Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08MANILA167
2008-01-22 09:59:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manila
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH DEFENSE SECRETARY TEODORO

Tags:  MARR MASS MCAP PREL RP 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7596
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #0167/01 0220959
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 220959Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9460
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000167 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2018
TAGS: MARR MASS MCAP PREL RP
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH DEFENSE SECRETARY TEODORO


Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney for Reasons
1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000167

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2018
TAGS: MARR MASS MCAP PREL RP
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH DEFENSE SECRETARY TEODORO


Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney for Reasons
1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: In a January 14 private breakfast with the
Ambassador, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto
Teodoro voiced his confidence in the Philippine government's
efforts against Muslim terrorist groups and communist
insurgents, the military's reform program, and the peace
process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the
southern Philippines. Teodoro emphasized that although all
these issues were complex and expensive, the dividends they
will pay will more than justify the cost. He dismissed
recent rumors of destabilization plots against the government
as nothing more than disjointed attacks on President Arroyo,
who he believes will remain in office through the end of her
term in 2010. On U.S.-Philippine military cooperation,
Teodoro said he was pleased with the relationship and
publicly would stand firmly behind the Visiting Forces
Agreement, should controversy about the accord resurface in
the coming months. End Summary.

-------------- --------------
CONFIDENT MILITARY CAN FIGHT TERROR, QUELL INSURGENCIES
-------------- --------------


2. (C) The Ambassador offered continued U.S. support for
the Philippine government and military, particularly in their
efforts against terrorist groups in Mindanao and in support
of the peace process and defense reform. Teodoro said he
believed the Philippine Armed Forces had to press the fight
against all insurgent groups, but that as the government
continued to dismantle the New People's Army, a Communist
terror organization active throughout the country, it could
put even greater focus on Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah
terror groups operating in the Sulu Archipelago. Teodoro
said the new National Development Support Command would be
key in this effort as the front line force in the Philippine
government's push to promote civil and humanitarian affairs
projects to counter terrorist recruitment.

-------------- ---

PHILIPPINE DEFENSE REFORM -- THE BUCK STOPS HERE
-------------- ---


3. (C) Teodoro underscored his commitment to Philippine
Defense Reform, saying that he had assumed full
responsibility for the program last November because
"business as usual was not good enough." Teodoro said that
defense reform is a very expensive process up front, but that
once the mechanism is in place, it will increase
efficiencies, and that if the Philippine government was going
to pursue the program, they had to do it right. Teodoro said
a key outcome of defense reform will be insulating the
decisionmaking process so that competent staff are conducting
planning, acquisition, and budgeting activities "without
interference from kneejerk or irrational inputs." As a
former congressman, Teodoro pointed out that the final output
of such a process still has to go through the filter of
Congress, which could "enhance or shred it," but that that
defense reform is one of his top priorities and a program for
which the Philippine goverment must shoulder responsibility.

--------------
PEACE PROCESS DIFFICULT BUT POSSIBLE
--------------


4. (C) Since becoming Secretary of National Defense,
Teodoro gradually has increased his involvement in the peace
process between the Philippine government and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front. Teodoro told the Ambassador that
the issues are difficult, but he believes that the
government's proposal to amend the constitution to allow a
federal structure could be the key, and such a system must be
implemented throughout the Philippines, not just for the
future Muslim political entity in Mindanao. Teodoro stated
that the problems in the southern Philippines "cannot be
solved in a vacuum" and that all regions should be treated
the same by the central government. As the peace process
moves towards conclusion, Teodoro said he believes there will
be a greater need for a higher concentration of military
forces in central Mindanao to secure the area, but that the
civilian government must be seen as being in control.

--------------
COUP RUMORS UNSUBSTANTIATED
--------------


MANILA 00000167 002 OF 002



5. (C) Teodoro dismissed the recurring rumors of
destabilization plots among the military against the
Philippine government as nothing more than disjointed attacks
on President Arroyo, who he believes will remain in office
through the end of her term in 2010. He attributed the
recent press reports of impending unrest as political swipes
from a few groups who have chosen not to participate in the
legitimate political system, but rather would prefer to try
to influence disgruntled individuals to act without broad
support. Teodoro commented that he thinks the public is
"getting used to the idea of President Arroyo finishing out
her term."

--------------
STANDING BEHIND THE VISITING FORCES AGREEMENT
--------------


6. (C) With the Australian Status of Forces Agreement in the
Philippine Senate awaiting debate and a decision pending in
the appeal of U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith's rape
conviction by a Philippine Court in December 2006, Teodoro
raised the likelihood that the U.S.-Philippine Visiting
Forces Agreement will come under renewed scrutiny as these
two issues move forward. However, Teodoro said, support for
U.S. military assistance is strong across the board, and he
emphasized that "as a lawyer, I believe when you sign an
agreement, you abide by it." Teodoro went on to say that the
Ambassador had his personal commitment that he would stand
publicly behind the Visiting Forces Agreement in his capacity
as Secretary of National Defense, should there be a call in
the Philippine government to review it in the coming months.










Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm

You can also access this site through the State Department's
Classified SIPRNET website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/

KENNEY