MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo bade farewell yesterday to the Armed Forces, saying she would “fade away as old soldiers and old commanders-in-chief do.”
The Armed Forces honored her yesterday with a testimonial parade that included units of the Presidential Security Group. Highlighting the event was a demonstration of the Army’s skydiving team.
“And so, today, I thank you for your farewell. It has been a great honor to have been your commander-in-chief, especially during this period of defense reform,” Mrs. Arroyo said in her message after reviewing the troops in formation, escorted by Armed Forces chief Gen. Delfin Bangit.
“As I fade away as old soldiers and old commanders-in-chief do, soldiers of the Filipino people, I enjoin you to carry on. Be the soldiers of the Constitution that you have been all these nine years. Thank you very, very much to all of you,” she said.
She cited the role of the Armed Forces in keeping the nation stable and intact amid efforts by some groups in the military to overthrow her.
“I thank the Armed Forces of the Philippines for this testimonial review. But more than that, for the last nine years, when you gave me the best – the best of your efforts, the best of your skills, the best of your sacrifices, the best of your passion to serve the flag and the constitutional authority,” she said.
The farewell came amid tension between Bangit and incoming commander-in-chief Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, who has announced his decision to name a new AFP chief.
There was no clear signal yet from Bangit, who worked as Mrs. Arroyo’s aide since she was vice president, if he would be resigning or retiring.
Mrs. Arroyo said the Armed Forces has become professional and modernized.
She said the military has also been instrumental in helping the country achieve 37 consecutive quarters of economic growth.
“The Armed Forces has come a long way since January 2001 when I first became your commander-in-chief, but so has the Philippines itself come a long way since 2001,” she said.
“Time has gratefully erased memories of that moment less than 10 years ago when the nation teetered on political chaos and financial bankruptcy,” the President said.
“From the first chief of staff in my term to the present chief of staff, each has left his mark to make the organization stronger and more professional,” she said.
“I’ve seen in each chief of staff with his own style in leadership a progressive advancement toward the transformation of the Armed Forces, from a fractionalized organization whose members have varying degrees of politicization to a truly professional course whose loyalty is defined solely by duty to the people and the Constitution,” she said.
Mrs. Arroyo said it was also during her term that the modernization of the military, increase in the benefits for soldiers, and defense reforms began.
She also said the military has played a significant role in making the country’s first automated elections generally peaceful.
Better pay
She said an ordinary soldier now receives nearly double what he or she used to receive in 2009. Soldiers, she said, now receive bigger hazard pay and subsistence allowance.
She added that because of the salary standardization law that she enacted last year, soldiers would get another round of increase starting July 1 this year.
She said the annual pay increases for military personnel will continue until 2012.
She said she has also ensured that more and more soldiers’ families are able to own homes. Widows and orphans are entitled to scholarships and trainings.
“At the very center of defense reforms is the great Filipino soldier. I see the human being and even the fiercest of our soldiers. I have seen the soldier on the front line prepared to offer his or her life in war or sacrificing to uplift people in times of need, even as he or she himself or herself also struggles to make ends meet especially, for instance, a 40-year-old soldier who cares for his family of five and deserves more dignity,” Mrs. Arroyo said.
“I know of the lonely days and fortitude of our soldiers in the field, in the battlefield, who send humble pay to the families as source of love and hope. Within the nine years of my presidency therefore, we have increased the basic pay of our soldiers five times,” she said.
Grateful Bangit
Bangit, in his speech, said Mrs. Arroyo may be the most maligned president the country has ever had, but she is also the best.
“She gave the AFP the support that it needed - additional personnel, salary increase, modernization fund for our Armed Forces, and even supported our stand that insurgency can be defeated not by arms alone, but by winning the hearts and minds of our people,” Bangit said.
“She may have been the most criticized president. But opinion from people who do not know you, who do not know how you work and what your visions are, is understandable. And so we give them the right to express their opinions,” Bangit said.
He praised the President for inspiring the AFP to achieve more for peace and development.
“I have worked with the President even when she was still vice president. I had the opportunity of observing her in good times and in bad, in the high pitch and in the low pitch of her voice. I have personally seen how she decided in matters dealing with the Armed Forces. And I can personally attest to her concern for the soldiers,” Bangit said.
“She was the commander-in-chief who insisted on visiting our soldiers amid too many concerns, forgetting that she, too, is a human who gets tired and needed sleep,” he said.
Bangit said Mrs. Arroyo wanted to get things done as quickly as possible because she didn’t want the soldiers to wait.
He also said the President acknowledges the soldiers’ sacrifices, treats them honorably, and respects her troops’ opinions on how they intend to get things done.
“It is probably no secret that she is strict and would always demand the best in you. I have received her ire for more times than I could count,” he said.
“But at the end of it all, a leader sees what we do not see in our shortsightedness. Later on, we realize the wisdom of the decision. And we learn. I hope you also have the opportunity to learn the same from your superiors,” he said.
He also said he learned from Mrs. Arroyo how to be friendly without stooping down or lowering his standards.
“In the midst of the scandals hounding her administration, while militants were burning her effigy on the streets, she was working. That’s where you see the level of dedication,” he said.
“I must admit I understand her now more than ever,” Bangit said.
He also said he is not worried at all by the impending loss of his position as military chief. He also said he doesn’t think Mrs. Arroyo is worried about the end of her term.
“To cease to enjoy the honor that used to be accorded to you, I have no such worry. We give our best contribution wherever we are. Finished or unfinished, we go when we must,” Bangit said.
He also called on the next administration to continue what has already been started by the Arroyo administration.
“Those who would inherit this administration would have their own time to continue what was started. As professional soldiers, you will and you should obey them. But until they have exceeded the concern, the respect, and the support that President Arroyo has accorded the AFP, they would not be able to erase her contributions,” Bangit said. - By Paolo Romero and Jaime Laud
