ombudsman also got a huge grant from the EU for anti-corruption programs.

But from 76th percentile in 2006, the country’s ranking dipped to 57th percentile in 2007 and 47th percentile in 2008.

In March 2008, the MCC, during an assessment, noted the slide in 2007 and it “raised concern over the fragility of the Philippines’ control of corruption score.” Just the same, the MCC declared the Philippines eligible for another round of large-scale funding from the MCC.

Such decision created an “awkward situation” for the MCC Board, the report said, as later development showed.

With the further decline in the Philippines’ score in 2008, the evaluation report said the MCC’s initial concerns “now appear to have been justified.” It further noted that the release of grant “coincided with the weakening of the corruption score.”

It was thus of no surprise when the country flunked the MCC’s fiscal year 2009 report, which denied the Philippines a new round of funding.
Aside from failing grades in control of corruption (47 percent), the country also failed in health expenditures (19 percent) and primary education (32 percent).

To be eligible for the funding assistance, developing countries must demonstrate a commitment to policies that promote political and economic freedom, investments in education and health, control of corruption, and respect for civil liberties and the rule of law.

The MCC account is not the only foreign-funded program implemented by the Ombudsman which got a failing grade. During the time of Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, the Office of the Ombudsman got a 2.9 million euro grant from the European Union to finance the Improving Governance to Reduce Poverty program.

But our sources in the Ombudsman said that since Gutierrez came into office in Nov. 2005, the funding support has been “drastically decreased due to incompetence.” But Alistair Macdonald, head of the delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines, in an earlier interview said the EU is still set to review the programs it had funded including the anti-corruption projects in collaboration with the Ombudsman.

The slash in foreign support came as various surveys confirmed the worsening corruption. The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy survey has tagged the Philippines as number 1 in corruption in Asia while Transparency International’s 2008 perception index placed the Philippines in the bottom quarter of 180 countries surveyed.

as of 01/07/2009 3:11 PM