PNP, AFP leaderships assure JDV ouster won’t translate security concern

By Ronron
February 5, 2008

The police and military leaderships on Tuesday assured that the ouster of Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia, Jr. as House Speaker will not translate into a security concern even if the latter issued damaging statements against the Arroyo administration that could be taken advantage of by possible destabilizers.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Avelino Razon, Jr. said the police is not alarmed with the development as evidenced by the “orderly” debate at the Lower House on Monday night.

“This just shows that democracy is alive in the country so nobody should think about coup attempts or overthrowing the government. We don’t need that. This will further bring our country down,” Razon told reporters in Camp Crame yesterday.

“It’s too far-fetched. I don’t think that should be our worry, the Speakership of the House,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said for his part.

In a separate interview at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, Esperon said “we are too busy minding our business here on our operations… how to dismantle the guerilla fronts of the NPA (New People’s Army), how to support our troops.”

While he thinks “that some people might take advantage” of the political squabble between the First Family and the De Venecia’s, he said it remains to be seen.

“We have not seen any as of now. We have not seen that on the ground. So there is no need for us to go on red alert, or blue alert for that matter. But I tell you that we have contingency forces for any eventuality and that always happens because that’s the job of the military,” Esperon said.

The military chief admitted that he also monitored the speech of De Venecia and heard for himself the allegations De Venecia against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her administration.

But he said De Venecia should provide specifics instead of blanket allegations so the military leadership can address those accordingly.

Nevertheless, in response to De Venecia’s claim that the military had plotted to assassinate a member of Congress using an Abu Sayyaf member who is in jail in Zamboanga City, Esperon dismissed it as something impossible.

“How could we be using the Abu Sayyaf against those supposed to be friendly forces? We are supposed to be decimating the Abu Sayyaf,” he said.

“I tell you, we do not assassinate people,” he added.

On De Venecia’s allegation that there is an assassination plot against him and his son, Jose III or “Joey” who implicated First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo in the alleged bribery scandal over the deal of the government with ZTE Corporation for the National Broadband Project, Esperon said the military no longer acted upon it because the alleged source, retired Lt. Gen. Jaime delos Santos, had denied that he conveyed that message to the former Speaker.

“Where do I start? An information that was denied by the supposed source?” he said.

Nonetheless, Esperon expressed gratitude to De Venecia for the assistance of Congress under his term to the AFP, particularly on budget matters, and stopped short of telling De Venecia to move on with his life as “there is life after the Speakership.”

“We expect to continue to receive the support that we have been getting from the House, the Congressman that are supportive of us,” Esperon said.

De Venecia was voted out of the Speakership reportedly due to efforts of Arroyo’s sons and allies in the Lower House following Joey’s allegations last year against the First Gentleman in connection with the multi-million-peso NBN deal./DMS