Philippines: Arroyo's risky politics of patronage

This is from Asiatimes.
One wonders if this article is promoted at all by those with connections to Estrada. The author takes a rather jaundiced view of his overthrow! However, the article does go into detail about the connections of Arroyo to the military and her patronage awards to her supporters in the military. While the article mentions several scandals it seems to neglect the fertiliser scam and several others.

Arroyo's risky politics of patronage
By Joel D Adriano MANILA -
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration was this year spared the military mutinies and coup threats that periodically plagued her previous years in government. Deputy presidential spokesperson, Anthony Golez, has attributed the overall stability and the military's lack of adventures to a "high degree of political maturity, whereby our people respect due process and the rule of law". But many political analysts attribute the newfound stability in Arroyo's government to deft political maneuvers, including her large number of appointments of top retired military and police officials to plum political posts in her administration. Many of the appointments have been controversial and sparked public
criticism from the opposition and watchdog groups. It is important to remember that Arroyo's path to power was paved with support from the military and police establishments. It was these institutions which withdrew their support from then-president Joseph Estrada and helped orchestrate the People's Power II movement which overthrew his government and elevated the then-vice president Arroyo in 2001. Many foreign analysts viewed Estrada's downfall as unconstitutional and undemocratic. Respected Hong Kong-based political economist William Overholt described the street movement as "mob rule and a well-planned cover for coup". One of the important players in that uprising, former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Angelo Reyes, has since became one of the most powerful and influential members of Arroyo's cabinet. He now heads the Department of Energy, one of the most desired posts in government due to its huge budget. Following last year's military mutiny, when disgruntled officials laid siege to the Manila Peninsula Hotel, [See Failed 'coup' sends a strong message Asia Times Online - Dec 1, 2007] appointments apparently made as political payback have become even more conspicuous. For example, Lieutenant General Romeo Tolentino, a former commanding general of the Philippine Army and a loyal Arroyo supporter, was appointed in September as the new president and chief executive officer of the state-owned Philippine National Oil Company's (PNOC) subsidiary the Alternative Fuel Corporation. A position prized for its P2 billion ($40 million) budget to develop biofuel crops across the country. The PNOC is staffed by several retired military officers, including former air force chief Nicanor Rodriguez and his classmate, former general Raymundo Jarque. The appointment of Tolentino comes on the heels of the appointment in late-October of former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Avelino Razon Jr as deputy director of the National Security Council, and Arturo Lomibao, also a former PNP head, as undersecretary under the Office of the President. They are the latest in a growing list of retired military and police officers appointed by Arroyo to top government posts. Each of the appointees brings their own battalion of retired officers and soldiers to serve as deputies, consultants and other positions, making it difficult to track precisely how much influence the security forces have over her administration. Prominent former armed forces chief of staff appointees include Arroyo's Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita; the country's Special Ambassador to the Middle East Roy Cimatu; President of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority Narciso Abaya; Special Envoy to the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Growth Area Efren Abu; Ambassador to Iran Generoso Senga; and Ambassador to Australia Ernesto de Leon, a former navy flag officer. The list of retired senior police officers in top government positions include Transportation and Communication Secretary General Leandro Mendoza; Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr; Chairman of the Philippine Retirement Authority Edgardo Aglipay; Head of the National Irrigation Administration Arturo Lomibao; Chairman of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Thompson Lantion; and Ambassador to Indonesia Vidal Quirol, a former Metro Manila police chief. The appointments have sparked criticism from the opposition, civil society groups, local media and even some government insiders, who claim Arroyo's democratically elected administration has become beholden to security forces. "I guess political debt payment and military supremacy is still her policy," said one local businessman and columnist who declined to be named because he was recently nominated for a top government post but trumped by a retired military officer. Arroyo's relations with the military have not always been so rosy. In July 2003, Arroyo's government was confronted with a military mutiny of junior officers who laid siege to a hotel in Makati. They used the hotel to air their grievances with the Arroyo government, calling on other soldiers to join them in overthrowing the administration. The group, which called itself "Magdalo", complained about allegedly rampant corruption in Arroyo's government, including in the higher reaches of the military. The bloodless mutiny ended less than a day later when the soldiers failed to rally public or military support to their cause. Ever since Arroyo has been gradually surrounding herself with top generals and ex-generals, apparently appointing them to desirable positions to defuse future threats from the armed forces. Although her government has faced down other military uprisings, including an alleged 2006 coup attempt which prompted her to declare a state of emergency, and last year's dramatic siege of a five-star hotel in Manila by rebel soldiers sympathetic to the Magdalao group, none have been on the scale of the 2003 uprising. The security establishment connections have also helped Arroyo weather mounting corruption allegations against her government. Arroyo still stands accused by the opposition of rigging in her favor the 2004 presidential elections in what is known here as the "Hello Garci" scandal [See Arroyo's last cha-cha Asia Times Online - Jul 30, 2005]. Arroyo has denied any wrongdoing, but has since faced four separate impeachment motions over the allegations. Similar allegations of corruption, analysts note, rallied the troops that contributed to Estrada's ouster. Beverly Musni, organizer of the Initiatives for Peace Mindanao, a non-governmental organization (NGO), said Arroyo's appointment of retired generals is desperate political accomodation to keep the military from overthrowing the government. Activist and journalist Tony Cruz goes further, describing her administration as a "military junta". He and others contend that several of her appointments have bypassed more qualified career officials and civilians. There is also a growing perception of her government as one which has looked the other way when allegations of wrongdoing have surrounded the military or police, particularly in connection with security forces' management of secret budgets. The potential for misuse came to light on October 11 when a police delegation attending an Interpol assembly held in Moscow was caught carrying an excess amount of euros. The police officials caught with the money initially said the 105,000 euros (about $134,000) confiscated was a "contingency fund". The claims are now under Senate investigation and during hearings the accused now say the funds, which were left with Moscow authorities, were earmarked for the purchase of weapons, sophisticated spy equipment and, bizarrely, luxury watches. The charges are still under investigation. Questions are also being raised about the quality of Arroyo's military appointments. Take, for instance, Tolentino's recent appointment, which the Commission on Audit (COA) has questioned for his still unliquidated cash advances worth P90 million during his one-year term as army head from July 2006 to August 2007. Unliquidated cash advances does not mean that the money was spent illegally, however, he has to report or explain within the financial year how those monies were spent. The COA will then determine whether his report meets government audit and accounting rules before it grants new cash advances. But Tolentino apparently failed to do this, like all previous Army commanders since 2003. Tolentino has also been implicated by the human rights NGOs Karapatan and Martyr in a series of killings, abductions, arson and harassment cases involving activists in Central and Northern Luzon in 2006 over a still unsolved spate of apparently political killings across the country. When the public inquiry started related charges against him were dropped due to the legal technicality that he was no longer the commanding officer of the Northern Luzon Command. Karapatan has also accused Arroyo's administration of overseeing the state-sponsored killings of over 800 political activists, human rights advocates, peasant leaders, farmers and church workers since she first came to power in 2001. The Philippine armed forces have battled a communist insurgency for over three decades and certain Muslim separatists for nearly a half century in different regions of the country. Those campaigns have been hounded by numerous allegations of human right violations, including the torture of suspected rebels and sympathizers. However, the recent spate of state killings, the group says, are the worst since the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Arroyo has repeatedly denied the human rights abuse charges and firmly denied that her government was behind any of the murders. But it's not clear to many if these statements are not merely an attempt to whitewash the record of the various retired military and police officials currently populating and protecting her administration. Joel D Adriano is an independent consultant and award-winning freelance journalist. He was a sub-editor for the business section of The Manila Times and writes for Asean BizTimes, Safe Democracy and People's Tonight.