ZAMBOANGA CITY, 10 September 2005 — President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's choice of the new military commander in the Southern Philippines yesterday was feared to have stirred resentment among officers.
In a seemingly surprise, last-minute move, Arroyo designated Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deputy chief of staff Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan as replacement of Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza, who is retiring today.
Adan’s assumption of the Southern Command promptly stirred a new controversy in the military as the Board of Generals (BOG) had earlier recommended Maj. Gen. Samuel Bagasin to the post.
Bagasin, a member of the PMA Class 1973, is a decorated veteran in the anti-insurgency campaign and is respected by his peers. He also served as the AFP deputy chief for operations in 2002 and later as commander of the 5th Infantry Division in Northern Luzon.
Bagasin was behind the arrest of many communist insurgents and the capture of major camps of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindanao.
Most of Adan’s previous postings were administrative and at one time was named superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and as AFP spokesman.
Many senior military officials were reportedly disgusted over Adan’s assumption because of the short time he would serve as commander of the Southern Command. Adan is due to retire in January 11 next year.
“We have to follow orders, but what can General Adan do considering he has a very short time to command the the troops in the southern Philippines, unlike General Bagasin,” a senior official said.
The presidential appointment of Adan was announced on Thursday night during a testimonial dinner in Camp Aguinaldo for Braganza, on the eve of his retirement.
Arroyo’s decision surprised many. As of Thursday morning, officials had been sure the post would go to Bagasin.
The controversy comes in the midst of a political crisis in which the AFP plays a critical role in the survival of Arroyo. The military declared it would stay neutral.
Commanding an area where Moro insurgents and communist rebels, as well as various kidnap for ransom gangs operate, Southcom is the biggest of the military’s five unified commands.
The post of Southcom chief is a coveted one among generals. Many Southcom heads eventually became chiefs of staff.
Even Braganza himself seemed all set to hand over the command to Bagasin.
In the text of his prepared speech, Braganza was to have said: “I turn over the Southcom to Gen. Sammy Bagasin, a highly competent, professional and hardworking officer, who has commanded two army divisions and who has performed exceedingly well in breaking the backbone of the communist terrorist movement....”
Braganza dropped Bagasin’s name in his speech at the handover ceremony at past 10 a.m. and put in the name of Adan, instead.
Bagasin said he had been previously informed that he would be installed as Southcom chief, and admitted he was hurt by the change in the orders.
“As a human being, there was a little frustration,” he told reporters. “But this is one thing we learned from the service. We have to control our emotions, we have to control our frustrations in order to be a professional soldier, to be able to still perform our mandated mission.”
Asked about the presence of his family, Bagasin said: “I just prepared my family to be around, because we heard some warning orders” — meaning an initial advisory that he was “it.”
“But you see, warning orders, even in the conduct of operation, can change anytime,” he said.
Adan and Gen. Generoso Senga, AFP chief of staff, are both members of the BOG.
Senga said the military had never said or had implied that Bagasin would become the next Southcom chief.
“I do not know who gave you that impression. There are other candidates for the Southcom. General Adan is now the OIC, meaning to say there will be final determination yet of who will be the Southern Command chief,” Senga said.
Senga said Adan’s tenure would depend on Malacañang.
“It’s the prerogative of the president, the commander in chief. But being member of BOG, we recommended him (Bagasin) but we also recommended General Adan and the rest of our senior commanders,” he said.
“I am a member of the board of generals. But I cannot talk about that. It’s the president who decides,” Adan said.
“We have to follow orders, but what can General Adan do considering he has a very short time to command the the troops in the southern Philippines, unlike General Bagasin,” a senior official said.
“Well, I did not expect it,” he said. “I am not expecting my designation, an order to take over this command, but as a soldier, who had served in Mindanao for 12 years, I welcome it. It was a pleasant surprise. It’s a fitting cap to a military career that started here in Mindanao.” Adan is retiring on Jan. 1, 2006.
Bagasin said that despite the frustration, he was still expecting that his appointment would be reconsidered.
“In the process of selecting a candidate, we wish that nobody gets excluded. But we should center our wishes with realities. These are the realities. We just have to abide by the decision of the chain of command,” he said.
But he added that he was toning down his expectations so he would not get frustrated again.
According to the grapevine, there had been a last-ditch lobbying by Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, commander of the army’s 1st Infantry Division.
Habacon was among the generals mentioned in the controversial “Hello Garci” tapes that contained alleged wiretapped conversations between Arroyo and former Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano supposedly dealing with election cheating during the elections.
In the tapes, a man believed to be Garcillano suggested that a General Habacon still did not know much about matters pertaining to changes in election returns.
Habacon denied that he had lobbied to get the Southcom post.
“I don’t know anything about that. That is the prerogative of the commander in chief,” he said in a phone interview.
Bagasin and Habacon belong to the Philippine Military Academy Class 1973. (With input from Inquirer News Service)
