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Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Military: 3 ex-generals behind plot to oust President
MANILA -- The military tagged Tuesday three retired officers as among those being monitored in connection with the fresh wave of destabilization efforts against the government.
This, as Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado, president of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap), said a shadowy group known as "Kasama" led by a certain Vicente Concepcion has been enticing governors for the past three weeks to join efforts to bring down the Arroyo government.
Aumentado said Kasama has been writing to governors and "titillating" them to join the movement to oust Arroyo from power.
He said Kasama wants Vice President Noli de Castro to be president once Arroyo is ousted. He said the group proposed that the Vice President would be chosen from among three governors - one each from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao - through a raffle that would be presided by Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.
He said their colleagues would choose the governors who will represent the country's three main island groups.
Aumentado said Kasama is trying to reach out to the mayors and even down to the barangay chairmen and the masses and is trying to solicit the help of the governors in reaching these channels.
He said Kasama's selling point is a repetition of the charges of the opposition and other sectors, such as blaming Arroyo for the high cost of fuel and the people's misery. He said Kasama also wants to form a new government, a peaceful revolutionary government, by forcing Arroyo to step down.
Police across the country at the same time went on full alert Tuesday against moves to destabilize President Arroyo as she fights corruption allegations against her and her family.
In a news briefing, Armed Forces information chief, Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual, identified those under watch as former ambassador Fortunato Abat, retired commodore Ismael Aparri and retired brig. gen. Angel Sadang.
A former commanding general of the Philippine Army, Abat heads the Federation of Retired Commissioned and Enlisted Personnel (Forces); Aparri is the spokesperson of the Young Enlisted Soldiers with Active and Retired Military for Solidarity (Yes Arms); while Sadang represents the Generals for Constitution.
Military groups
All three groups form part of the multi-sectoral Coalition for National Salvation (CNS), which recently called for the ouster of President Arroyo and the establishment of a civilian-military junta.
"We're cautious of their statements...their activities are being monitored," Pascual said.
Though not directly linking the three to the reported recruitment within the military, Pascual said the retired officers were "exploiting" issues that may entice soldiers to join the purported destabilization move.
Police groups
Police spokesman Leopoldo Bataoil said a group - which he declined to identify - had been recruiting police officers to join the anti-Arroyo camp.
The police statements come amid days of swirling rumors about a possible coup and twin scandals that threaten to implicate Arroyo's husband and son in illegal gambling payoffs and herself in alleged vote rigging at last year's election.
Apart from the scandal spawned by allegations that jueteng money has reached members of the First Family, military-related issues include the multi-million sidewalk project inside Camp Aguinaldo and the establishment of a 60-room, P18-million resort in the posh Boracay Island.
Pascual said the destabilization plot could only be at its "initial stage" that may include mind-setting, and mental planning as preparations. (JPM/JMR of Sunnex Luzon)
(June 8, 2005 issue)
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