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Sunday, February 26, 2006
Head of RP marines relieved of duty amid rumors of military restiveness (6:20 p.m.)
MANILA -- The head of the Philippine marines was relieved of duties Sunday, a military spokesman said, in the continuing fallout from a failed coup plot and the president's declaration of a state of emergency.
Major General Renato Miranda asked to be relieved as commandant of the marines, citing personal reasons, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Tristan Kison said.
The marines were widely rumored to have been among military units involved in the coup plot against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The military said Friday it nipped the plan in the bud before it could be launched.
Kison said Miranda has not been implicated in the coup plot. He also played down widespread rumors of unauthorized troop movements and disgruntled troops pushing through with plans to withdraw support from Arroyo as they had reportedly intended to do Friday.
"Let us remain calm, there is no reason to panic," Kison said.
Senator Rodolfo Biazon, a former marine commandant and a known critic of Arroyo, said he rushed to marine headquarters, when he heard rumors that Miranda had been replaced.
Biazon told reporters he wanted to help pacify any possible problems.
Biazon was among officials who helped negotiate an end to a daylong mutiny by about 300 junior officers who took over a swank residential and shopping complex in Manila's financial district in 2003.
"I tried to prevent the soldiers from killing each other, and this is the same concern I have now," Biazon said in a TV interview.
The 8,000-strong marines are regarded as an elite, well-armed unit at the frontline of the government's war against Muslim and communist guerrillas and al-Qaida-linked militants in the country's volatile south.
Navy chief Vice Adm. Mateo Mayuga accepted Miranda's request to be relieved of his position, Kison said. He was replaced by his deputy, Brigadier General Nelson Aliaga, who took over in a brief ceremony in a military camp. (AP) |
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