MANILA, 15 December 2005 — Officials yesterday called retired Gen. Fortunato Abat’s declaration of a transition government as inconsequential and pitiable but ordered the filing of sedition charges against him just the same.

In an interview over a local television station, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye called the 80-year old Abat’s attempt at replacing the administration as “pathetic and amusing.”

Abat on Tuesday and yesterday cited the Malolos Constitution — a charter by Filipino revolutionaries against Spain — of 1898 in his supposed assumption of power.

He brazenly declared himself president of the transition government that would replace that of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

“I am not saying I’m the 14th president,” Abat said, adding that he was mandated by his supporters to “form a government to confront this crisis that we are in now.”

He made the announcement before an audience of about 300 people at the Club Filipino in Manila’s suburb of San Juan, in Metro Manila.

It was in Club Filipino where Corazon Aquino was sworn in as president of a revolutionary government that when millions of Filipinos took to the streets in February 1986 to overthrow the Marcos dictatorship.

Bunye said Arroyo herself was not taking Abat’s actions seriously and would rather focus on the ongoing Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia. Arroyo had been in Kuala Lumpur since Tuesday attending the meeting of heads of states.

Crackdown

Other officials mocked Abat’s declaration, but still saw fit to take action.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales said Abat, whom he described as “senile,” did not bother him, but that he had ordered prosecutors to charge the former defense secretary with sedition and to resolve an earlier sedition complaint filed against him in June.

“I have ordered the prosecutors to resolve that and file the case,” Gonzales said. “I think they already violated our law on sedition.”

Metropolitan Manila police chief Vidal Querol said officers are closely monitoring the situation.

“We still study if this is serious or funny, if this is an illusory statement or a fit of hallucination,” he said.

“We will see what action he will take following his statement.”

In a crackdown on supporters of Abat, army commander Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon ordered the retired general’s son, Col. Victor Abat, relieved as deputy commander of the 702nd Brigade in northern Nueva Ecija province for allegedly “enjoining others to join destabilization” through cellular telephone text messages.

“He was doing things other than his job. He was not doing his job as a soldier,” Esperon told reporters without elaborating, adding that he ordered the colonel formally investigated.

Mutinous Officer Escapes

Amid growing rumors of a new coup attempt yesterday, one of the leaders of a failed military mutiny to oust President Arroyo escaped from detention.

Marine Captain Nicanor Faeldon told reporters in a brief secret meeting that he escaped from military detention after attending a trial hearing for his failed mutiny. He said the political crisis over allegations that Arroyo cheated to win the May 2004 elections showed the situation had not changed since his failed mutiny in 2003.

“Events have proven me right. She (Arroyo) is corrupt and ruthless and will do everything to stay in power,” he said in a CD he distributed to reporters, apparently indicating his escape was planned well in advance. “I leave now to join the fight for a credible government,” he said although he did not say if he would be affiliating himself with any faction.

Military spokesmen Col. Tristan Kimson said Faeldon escaped from the parking lot of the court after the hearing, conceding it was a lapse in security.

His escape comes on the anniversary of the sudden death of opposition presidential candidate and local film star, Fernando Poe Jr., from a massive stroke. Opposition groups claim he was cheated out of victory by Arroyo.

Faeldon was among six ringleaders of a rightist military faction that mounted a brief mutiny against Arroyo in 2003 where they accused the military leadership of corruption, and Arroyo of abetting it, and sought the establishment of a junta.

Their mutiny was crushed after one day and some 300 officers and enlisted men were detained. The mutineers in September made a public apology to Arroyo, saying their actions were triggered by their “honest, though naive, desire for change.” Arroyo accepted their apology, suggesting they would be shown leniency. However, the ringleaders still face a court martial for conduct unbecoming as well as a civilian court on separate charges of mounting a coup attempt.

Blind Rumors

Security officials in Manila dismissed the supposed military takeover as “blind rumors” even as national police chief Arturo Lomibao on Tuesday placed police forces on a full alert status, convened the crisis committee, and directed the intelligence services to validate the reports.

Bunye said it was a pity that Abat’s transition government only tarnished his government service record. Abat, a former army chief and defense secretary, is convenor of the right-wing Coalition for National Solidarity which has been calling on Arroyo to step down.

Abat said he was counting on the majority of Filipinos who he said according to a few surveys want a change in leadership.

“Do you remember that 85 percent of our people are asking for the ouster of President Arroyo? If that is not support, I don’t know what it is,” Abat said.

But security officials in Manila dismissed the supposed military takeover as “blind rumors” even as national police chief Arturo Lomibao on Tuesday placed police forces on a full alert status. (Additional input from agencies)