Press Release
January 25, 2009

GOV'T MILITARIZATION NOTHING NEW;
GMA ON A 'POLICY OF SURVIVAL' - KIKO

On January 23, 2009, a leading national daily published an editorial about the "militarization" of the Arroyo cabinet, following the reassignments of some of the president's closest allies. According to the editorial, the latest reshuffling among the President's men speaks not only of "troubled waters" within this inner circle; it "sends the wrong signal about the Arroyo administration's understanding of the sources of democracy" because of the "presence of so many [former generals] in the President's Cabinet."

Independent senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, who was quoted in the editorial as comparing the "rigodon" to a futile exercise in a sinking ship, pointed out that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's dependence on military power is nothing new.

"The militarization of the Arroyo government didn't begin with this latest reshuffling. It's been a policy of survival since the 'Hello Garci' controversy exploded in their faces in 2005," Kiko observed. He was referring to the 2005 scandal that involved the president's collusion with COMELEC official Virgilio Garcillano, supposedly to protect her votes.

"Despised by its own people, this government has leaned more and more on the military to shore up support," Kiko continued. "The GMA presidency is propped up by military generals, active and retired."

Among the military men referred to in the editorial are current and former generals Eduardo Ermita, Executive Secretary; Avelino Razon, incoming presidential adviser on the peace process; Hermogenes Ebdane, secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); Leandro Mendoza, secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC); and Angelo Reyes, secretary of the Department of Energy (DoE). Hermogenes Esperon, a four-star general, will take over the Presidential Management Staff (PMS). According to the paper, this "marks the first time in living memory that a former general heads the President's planning and policy hub."

With this, Kiko--who was a student activist during the Martial Law years--strongly urged the public to remain vigilant against the current administration's past, present, and future abuses of military power.

"This arrangement threatens our constitutional democracy and must come to an end. Only a united people rallying behind inspiring leadership with vision and principles can end this unhealthy anti-democratic arrangement," Kiko ended.

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