Army wife convinces lawmakers to defer general’s promotion

A wife of a senior military official on Tuesday pleaded with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the congressional Commission on Appointments (CA) to address the mounting complaints of marital infidelity against uniformed personnel.

“To the gentlemen of the AFP, I hope you are hearing this. I hope that you look into the very sad plight of the wives, mothers and partners of your men. It’s about time, sirs,” she told a news briefing at the Senate.

“He doesn’t deserve to be a general who should understand the [concept of] responsibility and accountability to the people because his position is a public trust,” she said of her estranged husband, who holds the rank of brigadier general in the Army.

The woman faced reporters before she appeared at the CA hearing to block the promotion of her husband, whom she had accused of abusing her and their two young children for years.

The Inquirer will not name the couple in this report to protect the privacy of their family, especially their children.

The woman tearfully recalled how the general would beat her up whenever they had an argument.

Sometime in 2014, the general repeatedly slapped her and even hit her with a suitcase when she tried to stop him from leaving their family, she said.

READ: ‘Abused’ wife blocks promotion of Army official at CA

She was then pregnant with their youngest child, who is now 9 years old. “I thought I will lose our son,” she said, sobbing.

She said her husband was providing them only P2,000 in monthly support since he left them for another woman.

She said he also tried to take their children from her by reporting to the Department of Social Welfare and Development that their house was too small for the children.

Worse, she added, her husband had been posting pictures of him and his supposed mistress on social media “as if to show that they are living lavishly while his children and I have to beg money from him.”

The woman said she had previously sought the assistance of the AFP to compel her husband—currently assigned in Nueva Ecija province—to provide them with enough financial support.

She said she had also filed complaints at the Office of the Ethical Standards and Public Accountability (OESPA) in the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio.

It was then that she realized that the spouses and children of many soldiers were also suffering from the same experience as hers. She claimed that at least 10 women were going to the OESPA every day to report their abusive husbands.

“They were crying as they asked (the Army) to help them get allotment (from their husbands). Instead, they told us to just file cases in the courts,” she said.

Lesson to all

The Inquirer tried to get the Army general’s side, but he cited a “gag order” from a Dipolog City court in connection with a case he had filed against her.

Upon Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ motion, Camiguin Rep. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo, chair of the CA national defense committee, allowed the woman to speak with the commission in an hourlong proceeding behind closed doors.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, commission chair, told reporters that they decided to defer the general’s confirmation pending his signing of a waiver allocating a portion of his salary to his wife and their children.

This case, he said, should serve as a lesson to all government officials.

“That’s why when you are appointed to a position that needs the approval of the CA, make sure you are of good moral character,” Zubiri said.