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Friday, February 24, 2006
'Pending coup' launched v. Arroyo
MANILA (Updated 8:07 a.m.) -- Philippine Army (PA) Chief Hermogenes Esperon revealed that a "pending coup" is in the offing against the Arroyo administration, citing unauthorized troop movements in Metro Manila and a planned rebellion by disgruntled soldiers in the military.
This, as Armed Forces Chief General Generoso Senga said Friday he has taken custody of Brigadier General Danilo Lim, commander of the elite First Scout Ranger Regiment based in San Miguel, Bulacan, who was allegedly urged by the disgruntled soldiers to renounce support to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Senga said Lim is in the Armed Forces General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo.
An ABS-CBN report said Colonel Ariel Querubin is also being investigated for alleged involvement in the "pending coup".
Lim was reportedly among "misguided elements who are planning to join a march" spearheaded by the opposition later Friday in Makati City that would call for the resignation of President Arroyo, according to Senga.
Senga also said, "this was not an attempted coup, but an attempted withdrawal of support" to Arroyo.
"The chain of command is working," Esperon said in a television interview, appealing to the public to report any unusual troop movements in Manila.
Senga said a majority in the military will remain loyal to the Constitution.
"We have reduced the threat," he said. "We cannot say that it has been stopped."
Arroyo was briefed on the situation.
"Of course she's concerned," Senga said. "Like a shepherd with her flock, she would not want any part of it to go astray."
Extra barbed wire and shipping containers were set up on roads leading to Malacanang, the presidential palace, and checkpoints appeared around the capital.
Media were barred from the main military headquarters, Camp Aguinaldo, and an armored personnel carrier sat outside the marines' camp, with a truckload of marines in full battle gear nearby.
Schools were ordered to suspend classes for the day. Police said all permits were canceled for rallies at the shrine to the "people power" revolt that forced dictator Ferdinand Marcos to flee into exile 20 years ago Saturday.
Meanwhile, followers of former President Joseph Estrada began amassing outside the San Juan Medical Center (SJMC) after they learned that the deposed leader was going to be sent back to his resthouse in Tanay, Rizal, because of the "pending coup".
Estrada was brought to the SJMC Thursday afternoon to undergo eye surgery set later Friday to remove a cyst in his left eye.
In reaction to reports of a "pending coup", Estrada, in an interview by ABS-CBN, echoed the call of former President Corazon Aquino for President Arroyo "to make the supreme sacrifice" by stepping down for the sake of the country.
He said majority of Filipinos want a change in leadership as shown by surveys and that he would support any transition council composed of competent individuals to govern the country should Arroyo resign.
Arroyo critics have said commemorations of the anniversary would be used as rallying points for demonstrations demanding her resignation.
Police already were on red alert nationwide as widespread reports of a coup plot have circulated for more than a week in the media and by cell phone text messages; even elementary school students were discussing it in detail.
Esperon has said 14 junior officers were identified as being involved, and that the military stood ready to crush any takeover attempt.
Arroyo's whereabouts were not immediately clear. She attended a business forum meeting on Thursday. Esperon said she was at the palace and had canceled one event on her schedule Friday. Some reports indicated she might head to Cebu, the bedrock of her support, if a takeover try appeared imminent.
The unusual security measures included military efforts to shift former President Joseph Estrada, ousted by a second "people power" revolt in 2001, from a hospital where he was taken for eye surgery on Friday back to house detention. He has been on trial for alleged corruption.
Arroyo - who succeeded Estrada in January 2001 - survived three impeachment bids in September, when her dominant allies in the House of Representatives used a technicality to block complaints of alleged massive corruption and vote-rigging. Opposition groups have continued to call for her resignation.
On Thursday, army chief Esperon assured the public that the military, which has played strong roles in the two "people power" revolts and has a recent history of restiveness, was strongly in control.
Most of the junior officers allegedly linked to the coup plot have renounced their membership in a renegade army group and were allowed to go back to work, Esperon said. While he felt the alleged plot has been undercut, he said he was not sure if other officers may be involved.
"We are not precluding the possibility that something could happen," Esperon said.
Last week, Arroyo met the military's top brass to discuss security threats and ordered the generals to hasten efforts to bolster the morale and welfare of soldiers, according to a general at the meeting.
Esperon said seized documents outlined the alleged plot, which included establishing a revolutionary government after Arroyo was forcibly removed and abolishing "democratic institutions."(Sunnex) |
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