Chamorro a figurehead by retaining effective control of such portfolios as that ofthe Commander-in-Chief ofthearmedforces and Minister of Interior (responsible for the security services).
It said that as prime minister and commander-in-chief ofthearmedforces he had entire security organs under his control, but they operated only under the law and not out of sectarian or party considerations.
After all, the president of a nation, the commander-in-chief ofthearmedforces, is very much like the chief of a tribe or the patriarch (and perhaps someday, the matriarch) of a clan.