Pia: "Sanction 'alarmist' general"

Senator Pia S. Cayetano today said the military general who sounded the alarm that bomb experts from the Abu Sayyaf, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) have already entered Metro Manila, deserves to be sanctioned for revealing raw intelligence information and causing unnecessary panic among the people.

"The general's alarmist comments achieved nothing except sow confusion and create even more instability than this administration alone has caused. It is plain disservice, especially on the heels of the Mindanao bombings," she said.

Cayetano, who chairs the Senate Committee on Social Justice, was reacting to NCRCom Chief Major Gen. Jogy Leo Fojas' media statements, which received criticisms from various quarters including Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro himself.

The lady senator supported Teodoro's order for the military high command to look into Fojas' statement, and for reminding the AFP that only the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) headed by Secretary Eduardo Ermita is authorized to talk about matters involving bombings.

"Sec. Teodoro did the right thing in keeping the generals in check from making premature statements perhaps out of eagerness to show to the people that they're in control of the situation."

But she also asked: "Or is it possible that the generals also know something about a scare plot that he (Teodoro) does not know about? Is it possible he is being kept in the dark by Malacanang?"

Cayetano also expressed surprise over the statement of NCRCom spokesperson Maj. Carlo Ferrer, who claimed that his unit had not been briefed by the defense department that only the ATC could talk about bombing matters.

"I hope they are not just feigning ignorance to cover up for Gen. Fojas. At the very least, disciplinary actions should be in order to prevent similar mistakes from being committed, as this involves the sensitive matter of national security."