MANILA, 16 March 2006 — Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s aides yesterday said her government was preparing a bounty for the capture of a former senator, a top communist rebel leader, and over a dozen others allegedly involved in a failed plot to topple her government last month.

On top of the list is Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, a former senator who as an army colonel in the 1980s led several failed coup attempts, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez and presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor said in separate media interviews.

“We still do not know how much reward we are going to offer. There are many figures that came out in our first discussion from two million pesos, five million pesos, and even 10 million pesos,” Gonzalez said two days after the Cabinet’s security group met to discuss possible bounties for coup suspects.

Defensor went on radio and told Honasan to surrender and face the consequences of his actions. “My appeal to Gringo Honasan is for him to face the law and the case against him if he says he is innocent. We are willing to help him in arranging his surrender and to face his case,” said Defensor, a former student activist who had become a rabid defender of Arroyo’s increasingly unpopular regime.

Defensor said the government has strong evidence of Honasan’s involvement in “the tactical alliance” between the extreme right and communist rebels in the plot to bring down the government.

Honasan, who entered politics in 1995 after receiving an amnesty for his role in a series of bloody coup attempts against then President Corazon Aquino, disappeared from public view shortly before Arroyo imposed a weeklong emergency on Feb. 24.

Honasan’s co-accused for the alleged plot to grab power from Arroyo includes six members of the House of Representatives belonging to fringe leftist parties. One of the legislators, labor leader Crispin Beltran, is under police detention on charges filed against him by the government during the time of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The five other legislators, including former communist rebel leader Satur Ocampo, have sought refuge at the House of Representatives to avoid arrest.

Gonzalez said their “wanted” list also includes Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal, a spokesman of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

The list also reportedly includes at least two other former military officers who have been implicated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in an alleged conspiracy to seize control of the government.

Ruling Council

As detailed by a documentary by the military, the conspiracy was to involve the political opposition, active members of the military and police, business organizations, church and all other organizations seeking the downfall of Arroyo.

The conspirators were said to have considered replacing Arroyo with a junta composed of prominent leaders. Among those approached by the plotters, according to a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday, were former President Aquino, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, retired Defense Secretary Renato de Villa, defeated presidential candidate Brother Eddie Villanueva, opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson, AFP chief of staff Gen. Generoso Senga, and Honasan.

The formation of the council was supposed to follow the planned withdrawal of support from the administration by key military officials on Feb. 24 and the subsequent resignation of Arroyo and Vice President Noli de Castro.

De Villa had said he was approached and told of the plan but he told them he didn’t want to have anything to do with a junta.

Lacson, one of the candidates who lost to Arroyo in the 2004 elections, said he was among those asked to be a member of the civilian council that would rule temporarily pending a “snap” presidential election.

He said he consistently rejected the overtures because, in his view, such a council was “doomed to fail.”

“In my book, it will fail. I don’t want to be part of a failing group. That’s what I told them,” he told the Inquirer.

More Suspects

Gonzales said the list of wanted suspects will likely grow as the investigation uncovers more people linked to the plot.

He said that among those being monitored were journalists from the respected Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), “because it is very clear by the fact that they have been posting in their website so many things which I consider as inciting to sedition.”

Gonzales cited published transcripts of the so-called “Garci Tapes,” the alleged wiretaps in which Arroyo was purportedly discussing vote-rigging with former Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano during the contested 2004 elections.

Arroyo has denied any wrongdoing, but Gonzales said the publication of the tapes was a violation of anti-wiretapping laws.

“The justice secretary has already prejudged our case, and made a conclusion without giving the PCIJ the benefit of due process,” the group’s executive director Sheila Coronel told ABS-CBN television, adding that the same tapes were played in Congress, on the radio and television.

“The government has every right to remain vigilant but journalists also have every right to report on legitimate issues and concerns,” Coronel said.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye promised this would not lead to the censorship of the press, but urged journalists to police their ranks.

“We believe in the freedom of the press but we do not believe in special treatment of media practitioners who run afoul of the law,” Bunye said.

Opinion Poll

Meanwhile, an independent survey showed yesterday that Filipino distrust of President Arroyo increased after she imposed emergency rule to thwart an alleged conspiracy by her political enemies to overthrow her,

Private pollster Pulse Asia said Arroyo’s overall distrust rating increased by 6 percentage points to 51 percent after she invoked a week of emergency rule on Feb. 24.

“The president’s issuance of proclamation 1017 on Feb. 24 also appears to have no significant impact on her performance and trust ratings at the national level,” Pulse Asia said in a statement.

“These have remained at critically low levels, still lower than that of any other Philippine president in the polling history of the country.”

Retired general Eduardo Ermita, Arroyo’s executive secretary, said the presidency was not a popularity contest.

“You can’t expect a leader of a democratic country to have a higher rating,” he told reporters.

Arroyo’s chief of staff, Michael Defensor said the president was not affected by the surveys and would continue her reform programs, hoping people’s perceptions would change once the government has completed its work.

Pulse Asia said Arroyo, hounded by allegations of graft and vote-rigging in the May 2004 elections, has survived almost a year of street protests, an impeachment attempt in the lower house of Congress and a coup attempt.

“The president’s ratings have not reverted to their level before questions on the legitimacy of her presidency arose,” said Pulse Asia.

The survey of 1,200 people, conducted between Feb. 18 and Mar. 4, has a margin of error of three percentage points, Pulse Asia said.

Another pollster, Social Weather Stations, said Arroyo’s ratings plunged minus 30 percent in December 2005, the second lowest since she assumed the presidency in 2001. (With reports from Inquirer News Service & Agencies)