As AFP chief’s retirement nears
Military, police raise coup d’etat alarm anew
Manila--With the prospect of an extension of the term of Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., as the day of his retirement nears and with the Palace already preparing for the negative points as a result of this, both the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) leaders, along with the Defense and Interior chiefs, again raised the alarm on coups and destabilization moves by alleged rebel soldiers, saying moves are afoot to topple President Arroyo and her government, claiming that they obtained the information gathered by the intelligence community.
A month ago, both the AFP and the PNP leaders categorically stated that coups were already a thing of the past and that the Arroyo government’s security forces remain loyal and solidly behind Mrs. Arroyo and government.
This has raised speculations that Mrs. Arroyo and her security forces are bent on their plan to extend their stay in power through
a declaration of emergency rule, as the plans for Charter change may not fly with the Filipino people.
Mrs. Arroyo’s term ends in 2010 and the Constitution bars her from extending her stay.
Speculations are also rife that Mrs. Arroyo cannot let go of Esperon, as she is not certain of the personal loyalty of one who may succeed Esperon.
Earlier, when the talk of coup was floated by Esperon, Minority Senate leader Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel slammed him and his coup scenario, saying that this was being conjured up by Esperon, to get his term extended. Esperon is due to retire from the service by Feb. 9, 2008, having reached the retirement age of 56.
Talk of Esperon’s retirement has however been met by public flak and speculation is rife that the coup alarm is being raised, to justify his term extension.
But even as they raised the coup alarm, efforts to destabilize the Arroyo government that will persist this year are guaranteed to fail, so said Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ronaldo Puno, in his speech during the traditional New Year’s call in Camp Crame.
He said that “those who seek to divide the country to destabilize the nation are not sleeping. They are meeting. They are talking, they are planning a new year full of fireworks beyond January 1.
“While we know that there are such talks going around, we are not intimidated ... because trust me, we will deal with them properly,” Puno said without elaborating.
The warning followed the brief takeover of a luxury Makati hotel on Nov. 29 by a small group of soldiers calling themselves Magdalo after they walked out of court while on trial for previous alleged mutiny in 2003 and 2006.
The soldiers, joined by several opposition figures, accused Mrs. Arroyo of corruption and urged the armed services to unseat her.
But their appeal fell on deaf ears and the group surrendered after police raided the hotel. Eighteen soldiers and former soldiers who were arrested over the incident have been charged with rebellion. Civilians were released after the court ruled that there was no probable cause to charge them with rebellion.
Esperon insisted Friday that further destabilization efforts were unlikely to succeed.
“We saw that our soldiers did not want to join. So they had to recruit dismissed soldiers,” said Esperon.
Mrs. Arroyo, who has been dogged by accusations of vote fraud and corruption, has survived several efforts by military renegades to force her to step down.
Puno said he was confident that “wrong shall not prevail, those who advocate division, those who look to hurt others, who look to break the peace and stability of our country, shall fail as they have failed in the past.”
Puno, who also heads National Police Commission advised these plotters to “follow the constitutional processes” and wait for the 2010 elections.
“Maybe if we take that path and be less confrontational and combative, the economy might grow faster, the people will become happier,” said Puno.
PNP chief Avelino Razon confirmed his chief’s claim, saying that destabilizers were no different from terrorists. “These are criminal elements. These destabilizers are really terorrists,” he said as he called on the police “to be more on guard, more alert.
They have to perform more and they have to attend to all these threats.”
Defense chief Gilbert Teodoro, in a separate call to defense and AFP officials in Camp Aguinaldo was more prudent, saying there was “a remote possibility” that “political groups” plan to recruit soldiers and get them to go against the government.
Not to be outdone, AFP chief Esperon stated that “some people, especially those with delusions of grandeur, will always plan things. They never give up,” he said, adding that “they can dream on. We are on the lookout for that and if they should do it again, I must tell you that the resolution will even be quicker this time. If they move, they will see that a stronger force will stop them.
“They never give up. They lost in 1989 and in 2003. What good has come from their actions?” Esperon said.
The military chief said reports of a coup plot in February, to coincide with the anniversaries of the 1986 People Power uprising and the 2006 plot, and his Feb. 9 retirement remain unverified.
“We will continue to monitor these things. We never let our guard down anywayIf they think they (coup plotters) have the support of the people, let’s see. We all saw what happened on Nov. 29, did they get the support?” he said, stating that he was very angry at military “adventurists.”
“I’ve been consistent since 1986. I have always said that the soldier is given arms and powers to defend the government.
Esperon, however, conveniently omitted the fact that the military staged a coup d’etat in 2001 against sitting president Joseph Estrada, withdrew support from him and gave this to Mrs. Arroyo, a coup d’etat which they hailed as a democratic and constitutional move.
Not one of them who raised the coup alarms, however, identified the so-called plotters or the political groups they claim are agitating the soldiers to go against the Arroyo government.
The Arroyo security forces are known to bare alleged coup plots even when there are none.
Malacañang, for its part, yesterday downplayed the alleged new threat of a coup d’ etat against Mrs. Arroyo this year.
Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez, asked to comment on the expose of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno that several junior military officers are recruiting soldiers to stage a new destabilization plot against Mrs. Arroyo, said the matter is already a “thing of the past” as they are confident of the loyalty of the whole AFP.
He said the recruitment would fail just as it happened during the Nov. 29 Manila Peninsula siege launched by opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.
“The destabilization moves by anybody particularly coming from the Armed Forces are things of the past.
The officers and men of the officers and men of the AFP have achieved a high level of professionalism and discipline that any recruitment to join the rogue ranks will just fail,” Golez said in a text message.
“The AFP is very much insulated from politics, while the whole world witnessed how loyal and committed the officers and men of the AFP to our Constitution and to the rule of law during the Manila Pen incident,” he added.
But even as the Defense and DILG chiefs along with the AFP and PNP leaders claim their information on the coup and destabilization moves against Mrs. Arroyo and her government this year is based on intelligence reports, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, however, refused to comment on the intel reports obtained by Puno, particularly when Gonzales was asked if he has received the same intelligence report.
Meanwhile, the PNP intensified its search for the fugitives involved in the Pen siege, releasing posters, seeking assistance from the public for information on the fugitives’ whereabouts.
The posters contain the faces of Marine Capt.Nicanor Faeldon, Sergeant Elmer Colon and eight others who, along with Senator Trillanes and several civilians, took over the Makati hotel in a bid to get the people to demand the ouster of Mrs. Arroyo
********
