MANILA, 1 May 2005 — Rumors of a coup plot were again in full swing in the Philippines yesterday as disgruntled citizens, including some retired generals, called for another “people power revolution” and leftist and labor groups prepared for nationwide protests in observance of Labor Day today.
Retired General Fortunato Abat, who served as defense secretary under former President Fidel Ramos, called for a civilian-military junta to replace President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Congress because a “crisis in leadership” was hampering the fight against poverty and injustice.
In launching the alliance Coalition for National Salvation at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan, Abat announced that they hoped to rewrite the Constitution and establishing a federal-type government to give the country a chance to rebuild itself.
Four hours after the launch, however, Abat walked out of the gathering over a disagreement with coalition members on whether or not to join a planned mammoth Labor Day rally scheduled for today.
Former President Ramos immediately dissociated himself from the group and denied a newspaper report that his allies were recruiting members for the junta.
“My name is being used by people who want to gain some advantage for their own purposes, illegally without consultation,” said Ramos, who went to Malaca?ang Palace to rally support behind President Arroyo’s government.
Screw-Ups
Asked to comment on Abat’s statement, Ramos told reporters, “Don’t believe them. They are screw ups.”
Among those named to have joined the 80-year-old Abat was Jose Almonte, another retired general who served as national security adviser during Ramos’ term as president from 1992 to 1998.
Abat told supporters at a meeting in suburban Manila that: “We have long been in crisis — crisis in leadership and crisis in management of the nation’s resources.”
“There is a need for a revolutionary transition, with a firm but benevolent and decisive leadership,” Abat said. “We propose the establishment of a revolutionary transition government which will require the cooperation and coordination of civil society groups ... together with the military and police establishments.”
He said the new government would implement a “program of national survival to lift us up from the mire of poverty, destitution and mismanaged government.”
The widely-circulated Philippine Star newspaper reported that Abat and his cohorts also approached detained former President Joseph Estrada to join the plot, but that he refused.
Ramos, in a press conference, sought to douse cold water on the reported plot.
Coup plots were “completely wrong” and were not “valid, credible, alternatives” to the problems ailing the country, Ramos told reporters.
“Let us not panic, stay united, stay solid as a Philippines ... under the government administration and leadership of President Gloria Arroyo,” he said.
“Let us not believe in so-called messiahs,” sowing seeds of discontent about Arroyo, Ramos said.
Swift Response
The administration’s response was swift and clear. “We are dealing with nuisances but there are no serious or immediate threats to national security and stability of the government,” Arroyo said in a speech in Tagaytay City last night.
She said she was in full control of the situation.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales told DZBB radio that he has directed the National Bureau of Investigation to determine whether Abat’s statement had “gone beyond the threshold of free speech.”
Gonzalez, who was in Cebu City, also confirmed that some groups were plotting to destabilize the Arroyo administration and that they might start moving today.
“It’s true that there are moves for destabilization. It has been going on. It’s a desperate move from the group of Erap’s (former President Joseph Estrada’s) people, the left, the FPJ (Fernando Poe Jr.) people and politicians who want to (get back in) power...,” Gonzalez told reporters.
He said those being monitored were the same Estrada loyalists who on May 1, 2001 tried to storm the presidential palace in what was part of a larger plot to unseat Arroyo.
Arroyo was installed as president in January 2001, replacing Estrada, who was toppled by a military-backed popular revolt over a corruption scandal. Arroyo served Estrada’s last three years in office and last year won a fresh six year term.
Gonzales, however, downplayed the threat posed by anti-Arroyo forces, saying: “They are not potent as before.”
He said there appeared to be “no troop movements” meaning that disgruntled retired generals were not getting support from serving officers.
About 2,000 soldiers backed by police forces have been placed on heightened alert for possible violence on Sunday, guarding the presidential palace and other government offices, officials said.
Thin Line
National police chief Arturo Lomibao said the police also were evaluating Abat’s statement, while armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Angel Honrado said the former defense chief was “free to express his opinions.”
“However, we will take serious action whenever this action goes beyond what is accepted by the law,” Honrado said. “The police and the military are solidly behind the leadership (of Arroyo).”
“As long as he doesn’t go beyond what is allowed by law, he can say what he wants. But when he crosses the line, that’s when we come in and put a stop to it,” said Brigadier General Jose Angel Honrado, chief of the AFP Civil Relations Service.
While Abat’s actions could be viewed as an exercise of his freedom of speech, “we remind him there’s a thin line between what’s seditious and not,” Honrado declared.
Doomed to Fail
Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz dismissed the “Program for National Salvation” Abat spelled out before the media as outrageous, and said it was doomed to fail.
A few hours later, disagreements within the alliance soon emerged after some coalition members proposed that the group join today’s protest and Abat be at the helm. Abat balked. “Either you follow me or you remove me as leader,” the former commanding general of the Philippine Army said crisply.
Abat said he was objecting to joining the rally because there was no plan of action for such a move. “Let us think. We won’t achieve anything by simply marching,” he stressed.
But a woman member insisted that they march, and that Abat must be on the frontlines. “We are afraid. We have no arms. And then we have no leader. In our experience, the leaders are present during meetings, but when we go to the streets, the leaders disappear,” the woman said in an agitated voice.
“Don’t be emotional. Don’t rush things,” Abat said. When the next speaker pursued the same request, Abat moved from the presidential table to join a group of retired generals at another table. When it became clear that the members would join today’s workers’ rally, Abat walked out.
Earlier, Abat urged the coalition members to “ask the people to join mass actions.”
“We have to move,” he had said.
It was at that point that some members called for the group’s participation in the Labor Day action.
The Plan
Surrounded by retired generals and leaders of various groups, Abat told an audience of Arroyo critics: “I propose the establishment of a revolutionary transition government.”
He said the transition government would prepare for eventual elections later leading to the formation of a regular government.
He said his group, styling itself as the Coalition for National Salvation, aimed to put the new government in place “within the year or sooner.”
Abat was not very clear on how he and his group intended to put such a government in power, except to say that it would be done “through people power.”
He said the movement “will require the cooperation and coordination of civil society groups, together with military and police establishments.”
In the meantime, the military and police should stay neutral, he said.
Abat said the plan would start with the formation of a revolutionary council — which he volunteered to head — and the council would go around the country to solicit support. “With enough support we can (organize people power, which would) lead to the ouster” of Arroyo, he said.
The revolutionary council will then choose the head of the government while the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police will pick a commander-in-chief, he said.
“People are becoming victims of misgovernance. They are just looking for leadership. And we are providing one.”
Not a Coup Plot
Abat said: “I am not for a coup d’etat. I am not for a military takeover — I abhor it.”
More than 300 members of about 20 organizations, a number of them previously unheard of, filled the Kalayaan Hall of Club Filipino.
Linda Montarye, a critic of Arroyo, showed up with her Philippine Consultative Assembly group. She left about the same time rumors circulated that a government team had been sent to arrest her.
Bangon Pilipinas of evangelist Eddie Villanueva also sent a representative, as did several Muslim groups and a group calling itself Lakas Pinoy.
Justice Secretary Gonzalez said the government was not taking anything for granted.
“Everybody can organize a group and no matter how small, it can always cause a threat. No matter how small the threat is, the government must be on guard,” he said.
(With reports from Inquirer News Service & agencies)
