ESPERON AS PEACE ADVISER AN IRONY - CHIZ

The appointment of retired General Hermogenes Esperon as the president's adviser on peace process is a paradox, senator Chiz Escudero today said.

Escudero said it would be difficult for Esperon and the public to reconcile his previous role as a combatant with his new-found position in the peace negotiation. "How can he advise GMA on peace if all he did throughout his career is search and destroy the enemy?"

The opposition senator has reservations on Esperon making "unity attractive" to those considered by the government insurgents. "For someone to sit in the peace negotiating table, he or she has to provide the stimulus to forge genuine peace and end the long standing war and impunities from both sides. He has to provide the momentum to also resolve other conflicts in the country thorough democratic processes."

Escudero said trust and respect from both sides should be present to gather everyone on the peace negotiation table. But with Esperon who furiously implemented the counter-insurgency program that was deemed a ticket to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances by the UN special rapporteur, the senator said Esperon "might find himself a square peg in a round hole".

The neophyte senator said he believes there are other people who are a lot qualified and suitable to the job and who can command acceptability and respect to the parties involved in the peace agreement. "Although I have serious doubts about General Esperon, I wish him well since he welcomes the job in a tight embrace. Let us just hope that he can usher democratic transformation in the country's search for a long lasting reconciliation and peace.