Ex-DND chief to troops: Defy unlawful orders
By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:29:00 07/22/2009


MANILA, Philippines—Warning of a "disturbing" pattern in recent events showing that the Arroyo administration might be seeking to perpetuate itself in power, former Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz asked soldiers on Wednesday to "disobey patently unlawful orders" that would subvert the Constitution.

Speaking at a forum of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting in Ortigas, Cruz said that the public should also be prepared to "stand in the way of any attempt" by the administration to stay in power.

He noted that members of the Philippine Military Academy’s Class of 1978, of which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is an honorary member, were occupying important positions in the military and police establishments.

Cruz, a former member of the Arroyo Cabinet, said he believed former Speaker Jose de Venecia when he said the administration had once tried to declare emergency rule and get Washington to support it.

He said former Philippine ambassador to Washington Alberto del Rosario had mentioned a similar scenario happening in late 2005.

Cruz said he "knows" that national security adviser Norberto Gonzales "had survived in this administration" by not making statements "without the prior approval of President Arroyo."

Gonzales recently floated the idea of a revolutionary transition government to be headed by the sitting President.

I can see a better Philippines if this reminder came from the incumbent DND Secretary, as it is incumbent upon him to teach the AFP not to violate the Constitution and follow unlawful orders that violate the constitution which is a crime against the Filipino people.

I guess that the best reply to Secretary Avelino Cruz was why he had made so many trips to China. In the world of espionage, once an officer makes frequent trips to a hostile country, chances are he's doing some 'hanky-panky'. China has no sympathy for our President. The day Gloria Arroyo arrived from China, she was vomiting food. Now, if there was something worth calling 'sinister' from that, then the President is not as 'worse' as or perhaps better than the officers and the Filipino spies of a hostile country. Eating the cake and taking it too. Maraming palabas and mga kitays dito sa Pilipinas.

What is an unlawful order? What are the parameters?

Anything that breach the constitution, and anything that is punishable under the Philippine Criminal statute....i.e. Revised Penal Code.

His frequent visits to China are highly suspicious. He does not know anything that concerns playing the 'double game'. What then are his motives? He is a lawyer-businessmen. These kinds of people are security risks. What if his business flounders? One reason why businessmen are not admitted into intelligence business is their desperation to climb up the ladder when their business is at risk and forced to sell secrets. Who knows our personal secrets are one among them. I wasn't born yesterday.