Arroyo met a group of army generals and colonels late Thursday after the military brass monitored concerns aired by certain officers over the probe of former chief finance officer major general Carlos Garcia.

Garcia is under house arrest while under investigation for allegedly amassing millions of dollars in assets on a monthly salary of about 600 US dollars.

Eight bank accounts holding nearly a million dollars under his name and those of members of his family have been frozen by the courts and military prosecutors said he could face court martial.

Military sources who attended the meeting told reporters Arroyo invited about 40 army battalion and brigade commanders based on the main island of Luzon for talks followed by dinner at Malacanang presidential palace.

Arroyo, the commander-in-chief, advised the generals and the colonels at the meeting "to concentrate on their jobs and assured that reforms would be instituted," said a military official who attended the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Arroyo survived a military rebellion last year that was led by junior officers who accused some of their superiors of corruption.

By launching the inquiry against Garcia, the president's aides said Arroyo was addressing some of the root causes of the July 2003 mutiny.

During the dialogue, Arroyo asked the mid-level officers about "the morale of the troops in view of the Garcia brouhaha," the military source told reporters.

Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the field commanders "pledged to fight all attempts to divide the armed forces or to undermine the chain of command by any quarters disloyal to democracy."

Military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Lucero said the military leaders had learned "that there are negative sentiments from our soldiers as a result of this controversy" surrounding Garcia.

"Some of them are interpreting this as a military bashing and some would go as far as looking at this as an insult or ridicule which they believe is undermining the dignity of every member of the armed forces," Lucero added.

He said military commanders have ordered their troops "to remain focused, to remain firm and keep their eyes on the mandate which is to protect the people and the state."

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