(Update) Pullout of security detail for Cory, VIPs causes stir

The pullout of military personnel being utilized as security personnel for VIPs (very important persons) caused a stir Friday, with politicians critical of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo questioning the move. Interviewed over radio station dzEC, Tarlac Rep. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said the military pulled out their men from the security detail of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, without any explanation. Those pulled out consisted of six soldiers, Aquino said. "The AFP offered no explanation for this. I had written Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr to return the security detail but up to now, he has not replied," Aquino was quoted as saying. The military later admitted to have wrongly sent a notice to former President Aquino that her security escorts were being pulled out as part of efforts to recover officers and men assigned to "unauthorized" personalities. "The sending of the letter was a result of a misunderstanding, she was not supposed to be sent a letter," said Armed Forces spokesman Major General Jose Angel Honrado. Since last year, former President Aquino had been calling on Mrs Arroyo to resign following accusations of corruption and cheating in the May 2004 polls. Her son Benigno III, on the other hand, had been active in the two failed impeachment bids against the President. Aquino became President after the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in the 1986 EDSA "people power" uprising. She served until 1992. Opposition solons, too House Minority Leader Francis Escudero and Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano also said the military security detail for them and other opposition leaders had also been pulled out. "I am not surprised. I can only hope that the recall is implemented fairly, both for critics and allies of this administration," Escudero said in a separate radio interview. Honrado denied that the security detail for former President Aquino was recalled following the latter’s call for President Arroyo to resign from office. Honrado said that since Mrs Aquino stepped down from power in 1992, her security detail have gradually decreased over the years. At present, Mrs Aquino has two policemen and an Air Force enlisted personnel as escorts, the highest ranking being a police inspector (lieutenant in the military). Under an executive order issued in 1966 and under General Headquarters Circulars issued in 1988 and 2003, former Philippine presidents are allowed to keep a maximum of eight - two officers and six enlisted men - uniformed men as part of their security units. Her prerogative On Mrs Aquino’s current number of security escorts, Honrado had this to say: "It is her (prerogative) to minimize her security arrangement. She is pretty much comfortable with that (arrangement) and she’s living a very peaceful and quiet life." Honrado is related to the Aquinos, being a nephew of the late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. He also served as Mrs Aquino’s close-in security during the latter’s incumbency. Honrado said that security for Mrs Aquino is increased "whenever there is a major engagement" that the former president is attending. "If she (Mrs Aquino) desires to have the full (number) of (security) aides, there is no problem…we have to agree to that. If she requires more, yes, we will give it to her," he said. Honrado said the pullout of the military component in Aquino's security detail is in line with the need to beef those in the active roster for the government’s renewed campaign against enemies of the state. "We need to pull out these personnel to beef up our roster in the active duty," he said, adding that all officials, regardless of political affiliation, would be affected by the recall. Honrado said manning security details for VIPs should be handled by the Police Security Protection Office (PSPO). -GMANews.TV