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Friday, February 24, 2006
Arroyo declares state of emergency
MANILA (Updated 11:35 a.m.) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a state of emergency Friday as she tried to cope with a reported coup plot and a possible repeat of the "people power" revolts that ousted two of her predecessors.
Arroyo said her action was the result of ongoing attempts by the political opposition, along with both the extreme left and the extreme right, to bring down the elected government.
"I am declaring a state of emergency because of the clear threat to the nation," Arroyo said in a taped, nationally televised statement.
Former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. criticized Arroyo's declaration of a state of national emergency saying it is without legal basis.
She claimed the military had quashed an effort by some military officers and their men to intervene in politics.
"There were a few who tried to break from the armed forces chain of command, to fight the civilian government and establish a regime outside the Constitution," Arroyo said. "We crushed this attempt.
"As commander in chief, I am in control of the situation," said Arroyo, who held a pre-dawn emergency meeting of her national security council to discuss options to cope with the crisis that has threatened to spiral out of control.
The declaration came as people defied a ban on rallying at a shrine to the 1986 "people power" revolt and the military barricaded its camps to keep troops from joining in.
Arroyo also called on the local government officials to continue delivering public service and ensure public safety.
The President gave the Armed Forces and the National Police the authority to make the proper action and report to the media latest developments.
She also tasked Foreign Affairs Secretary Roberto Romulo to assure the ambassadors that everything is under control in the country.
The President also warned those who plan against the government, "babagsak sa inyong pagtataksil ang buong bigat ng batas, ipinahahamak ninyo ang mahihirap sa inyong paghatak ng bansa palayo sa ating nararapat na antos sa daigdig bilang kuta ang pagkakaisa, pagsasakripisyo, pagmamalasakit at kahusayan sa mundo. Kinakalas din ninyo ang ekonomiya sa kanyang mga tumatatag na saligan."
Police warned that people faced arrest if they demonstrate at the shrine on the Edsa highway, the rallying point for both "people power" revolts. But hundreds of people gathered there by late morning, chanting anti-Arroyo slogans, and others were marching to the site from suburban Quezon City. (AP/Sunnex)
Security tight amid spiraling coup rumors (11:26 a.m.)
State of emergency eyed by Palace (9:13 a.m.)
Marine Colonel denies supporting pending coup (8:45 a.m.)
'Pending coup' launched v. Arroyo ) |
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