Defence chief's resignation a blow to terror war
The sudden resignation of defence secretary Avelino Cruz sets back the government plan for defeating the insurgency and fighting terrorism, military officials said yesterday.
Mr Cruz, who resigned on Sunday, had created an ambitious plan for the 120,000-strong military to quell the Marxist insurgency in six to 10 years.
Military spokesman Major-General Jose Angel Honrado said several military officials were saddened by the resignation, and hoped his successor would continue Mr Cruz's programme.
But one senior army official said: 'It will destroy the momentum of the programme, [which] is our future'.
The programme now has the firm backing of the military leadership. 'Everybody believes in his plan [and it] has gained a lot of respect and acceptance,' the official said. 'It gave us a clear view of where we are going.'
Mr Cruz, one of the few civilians to occupy the post, succeeded in gaining the trust of the military's top brass.
He began a painful reallocation of resources, persuading the air force to retire its four fighter jets and use the savings in maintenance for helicopters, which have proven vital in operations against rebels.
Another military official said whoever succeeded Mr Cruz should carry out the plan. 'We just want to have somebody who has the heart to improve the capability of the armed forces, somebody who can follow in his footsteps or even go beyond.'
What won the officers' trust in the corporate lawyer who had absolutely no background in defence matters when he took over in 2004 was that Mr Cruz 'put his heart' into the job and did his homework.
He introduced best corporate practices, the concept of financial controls, capital budgeting and multi-year planning.
'He became a strong link between the presidential palace and the armed forces and that was a very vital thing,' the army official said.
Mr Cruz had President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's ear because he was for decades the personal lawyer of the presidential family.
Ironically, this was what led to the parting of ways when he gave his honest legal opinion on a presidential initiative. The low-key lawyer recently described Mrs Arroyo's move to change the constitution through a massive sign-up drive as 'legally hare-brained and constitutionally infirm'.
