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By Efren L. Danao Senior
Reporter
The extension of the term of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon
Jr., is a presidential prerogative which must be respected, Sen.
Gregorio Honasan 3rd said on Monday.
“Historically, the AFP chief of
staff has always been the personal choice of the President. The
President has every right to appoint somebody she feels comfortable
with,” Honasan told The Manila Times.
He maintained that the outcry
against the three-month extension of Esperon’s term came from
partisan sectors based on perceptions of his involvement in the 2004
presidential election.
“That is nothing but
perception,” he said.
He also described as mere
perception claims that the extension has adversely affected the
morale of the military. Honasan is a former military officer who
still has strong ties with the military.
“Again, that [demoralization]
is mere perception, and perceptions must be backed up with more
concrete data to be credible,” Honasan said.
He said that he has always been
against the revolving-door policy where a chief of staff serves for
a few months only and then replaced by another who will serve for an
equally short period.
Honasan is even for the enactment
of a law giving the chief of staff a fixed term of three years with
no extension.
Meanwhile, Senators Francis
Pangilinan and Rodolfo Biazon rapped Esperon for saying that blood
must flow to end the communist insurgency during the extension of
his term.
“We cannot solve the problem of
insurgency if we continue to be on the warpath against the communist
rebels,” Pangilinan said.
He urged that the government
should instead concentrate on poverty alleviation and sustained
economic activity “coupled with aggressive peace initiatives”
with all warring factions.
“This will end the root causes
of insurgency—poverty, dissent and injustice,” Pangilinan said.
Biazon, chairman of the Senate
Committee on National Defense, said Esperon’s declaration has a
“chilling” effect on Filipinos. He cited findings of the Melo
Commission, UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, European Union and
the Commission on Human Rights that government might have been
accountable for serious human rights violations.
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