LuisTeodoro.com

(From Radio Singapore International’s Interview with Prof. Teodoro)

Philippine police have arrested an aide of deposed former president Joseph Estrada as the government vowed to pursue the political backers of a failed military mutiny and limit the damage to the country’s image and economy.

After extensive negotiations, some 300 rebel troops agreed to abandon the building in the Makati financial district they had wired with explosives and have since returned to their barracks to face justice.

Meanwhile, Ramon Cardenas, a cabinet minister during Estrada’s presidency, was arrested in a raid on his home.

The authorities said the role of opposition Senator Gregorio Honasan in the mutiny was also being investigated.

As for the mutineers’ claims of corruption in the military brass, the Philippine government has said it would investigate this .

Augustine Anthuvan spoke to political commentator Luis Teodoro from the University of Philippines and first asked him about the reasons for the mutiny.

“Well it should be seen in the context of the fact that there is a lot of dissatisfaction not only in the military but in many sectors of Philippine society. In the case of this particular group of young officers, they have a lot of dissatisfaction with the way for example the government is waging the war in Mindanao, as well as dissatisfaction, criticism or outrage over the perception of corruption in the upper echelons of the Philippine military. Some of them also seem to be genuinely convinced that certain, well specifically Secretary Angelo Reyes, he is involved in continuing attempts to demonize the Muslims through involvement, according to these officers, in the bombings in Mindanao. So on the one hand, they’re tapping into real sources of discontent both among the people in general as well as among the younger members of the officers core”.

These young officers have made some serious allegations. They’ve said as you have pointed out that senior members in the Arroyo administration in the cabinet have been actually supporting the MILF, selling military ordinance to the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf terror group. Now they wouldn’t have gone that far to make such allegations if they didn’t have the proof, would they?

“Well they based their allegations on their personal experiences according to them. And they also based their allegations about the ammunition on the fact that they have discovered ammunition sourced from the Department of National Defence among the guerillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. I don’t know how true that is, whether that’s really as systematic as they make it sound. I’m referring to the sale of ammunition and weapons to the MILF. I don’t know if that’s happening at the higher levels of the military, probably at the local level. But the more serious allegation I think is the charge that Secretary Reyes orchestrated the bombing in Davao, in order to make peace talks difficult if not impossible”.

You’re referring to the wharf bombing in Davao city in April this year right? So is the Philippine cabinet, President Arroyo in particular, going to take up these accusations seriously and launch a full investigation?

“Well Secretary Reyes himself has asked for the establishment of a high level commission to look into these allegations, according to him, so that he can clear himself. The thing however is that the suspicions of this nature have been afloat in the Philippines in the media for example and among non governmental organisations for many months. So the fact that these junior officers have brought it out into the open, has a positive aspect to it in the sense that ok, now maybe they can really seriously look into it. Now Secretary Reyes has recommended that President Arroyo create such a commission, a commission to investigate him. So far I think President Arroyo has not said anything about whether she will follow Secretary Reyes’ suggestion”.

Luis Teodoro, Professor of Journalism at the University of Philippines speaking with Augustine Anthuvan.

Comments RSS