Army Lt. Gen. Victor Ibrado yesterday joined military and police top brass in pledging anew their loyalty to the chain of command and their commander-in-chief, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is now under fire for allegations of corruption in her administration.

Ibrado, commanding general of the AFP Central Command in Visayas, joined the “unity march” yesterday from the People Power monument along EDSA to the Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club in Quezon, which was headed by AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon and PNP chief Avelino Razon.

CentCom supervises two Army infantry divisions – 3rd and 8th IDs – Air Force and Navy units operating in Visayas.

Ibrado said the CentCom will remain apolitical and will strictly adhere to the chain of command.

He told the DAILY STAR last night that the march to Camp Aguinaldo was a simple show of unity within the AFP and PNP to dispel rumors and disinformation being spread by government forces. “It should send a strong message to those who are seeking to divide the AFP and PNP that the two organizations are firm in their conviction to uphold the constitutional processes”, Ibrado told the DAILY STAR.

Brig. Gen. Gregorio Fajardo, assistant 3rd Infantry Division commander, said the Army, especially 3ID, is as solid as ever, and will not break the chain of command.

“It’s obvious those behind text messages of defection of AFP are the same persons shouting for GMA to resign” Fajardo said.

“We will not let ourselves to be used by any group whose intention is to topple down the government,” he stressed.

Military intervention was crucial to the 1986 and 2001 People Power uprisings that toppled the Marcos and Estrada administrations.

PNP chief Avelino Razon, in a joint press conference at Camp Aguinaldo, said calls for security forces to intervene this time around were “totally uncalled for.”

“We in the PNP, we will not get ourselves involved in politics, much less political intervention,” Razon said, adding, “Our chain of command is inviolable and respected by our personnel.”

Asked if loyalty to the chain of command meant protecting the President from ouster, Esperon said the military would step in only when efforts to unseat the President were unconstitutional, or when the situations get violent.

Former generals jailed for an aborted coup in 2006 on Monday also urged troops to turn against Arroyo.

“Going out of barracks to join the people in communal action to rid the ills that befell our nation is a Constitutional duty,” detained Brig. Gen General Danilo Lim, former Army Scout Rangers chief, said in a statement.*GPB

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