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Monday, July 11, 2005
RAM boys, now state executives, ride pro-resignation bandwagon
MANILA—A military group blamed for past coup attempts called yesterday for President Arroyo to step down or face impeachment to end the raging political crisis.
The Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabayan (RAM) said allegations that Arroyo rigged last year’s elections have sparked a crisis that threatens to erupt into violence, which would leave the country further enmeshed in chaos and poverty.
“We cannot allow the country to be drawn into a bloody squabble of politicians of all ilks, who like packs of wolves would tear apart the carcass of our body politic,” the group said in a statement.
Such a scenario “would leave the nation and the broad masses of people in the same state of poverty, ignorance and hopelessness,” it said.
The group called on the national leadership “to exercise the highest form of patriotism and personal discernment…to allow the constitutionally mandated processes to be placed into effect,” adding it “is committed to thwart any move to the contrary.”
A group spokesman, retired navy Capt. Proceso Maligalig, said the constitutional options included Arroyo’s resignation and an impeachment trial.
“If the Constitution is not followed, there could be groups that might run wild in the streets. We’ll move if that happens to save the republic,” he said.
The Philippines has a long history of coup attempts. Two years ago, a group of disgruntled officers complaining of corruption and favoritism in the Armed Forces briefly seized upscale Oakwood Hotel in Makati, but the uprising was immediately crushed.
The RAM was blamed for several failed attempts to overthrow president Corazon Aquino, who came to power after dictator Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in 1986 by an army-backed “people power” revolt. The group has been dormant since then, with several of its original leaders joining the government.
Maligalig, who is now the president of a state-run corporation, claimed RAM still has a sizable civilian and military membership.
Another group linked to past coup attempts, the Guardian Brotherhood Inc., called for Arroyo’s immediate resignation. The group, a fraternity of military men and civilians, has been deeply fragmented, with one faction backing Arroyo.
Arroyo “is heading this country to a phenomenal disaster unless she herself, and no one else, takes a political detour,” the group said in a statement.
Two other ex-military rebels have warned that several junior officers were planning to topple Arroyo and install a civilian caretaker government to bring back political and economic order.
A pro-administration senator, Rodolfo Biazon, said last week that several generals and less senior officers have told him they were considering a mass resignation from the armed forces to protest alleged military involvement in last year’s election irregularities. The military has denied reports of widespread discontent among troops and declared its neutrality in the ongoing crisis.
Military officials have said unidentified political groups have been trying to recruit troops to the anti-Arroyo cause and warned immediate action would be taken against soldiers who took sides in the dispute.
“We are calling on all sectors of society to stop urging the military to get politically involved,” Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Efren Abu said in a national radio address.
“I would like to say to all that our armed forces will remain faithful to our Constitution. I will not allow its violation,” he said. (AP)
(July 11, 2005 issue)
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