October 2004

Military on full alert


MANILA — The Philippine military went on full alert yesterday against possible attempts to destabilise President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo amid a widening corruption scandal in the armed forces.

A military spokesman said troops were placed on 24-hour standby with all leave cancelled because of fears of communist guerrilla attacks, after exiled rebel leaders called for “widespread dissent” against the government.

The Communist Party of the Philippines called for Gloria’s removal through “a popular uprising, a civil disobedience movement, a mass withdrawal of support by political parties and personages, a voluntary resignation of Arroyo, a coup d’etat or any combination thereof”.

At least three officers led by Major-General Carlos Garcia, the former military comptroller, face possible court-martial for corruption for having unexplained wealth.

The Philippines suffered numerous coup attempts in the late 1980s.

She has ordered the military to launch a court-martial against Garcia by Friday.

On Monday she said the scandal might provoke attempts to destabilise her government by entities other than guerrillas.

“I will deal with these destabilisers with an iron fist, even as I hold out an open hand and open mind for those who are open to a just and dignified reconciliation,” she added.

The armed forces have “increased the troops’ alert status to Red Alert effective 8:00am today,” military spokes-man Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Lucero said in a statement. “This is to prepare the troops in the light of possible heightened attacks by the communist terrorists,” the statement said.

Lucero said the military warned two weeks ago that the guerrillas plan to exploit the present controversy,”

Earlier another military spokesman, Lieutenant-General Edilberto Adan, angrily rejected a legislator’s suggestions that its top brass was like a “Mafia” crime family.

Senator Miriam Santiago, in a speech on the senate floor on Monday, denounced what she described as massive plundering of military funds by its top 12 officers who she alleged acted like “the military Mafia, the military mob”. — AFP

how many military coups happened... it's just always like that.

eventually people are going to get tired of it and lose faith in philippine nationalisn. Your mentality of accepting it as "just the way things are" is truly destructive and sounds like your b!tched and enjoy it.

you guys dont talk about the philippine issues and how to prevent them. you jsut accept them or aviod them and pretend they dont exist and if somone talk about them you will call them "filipino hater"

i converse with a girl from the cordilleras who is from the kenneney tribe or something and she told me she is fed up with the philippine government taking advantage of her ppl & land and wish her land was autonomous like the muslim.

so keep ignoring your country's issues just live for today. your the next genration of your people. but u rather ignore it and say "its just the way it is"

dude it's not that i don't care, but what i don't tolerate is when people who blame all other facets of life and use it as umm see you did this now look. how did liking actresses and trying to make a simple action as making a human rainbow such evil and consequent actions? to blame it on what's happening on the phils?

about us not talking about them look up at the trend pi teachers don't get paid enough and top ten filipino fantasy and you'll see what were not talking about.

and that certain mountain province tribe is under the northern autonomous region that the defunct muslim autonomous seperatist milf group under the corrupt misuari, and despite the southern autonomy crumble if i could recall before i left there were not problem, governmental autonomy wise, with the mountain regions

hmmmm, chaput ang dalawapo yan. Kung ano ano sinasabi. grabe talaga. nag-sirah xia ng peace ditoy. Diba??? pag wala xia, peaceful, piro, bumalik xia. bigla may away tungkol sa mnga paksa nya...wahhhhhhhhh

But I believe there is some underground movement going on.

u just can't allow every tribe to be autonomous. yes, ARMM is a muslim autonomous region but only to the extent that the local government handles the job of the national government in terms of services. and by the way they are handled, ARMM has more educated people compared to other tribes and yet they can't be THAT competent... so how much more for the minority tribes?