Gonzales discourages PMA adoption of politicians

THE practice of adopting politicians into Philippine Military Academy classes should be stopped to insulate the Armed Forces from narrow, partisan politics.

Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales aired this guidance yesterday to PMA classes as they ended their annual alumni homecoming.

Gonzales noted that the practice of adopting politicians into PMA classes drags the AFP into partisan politics and taints the selection of the AFP chief of staff and processes internal to the military such as promotions.

This cannot be avoided because most AFP officers come from the PMA, Gonzales added.

“The practice is harmful to our Armed Forces. It runs counter to efforts to professionalize them and to rebuild their image as the true guardians of our democracy,” the defense chief said.

Gonzales said the practice tends to degrade the AFP because it puts military officers into a patron-client relationship with their respective classes’ adopted politicians.

Gonzales also pointed out that the practice is “divisive” to the military. “The officers become identified with their respective adopted ‘mistahs’ who are usually engaged in intensive, destructive political competition, especially during election seasons like now.”

“Instead of being nonpartisan protectors of our people, our Armed Forces become entangled in our country’s bad politics,” Gonzales emphasized.
The defense chief stressed: “Our Armed Forces must be astute in politics so that they can tell the enemies of democracy from the allies. But they should never, never be engaged in narrow, partisan politics.”

Gonzales is suggesting a possible alternative to the practice of adoption. “If there are political leaders whom PMA officials or alumni really believe should be recognized for some honorable deeds, these leaders can be conferred with honors by the PMA or by the whole alumni. In that way, the identification with a certain class is removed.”

The practice of adoption began during Martial Law in the 1970s when political backing became necessary for military officers to get promoted.

Former NPA rebel confirms wife among ‘Morong 43′

(The Philippine Star) Updated February 19, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines – A former NPA rebel has confirmed that his wife was among the 43 health workers arrested by the military in Morong, Rizal.

Ranie Popetco, who went by the name “Ka Davis” when he was still with the NPA, claimed his wife Lea de Luna is still with the rebel movement.

Popetco said he only learned of the arrest of his wife, who allegedly went to Rizal to attend a seminar as part of her assignment as a health worker with the NPA, in the news.

Popetco and De Luna met while they were in the NPA and have two children, with De Luna who is already eight years with the NPA.

Popetco was with the NPA for seven years before he surrendered on March 29, 2009. De Luna, he said, has been with the NPA for eight years. He had tried but failed to convince his wife to go with him when he surrendered last year.

Popetco claimed to have been a ranking NPA leader, holding the position of vice commanding officer of the Sangay sa Partido Pampropaganda operating in the provinces of Pampanga, Bataan and Zambales.

He said the government has promised to help his wife by providing a good lawyer.

Popetco spoke to reporters yesterday at ceremonies awarding cash incentives to 25 NPA returnees held at the military’s Northern Luzon Command.

Meanwhile, the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) said yesterday the military has victimized other health workers and rural doctors by accusing them of being members of the NPA I order to claim success in its anti-insurgency campaign.

HEAD chairman Dr. Geneve Rivera said Malacañang has given the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) full authority to crackdown on all suspected NPA fronts.

Rivera cited cases of doctors in Davao, Kalinga and Cebu who were allegedly harassed, even killed, by the military.

“These attacks shared several things: they were all politically motivated, they were all directed against those who serve marginalized communities or underserved sectors, they were justified by the military through Red-baiting and ‘Left’ or ‘NPA’ accusations,” Rivera said.

Militant groups continued to press the government and the military to free the 43 health workers, denying that they were NPA rebels. – Ric Sapnu, Mayen Jaymalin

Gov’t reviewing stance on peacetalks with CPP-NPA-NDF—Gonzales

GOVERNMENT is reviewing its position on the long-stalled peace negotiations with Communist Party of the Philippines founding leader Jose Maria Sison and his group that is based in Ultrecht, the Netherlands amid intelligence reports that he no longer has the command of the local communist movement.

Defense Secretary and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said midweek that government is “thinking whether (it) should continue with the peace talks (with the communist personalities in Ultrecht)” because of reports that “Sison is no longer representative of the CPP.”

“We have been talking with Joma Sison, but apparently he has been ousted (by his comrades in the Philippines) as the top leader of the CPP,” Gonzales told his audience, including local executives of Bohol, during the launching of a resettlement area for rebel returnees in the town of Danao in the province on February 11.

“We have information that the Tiamzon couple is now the leaders of the communist movement. But we don’t know where they are,” Gonzales added.
Gonzales said that even the Norwegian government which has hosted the peace talks between the Philippine government and the communist movement is reviewing its position.

The defense chief is now pushing for “extensive peacetalks with the NPAs at the grassroots level.”

“We should now talk to all NPA combatants as many of them now want to normalize their lives,” Gonzales said. He believes that talking directly to the guerillas and their families would be more fruitful than negotiation with the communist leadership in Ultrecht.

“The end game of the communist leaders in Ultrecht is coalition governance without election. They will never sign any peace agreement with us unless and until we agree to their demand for coalition governance. This is unacceptable because it is unconstitutional,” Gonzales emphasized.

Gonzales said he had appealed to Catholic bishops to lead the grassroots peacetalks with NPAs. He also noted that government’s Social Integration Program for rebels who want to return into the fold of the law will have to be continued and expanded to expedite the rebel returnees’ reintegration into democratic life.

Masbate in a state of political calamity—Gonzales

THE probability of putting Masbate under the control of the Commission on Elections during the current electoral season loomed yesterday after Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales described the province as being “in a state of a man-made disaster.”

Gonzales made his initial assessment of the province after visiting it Friday this week as part of the defense and military establishments’ campaign to help Comelec ensure clean and peaceful voting in May, particularly in known election hot spots. Gonzales was joined in his Masbate visit by AFP Army Chief Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit and Southern Luzon Command commander Lt. Gen. Roland Detabali.

Gonzales said the Armed Forces in Bicol and the Special Task Force Masbate of the Philippine National Police, in their situation briefing, painted a picture of “a province where lawlessness is king” and that of a “terrorized community.” The defense chief noted that there has been a spate of election-related killings in the province in the last few months.

The local state forces have identified 10 private armed groups in the province, four of which have been validated.

Part of the private armed groups in Masbate are moonlighting New People’s Army guerillas and, until recently, legitimate forces of government.  In response to the politicians’ “privatization” of state security elements, the provincial PNP has been revamped and “cleaned” of partisan elements.

Special Task Force Masbate and the AFP local command also reported that the politicians in Masbate are now “in massive expansion of (their) armed groups” in view of the forthcoming electoral contests.

The PNP special task force is expecting heavy importation of armed men from other areas including mainland Bicol, Metro Manila, Iloilo and as far as Mindanao by the politicians “because they can no longer use legitimate forces of government.”

Some of the armed groups, according to the report of the PNP task force, have the capability to use landmines or improvised explosive devices.

“Another disturbing part of the report is that even prisoners are used for criminal activities. And if they remain in Masbate, they can be used for partisan purposes in the coming election,” Gonzales noted.

According to the report, the jails don’t even have semblance of a prison as they have no perimeter fences and nipa huts take the place of prison cells. Masbate has two provincial jails keeping a total of some 200 prisoners.

Gonzales said the local AFP and PNP reports described a “paralysis of the criminal justice system” in the province. “They say that the law enforcement in the province is highly politicized and even the prosecution and judiciary are politicized or under extreme pressure.”

Speacial Task Force Masbate’s efforts toward dismantling the private armed groups have resulted in the arrest of a total of 14 armed persons and the confiscation of eight high-powered and three other firearms.

Gonzales noted, however, that the Task Force complained of having had extreme difficulty obtaining and serving search warrants.

“The situation now in Masbate reminds me of Maguindanao,” the defense chief said.

The defense chief ordered the AFP to work more closely with the PNP to make Masbate quiet and not allow it to become a war zone or another Maguindanao.

Gonzales emphasized that it would be up to the Comelec whether to put Masbate under its control or not. He brought with him to Masbate the top regional official of Comelec so he could make his recommendation to the electoral body’s top leadership.

Gonzales said he will try holding dialogues with the politicians of the province, as he had done so in Sulu, to get them into a pact for a fair and violence-free election.

Campaign vs private armies in election hot spots start Rival political leaders in Sulu agree to “gunless” 2010 election

THE defense and military establishments’ intensified drive to put in check private armed groups in provinces known as election hot spots has started with Sulu as the first case.

Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales yesterday succeeded in getting the two fiercest political contenders in the Muslim province to enter into a “gentlemen’s agreement” to refrain from employing coercion and make Sulu “gun-less” during the election season.

Cultivating his old personal ties with the Tausugs, Gonzales convinced Gov. Sakur Tan and Rep. Munir Arbison, together with their respective supporters who were either incumbent holders or candidates for elected local positions in Sulu, to put aside their arms and instead engage in a “fair and brotherly competition.”

Gonzales, bringing with him AFP Western Mindanao Commander Brig. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, talked to the two Tausug camps in separate rooms in the same hotel in Zamboanga City yesterday late afternoon.  Gonzales’ separate “gentlemen’s agreements” with the two camps will be strengthened by bringing them together in the soonest time possible to forge a peace agreement.

In yesterday’s separate talks, Gonzales recalled the time during the Martial Law regime when as a political activist hunted by the regime, he lived with the Tausugs who took care of him and helped him escape to Sabah.

Gonzales also stressed the need to change the image of Sulu so it can move towards progress.  “Very special sa akin ang Sulu kaya hindi pwedeng hindi natin ito ayusin.”

The two politicians welcomed the defense chief’s proposal for them and their supporters to register their armed followers, along with their respective arms, and be responsible for these armed men.

The defense chief also asked members of the two camps not to bring arms outside their homes or to leave their arms at checkpoints.

Gonzales told the two Muslim leaders that their arms need not be confiscated because he assured President Arroyo that the Tausugs were responsible keepers of guns.

“I know from experience that if ever there is a place where people know how to keep arms responsibly, that place is Sulu. That’s why we will not be confiscating your arms. We trust you. In turn, we want you to be responsible for your men. Garantiyahan ninyo sila sa akin,” Gonzales told the two Muslim leaders.

Gonzales asked them further: “Kaya nga huwag ninyo ako ipapahiya. I have put the AFP at the full disposal of the Comelec to ensure that our forthcoming elections will be clean, honest and orderly.  I did this because I want to prove to our people that our armed forces are the true guardians of our democracy. Tulungan nating gumanda ang ating AFP. Disiplinahin ninyo at garantiyahan sa akin ang inyong mga tao.”

The AFP will be in Sulu during the election to ensure a fair and violence-free competition among brothers, relatives and friends, Gonzales added.

Gonzales also promised the two camps that he will work towards re-integrating MNLF integrees into the military and police forces. “Kung ako ang masusunod, gusto ko nga na mas marami pang Tausug ang mapasok sa ating AFP at PNP.”

Gonzales’ meetings with the two Tausug camps followed after attending in the morning the AFP Western Mindanao Command Conference and later addressing participants in a youth forum on First World Philippines, the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council meeting and a multi-sectoral forum on climate change organized by Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat.

Gonzales is set to address the problem posed by private armed groups in other provinces, including Masbate and Abra.

Gonzales: Sulu politicians agree to ‘gun-less’ poll period

Philstar.com – Monday, February 8

MANILA, Philippines – Local leaders and politicians in Sulu have agreed with the defense department’s proposal to declare the province “gun-less” during the election period.

The agreement was reached during separate meetings of Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales with re-electionist Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan, Sulu second district Rep. Munir Arbison and their supporters last Friday.

Arbison is challenging Tan in the gubernatorial race.

Gonzales asked the two leaders and their followers, who are either incumbents or candidates for local elective positions, not to display their firearms and be responsible for the misdeeds of their supporters.

He also urged the two camps not to bring arms outside their homes or to leave their weapons temporarily at checkpoints.

“We want the elections to be peaceful. Guns should be registered and their owners should be identified. Your followers should not walk around the province bringing their guns. If any of your followers committed wrongdoings, you should discipline them,” Gonzales told the local politicians in a dialogue held in Zamboanga City.

Gonzales told Tan and Arbison that their firearms need not be confiscated because he has assured President Arroyo that Tausugs are responsible keepers of guns.

“We trust you. In turn, we want you to be responsible for your men,” he said. “Huwag ninyo ako ipapahiya (Do not embarrass me).”

Gonzales also encouraged the two sides to outdo each other in creating programs for their province and not in accumulating weapons.

“Let us just talk to the people in our jurisdiction… Sulu is a beautiful place and we should find ways to encourage investors,” he said.

The defense chief acknowledged that weapons are part of the culture of Tausugs but stressed the need for prudence in using them.

In response, both sides agreed to heed Gonzales’ appeal and vowed to cooperate with the national government in ensuring peaceful elections.

“We can do it… You won’t be embarrassed. We will heed your appeal. We have tried to come up with a list of weapons and submit it to the appropriate authorities,” Tan said during the meeting.

Reporters were not present during the meeting with Arbison but Gonzales said the lawmaker was also amenable to his proposal.

Gonzales said meetings with local officials are part of his department’s efforts to prevent violence or crimes by private armies in the run-up to the May polls.

He said he will also meet with local leaders in Masbate and Abra soon to address the problems posed by partisan armed groups. – By Alexis Romero (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

Gonzales won’t charge military officers linked to massacre

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:18:00 02/08/2010

Filed Under: Maguindanao Massacre, Security (general), Military, Judiciary (system of justice)

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales on Friday rejected calls to charge military officers linked to the November 23 Maguindanao massacre, in which 57 people, mostly journalists, were killed.

“I am not prepared to sacrifice the careers of our officers,” Gonzales said during a visit here.

Earlier, the families and relatives of the victims asked the Department of Justice to include Major General Alfredo Cayton, former 6th Infantry Division commander and now Army vice commander, and Maguindanao Army commander Colonel Medardo Geslani in the charge sheet.

The victims’ families said Cayton and Geslani did not act to prevent the carnage and might even have knowledge of it before armed men led by Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. allegedly carried out the massacre.

“I cannot allow that. I understand their pain, I go to them, I help but it is not good to sacrifice the careers of people, who have not done anything wrong,” Gonzales said.

He admitted that some quarters already asked him to dismiss Cayton and Geslani from service but he said mere allegations would not make him sacrifice their careers.

“I would like to see the truth and defend the truth because in the end, even the victims will realize that for the stability of our society, the truth must be upheld. We should not cave in just because our emotions wanted us to cave in,” he said.

Gonzales said “a lot” of military investigations had already been conducted on the Maguindanao massacre.

While saying that “there are results,” he would not make it public though.

Noime Parcon, wife of slain Frontiera publisher Joel Parcon, said she would rather wait for the decision of the court than believe Gonzales’ statements on the innocence of Cayton and Geslani.

“Anyway if they are proven innocent, then well and good,” she said.

Manuel Reblando, brother of slain Manila Bulletin reporter Bong Reblando, said he was dismayed by Gonzales’ defense of Cayton and Geslani.

“It was easy for him to judge their innocence without proving it first,” he said.

National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) spokesperson Jaime Espina Jr. said Gonzales’ statement on the innocence of the two officers were surprising because “there was never an independent investigation.”

“It was an internal probe that cleared them so the decision is open to suspicion. At the very least, the officers were negligent, at worst, in collusion (with the Ampatuans),” Espina said.

He said Gonzales’ statement “bolstered suspicions the government may be attempting a cover-up and evading its culpability in allowing the circumstances that made the massacre possible.” Julie Alipala and Richel Umel, Inquirer Mindanao

Reds had earned P1.15B from extortion – military

The communist rebels’ extortion activities has earned them more than a billion pesos in 11 years, military records show.

Data from the Armed Forces’ Civil Relations Service (CRS) indicated that the New People’s Army (NPA) collected P1.15 billion in extortion from 1996 to 2007 – a figure expected to rise even more during the election season.

“The money is extorted from construction, mining, telecommunication, transportation companies, logging concessionaires, politicians, and private individuals, including from the poor farmers, fisher folks and sari-sari store owners,” said Maj. Eugenio Julio Osias, chief of the CRS’ Media Affairs Group.

CRS chief Brig. Gen. Francisco Cruz said the NPA rebels are again expected to resort to extortion during the election season “to cover the gaping holes of its financial problems.”

“Through the years we have observed that election is the money-making season of the NPAs where they exact either cash or firearms from candidates,” Cruz said.

Smartmatic, the company that would automate the May elections, has earlier brought to the government’s attention the alleged harassment it has been experiencing from the insurgents in the provinces.

“The harassment on Smartmatic is viewed not only as part of NPA’s money making scheme but also their total disregard for the people’s chance of an advanced voting system,” Cruz said.

Military records also show that the NPA has destroyed about P1.2 billion worth of private and public properties from 2000-2009.

Cruz, however, said that despite the NPA’s collection, the group’s strength continues to decline because bulk of the extorted amount goes to the pockets of communist leaders.

“Even with this sum, NPA strength continues to decrease. This is because this money does not stay in the mountains but goes to the pockets of their corrupt leaders. Corruption inside the NPA organization has demoralized the NPA which caused many of them to leave the movement and join the mainstream society,” he said. – KBK, GMANews.TV

Zambo hosts climate change summit

By NONOY E. LACSON
February 1, 2010, 7:20pm

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A Summit on climate change aimed primarily to explain the science and future impact projections including several relevant strategies on how communities can adapt to climate change will be held here on Wednesday.

City Mayor Celso Lobregat Monday said the summit dubbed “Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Climate Change Adaptation,” will be themed “Reducing Disaster Risk in a Changing Climate.”

It will be a joint initiative of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), and the city government here.

The mayor said the proposed activity will make the people informed on measures on how to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The participants to the summit are representatives from the national government, local government units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs), academe, private sector/business organizations, communities/vulnerable sectors, and the media.

Department of National Defense (DND) acting Secretary Norberto Gonzales will keynote the event.

While various lecturers who are experts on disaster management and the climate change phenomenon, have been invited to share their insights to the participants.

Scientists predict that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones and droughts.

It is widely recognized that climate change is real and a major threat to socio-economic, environmental, and human development.

It is also likely that it will lead to other changes such as ecosystem degradation, reduced availability of water and food and changes to livelihoods, which will increase the vulnerability of communities to natural hazards.

AFP ready for poll contingencies

Won’t take over if elections fail – Brawner
By ELENA L. ABEN
January 11, 2010, 8:43pm

A military spokesman said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is all set with its contingency plan to ensure peace and order should there be a failure of elections in May, even as he emphasized that the military will not take over the government in case of such an eventuality.

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, Jr., AFP spokesman, said the military will do its best to ensure that the coming election pushes through.

“What our Secretary of Defense (Norberto Gonzales) and our Chief of Staff (Gen. Victor Ibrado) together with the service commanders are saying is that we will by all means make sure that this election will push through and that it will be an honest and orderly, credible election,” Brawner said in a press briefing.

“So yun ang sinusulong natin dahil narecognize po natin dito sa Armed Forces, yung kahalagahan nitong election na ito,” he added.

Brawner said as of the moment, they don’t see any reason to cancel or postpone the election. “That is why as early as now we have already put into place measures that will ensure the (holding of) elections by May.”

However, in case trouble occurs, he assured that the AFP is prepared to take action to maintain peace and order.

“As early as June, 2009 nakahanda na yung plan natin, so kasama dito yung scenario na kapag nagkagulo, let’s say dahil yung election ay nagkaroon ng failure, we will step in and we are ready,” said Brawner.

He further stated that while they already have a contingency plan, this does not include taking over the government.

“Hindi po mangyayari yun. Again we are trying our best to make sure that the election will push through and that it will be credible nang sa gayun ay yung mga uupo na opisyales ay magkakaroon ng clear mandate from the people,” he added.

Meanwhile, the AFP appealed to all military personnel to observe the nationwide firearms ban after three soldiers were among the 48 people arrested during the first day of implementation of the ban.

Brawner said the three soldiers who were arrested in separate Comelec checkpoints face administrative charges.

According to Brawner, they will let the police process the case of the three soldiers as he stressed that AFP personnel are not exempted from the ban.

PNP sees violence-free polls
The Philippine National Police (PNP) expressed optimism Monday that this year’s national polls will be “relatively more peaceful and orderly.”

PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said they are expecting a violence-free May election following the close coordination between security forces, including the PNP, Armed Forces of the Philippines and other concerned agencies, and the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

“We think it will be relatively more peaceful than the previous elections. We see now the close coordination between the Comelec and other law enforcement agencies,” he told reporters in an ambush interview in Malacañang.

The PNP chief also attributed the expected peaceful and orderly holding of elections to the implementation of automation nationwide.

Verzosa said since the computerized election will lessen the burden for the security forces, especially during the counting, the law enforcers have the luxury of time to concentrate on their functions as directed by the Comelec. He said the poll automation would also mean less deployment of mobile personnel.

“The automated elections would lessen the chances of some unauthorized activities,” he said. (Charissa Luci)

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