US embassy cable - 05MANILA3790

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 003790 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/PMBS, INR/EAP 
NSC FOR GREEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/16/2015 
TAGS: PREL, MOPS, MARR, MCAP, PGOV, PINS, PINR, PTER, RP 
SUBJECT: GENERAL GENEROSA SENGA ASSUMES COMMAND OF ARMED 
FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES 
 
REF: MANILA 3353 
 
Classified By: Political Officer John R. Groch for 
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary.  Lieutenant General Generosa Senga assumed 
command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from retiring 
General Efren Abu in an August 15 change of command ceremony. 
 Senga has a reputation as a combat commander.  A classmate 
of Abu's, he is expected to continue many of his predecessors 
reform-oriented policies -- including trying to keep the 
military out of politics.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) Lt. General Generosa Senga, former commanding general 
of the Philippine Army, assumed command of the Armed Forces 
of the Philippines (AFP) in a change of command ceremony on 
15 August 2005.  Senga, before his tenure as head of the 
Philippine Army, served as commander of the Southern Command 
and of the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division.  As 6th 
Division Commander, he conducted military campaigns against 
the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the 
New People's Army (NPA), and various terrorist, kidnapping, 
and armed lawless groups in Central and Southern Mindanao. 
 
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BIO BACKGROUND 
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3.  (U) Senga succeeds General Efren Abu, who has reached the 
AFP mandatory retirement age of 56.  Senga and Abu both 
graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1972, in a 
class that also included current Philippine National Police 
Chief Arturo Lomibao.  In addition to commanding the Southern 
Command and Sixth Infantry Division, Senga has served as 
chief of the 701st Infantry Brigade, commander of the Army 
Counterterrorist Group, Army Chief of Staff, AFP Deputy Chief 
of Staff for Civil Military Operations, Chief of Staff for 
the Northern Luzon Command, and AFP spokesman.  Senga also 
underwent training at the US Army Infantry School at Fort 
Bragg, the US Defense Intelligence College and the US Pacific 
Command, as well as in the United Kingdom and Israel.  In 
2004, he participated in the State/PACOM-sponsored Symposium 
on East Asia Security. 
 
4.  (C) We do not anticipate a significant change in 
leadership style with Senga's appointment as AFP Chief.  The 
AFP is poorly equipped, undermined by perceptions of 
corruption, and riven with discontent that has spawned more 
than a dozen attempted coups in the last two decades. 
Outgoing AFP Chief Abu had embraced Philippine Defense Reform 
(PDR) and had begun to implement significant reforms, such as 
development of the noncommissioned officer cadre, in an 
effort to rebuild the image of the military.  Abu also 
prioritized the conduct of internal security operations to 
ensure the detection of potential security threats, 
specifically attacks by the NPA and the MILF.  We expect 
Senga to continue both these efforts. 
 
5.  (C) Abu also was considered extremely loyal to President 
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and was instrumental in maintaining 
the military's neutrality in the recent political turmoil in 
the RP.  As she installed Senga in his new position, Arroyo 
charged him with continuing AFP neutrality: "General Senga, I 
expect you to keep the Armed Forces of the Philippines within 
the Constitution, and do not allow any partisan quarters to 
undermine the chain of command."  Senga, in subsequent 
remarks upon assuming command, responded that he "joined 
General Abu in defining the conduct of the AFP during the 
trying times in the political life of our nation, and as the 
new chief of staff of the AFP, I declare that the AFP 
directive defining the conduct of the AFP issued last July 8 
by General Abu (which asserted AFP neutrality in political 
matters) shall remain in force and in effect."  We expect 
Senga will indeed continue to try to keep the AFP out of 
politics. 
 
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/ 
 
JOHNSON