Assassination

Last month, the US Secret Service, the agency tasked to protect its national leaders, was rocked by a series of security lapses that resulted in the firing of its director, Julia Pierson. Pierson, the first lady to be appointed to the position, took over barely a year ago in the wake of a scandal involving Secret Service agents who partied with prostitutes while preparing for President Barack Obama’s visit to Cartagena, Colombia.

This time, an Iraq war veteran, Omar Gonzalez, was able to jump over a White House fence, run 70 yards across a lawn, enter an unlocked door and knock down an agent close to the East Room without being accosted and stopped. An off-duty officer would later bring him down and take him into custody. Earlier, an armed security contractor with a criminal record, somehow, was able to join President Obama in an elevator during a visit to Atlanta.

The two incidents led to Pierson’s relief.

A few notes on the US Secret Service.

The agency was created in 1865 and placed under the Treasury Department with the mission of investigating financial crimes. It was only in 1902, in the wake of the assassination of president William McKinley, that Congress gave the Secret Service the added responsibility for presidential protection.

Since then, there has been only one assassination of a US president, John F. Kennedy, in November 1963. Other presidents felled in office were James Garfield and Abraham Lincoln. There have been several unsuccessful attempts on a number of sitting presidents like Harry Truman, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. President Obama was sent ricin-laced letters in an attempt to poison him.

In 2003, the Secret Service was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security.

A Wikipedia report suggests that some attacks may have been politically motivated, while others were carried out by individuals with questionable mental stability. Since a vice president usually comes from the same party as the president, the assassination of the president is unlikely to result in major political upheaval. Hence, political groups have no inclination to instigate such attacks on the president.

Let’s look at the situation at home.

Our presidential protection unit is a creation of executive orders issued by the president of the Republic.

After President Emilio Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence in 1898, he established a “Corps of Presidential Guards” with Maj. Geronimo Gatmaitan as the commander. Under various presidents, the unit assumed different names but with the same basic mission of protecting the chief executive.

President Manuel L. Quezon called his security people Malacañang Guards. Then, President Elpidio Quirino created a unit called the Malacañang Secret Agents; this was most likely patterned after the US Secret Service. President Ramon Magsaysay’s protection agency was called the Presidential Security Force. President Carlos P. Garcia had his Presidential Guard Battalion, while President Diosdado Macapagal was secured by a Presidential Security Agency.

The largest contingent for presidential protection was the Presidential Security Command of President Ferdinand Marcos under the command of Gen. Fabian Ver. President Cory Aquino renamed the unit Presidential Security Group (PSG) under then Col. Voltaire Gazmin. The name was retained by Presidents Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III. The current commander of the PSG is Navy Commodore Raul Obando, PMA Class 1985.

The mission of the PSG: to conduct security operations in order to protect the president of the Republic of the Philippines, the First Family, the seat of government, visiting VIPs and other foreign dignitaries.

Some significant differences between the PSG and the US Secret Service.

• The US Secret Service is a civilian entity created by an act of Congress. The PSG, created by the president, is composed of military personnel culled from various units of the Armed Forces.

• The US Secret Service provides protection for a wide range of national personalities: current president and vice president and their families, former presidents and vice presidents and their spouses, president-elect and vice president-elect and their spouses, major presidential and vice-presidential candidates and their spouses, visiting heads of state or government and their spouses. The PSG provides protection for the sitting president and the family as well as for former presidents and their spouses. It does not protect the vice president.

• Secret Service personnel retire in accordance with Civil Service regulations. PSG personnel return to their units to continue their military careers. Some notable former PSG members have been appointed to high positions in government: Gazmin, Gen. Ricardo David, Gen. Jessie Dellosa, Gen. Jeffrey Delgado and PNP chief Alan Purisima were introduced to P-Noy when they served in the PSG of his mother. Depending on circumstances, a PSG assignment makes for a vital part of one’s resumé.

Perhaps we should consider setting up a more permanent professional protection unit for both the president and the vice president and their families instead of relying on the present practice of utilizing military service personnel.

So far there have been no assassinations of Philippine presidents, although two have been replaced by revolt or People Power. Unlike the United States, our political system allows for the president and the vice president to come from different parties.

Should anything happen to President Aquino, Vice President Jejomar Binay would take over as president. This would have a tremendous impact on the political landscape of the country. I leave it up to the imagination of our readers as to what the future would be should this scenario take place.

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A recent health research paper indicates that “a declining sense of smell in older people is a strong predictor of death within just five years.” It has gotten me worried because lately my olfactory system hasn’t been working too well.

Perhaps I should just blow my nose more frequently.