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The appointment of retired Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr.
as the new presidential peace adviser has come under fire from
various sectors, even if Malacañang insists that Esperon is best
suited for the job. Members of Congress had mixed reactions towards
Esperon’s appointment.
“He has a deep understanding of the insurgency
situation, having been AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] Chief
of Staff and a civilian,” Deputy Press Secretary Lorelei Fajardo
said.
But the United Opposition (UNO) sees it the
other way, saying that President Gloria Arroyo’s move to appoint
Esperon as peace adviser has “effectively scuttled” the peace
process with communist insurgents and Muslim separatists.
Malacañang said Esperon’s military background
makes him well versed on the country’s insurgency situation, which
will help him become an effective peace adviser.
“He can very well use his experiences in
trying to attain the elusive peace everyone desires,” Fajardo
said.
She added the Arroyo administration believes in
the ability of Esperon in nation building, particularly in bringing
peace and prosperity to areas affected by conflict.
Mixed reaction
from Congress
Senators expressed mixed reactions Monday on the
appointment of Esperon as presidential peace adviser.
Sen. Jamby Madrigal, chairman of the Senate
Committee on Peace and Reconciliation, described Esperon’s
appointment as “a mockery of all attempts to forge genuine
peace.” Sen. Francis Escudero finds it ironic that somebody like
Esperon, whose career had been devoted to a search-and-destroy
campaign against insurgents, should now advise President Arroyo on
the peace process.
However, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile finds nothing
wrong with the appointment of a “hawk” as peace negotiator. The
term hawk refers to a person who advocates war.
“All history of the world showed that the
pacifists are the losers. The Prime Minister of Great Britain
Neville Chamberlain was a pacifist but World War 2 ensued and he had
to be replaced by Winston Churchill, a hawk,” Enrile said.
Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the Senate
Committee on National Defense, doubted Esperon would be acceptable
to the rebels, which would undermine his effectiveness.
“General Esperon is not in the same level of
credibility and acceptability as the former peace advisers such as
Haydee Yorac, Howard Dee, Manuel Yan and Jesus Dureza. They were
acceptable to the rebels themselves,” he noted.
At the House of Representatives, Palawan Rep.
Abraham Mitra urged critics of Esperon to give him the chance to
perform his new duties.
“If swords can be beaten into plowshares why
can’t a soldier of war be not made into a fighter for peace?”
Mitra said.
The Palawan lawmaker said that Esperon’s
spending more than three decades at the frontlines fighting rebels
may have opened his eyes to the futility of using war to end
conflict.
Militant solons challenged Esperon to prove his
worth that insurgency problems cannot be solved with guns.
“Social justice equipped with poverty
alleviation will help solved the aging insurgency in the country,”
Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo told reporters.
Opposition to Esperon
UNO spokesperson Lawyer Adel Tamano called
Esperon a “notorious hawk” whose term as military chief has been
tainted with “serious allegations of human rights violations and
extrajudicial killings.”
UNO president and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay
noted that Esperon’s appointment “only indicated once again that
President Arroyo simply cannot let go of the so-called ‘Hello
Garci’ generals,” referring to military generals mentioned in
the alleged wiretapped telephone conversation between then Election
Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and the President during the 2004
elections.
A ranking Catholic Church official on Monday
also balked at the appointment of Esperon as peace adviser.
“There could be some motive. Personally, I
have great reservation on the capability of Esperon on the peace
panel,” said Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, who is also a
member of the Ecumenical Bishops Forum
The Caloocan bishop said that Esperon is still
perceived as being anti-peace, on top of having extrajudicial
killings happening during his 22-month long term as military chief.
There are reports the Commission on Appointments
(CA) will block Esperon’s confirmation.
“With the CA [vowing] to block his
appointment, that’s speaks loudly against Esperon,” Iñiguez
said.
-- Angelo S. Samonte, Efren L. Danao, Sammy Martin, Jayson Cruz
Luna and Anthony Vargas
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