May 12, 2008, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Changing of the guard, by Ramon J. Farolan,

May 12, 2008, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Changing of the guard, by Ramon J. Farolan,

MANILA, Philippines - This morning the Armed Forces will tender a parade and review to honor outgoing AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes C. Esperon Jr. He served in the post for almost two years, the longest tenure of any chief of staff during the Arroyo administration. He was supposed to retire last February but his term was extended by three months-the only extension granted by President Macapagal-Arroyo to any of her AFP chiefs. His successor, the Army commander, Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano, a member of PMA Class 1976, will be retiring in June 2009, giving him 13 months on the job.

General Yano will be the 10th AFP chief of staff in the eight years of the Arroyo administration. Although both Houses of Congress passed bills that would give the AFP chief of staff and the major service commanders fixed terms of office, President Arroyo saw fit to ignore this clamor from the representatives of the people. Obviously, she continues to remain insecure as far as the AFP is concerned, and a fixed term for our senior commanders is something she would rather not risk.

In his remarks during this morning's change of command ceremonies, I am certain that General Esperon will dwell on his accomplishments in the fight against the New People's Army and the Moro insurgency in the South. Last January's command conference gave us a preview of those achievements. The AFP reported that communist strength had fallen to its lowest in 20 years, with only 5,760 active guerrillas operating in the country and 13 "guerrilla fronts" dismantled. In the case of the Abu Sayyaf, from a registered strength of 452 in the beginning of 2007, it was reduced to 383 at the end of last year.

All commanders are entitled to praise and accolades for progress in the fight against enemies of our country. But they must also shoulder responsibility for the disasters that take place during their watch.

Esperon's stint as AFP chief of staff is marked by one of the darkest periods in the annals of our military establishment.

In July 2007, a Marine unit of some 100 men on a search mission to locate and rescue the kidnapped Italian priest, Fr. Giancarlo Bossi, was ambushed by Abu Sayyaf elements in Basilan. Twelve Marines were killed. The captured men were tortured before finally being beheaded and the bodies mutilated. This was followed by an ambush of Army troopers in Jolo resulting in the death of 11 soldiers. Later, a test mission mounted on an Abu Sayyaf base in Basilan resulted in the death of five officers and 10 enlisted men, all belonging to Force Recon, Class 13 of the Philippine Marines. More than 40 officers and men were killed by enemy fire, the greatest loss of military lives in such a short period of time.

While the brigade commander, Col. Ramiro Alivio, was relieved, not a single star rank officer was reprimanded or held to account in some way. Until today the public remains in the dark as to what actually happened in Basilan, what punishments were meted out to superior officers and what were the results, if any, of the much-ballyhooed drive to bring the culprits to justice.

In contrast, 13 years ago on April 4, 1995, Abu Sayyaf and MNLF elements swooped down on the town of Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur, killing 55, mostly civilians, including the commander of the 10th Infantry Battalion. Two days after, the newly installed Southcom chief, Brig. Gen. Regino Lacson, one of the bright stars of PMA Class 1963 who at that point in his career had a clear shot at the premier post of the Army and possibly a stint as AFP chief of staff, was relieved of command along with Col. Roberto Santiago, commander of the 102nd Infantry Brigade stationed in Zamboanga.

When the Ipil tragedy took place, we knew that someone very senior would have to answer for the mistakes, the shortcomings and the lapses that allowed such a disaster to take place. That is how most military organizations not just in the Philippines, but in other countries as well, operate. That symbolizes the meaning of command responsibility.

One of the first announcements of General Esperon when he took over as AFP chief of staff was the breakup of Southcom into two separate commands-Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) which covers the Basilan-Sulu area, and Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom). This breakup was designed for better utilization and concentration of forces ranged against the twin threats facing the government in Mindanao. It also provided more star rank positions for the AFP. But unfortunately, when the moment of truth arrived, the new arrangements did not save our Marines in Basilan.

At one point, dissatisfied with results from the field, President Arroyo personally ordered the Army chief, Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, to transfer his headquarters from Fort Bonifacio to Zamboanga City-the first time in the history of the AFP that any commander in chief would take this kind of action.

And now comes Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of having lunch with the incoming AFP chief of staff at his headquarters in Fort Bonifacio. Prior to my scheduled visit, his enlisted administrative assistant called me up twice asking for my preference of food. Since I was being asked, I replied that kare-kare would be fine. Guess what. There was adobo, but no kare-kare. Sometimes the best intentions get lost in the kitchen. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the simple lunch laid out by the Army commander in his office. We were joined by two of his assistants, Lt. Col. Rhoderick Parayno and Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres.

The new AFP chief hails from Sindangan in Zamboanga del Norte, the first son of Mindanao to occupy the highest position in our armed forces. During his youth days at Cebu Institute of Technology, he was a student activist rallying against government only to end up as a cadet at the military academy and find himself on the other side of the fence.

A bemedalled warrior, professional to the bone, General Yano is about to receive the highest honor the Filipino people can bestow on a man in uniform. The question in their minds is this: Will he be another commander of the Praetorian Guards, or will he be the chief of staff of our Armed Forces tasked specifically by the Constitution to be the protector of the people regardless of political persuasions?

The next few weeks will provide us with an answer.

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