GMA laughs off coup plot but gov’t ready

President Arroyo laughed off yesterday rumors that the military will launch a coup while she is on a state visit to Brunei and Singapore.

Meanwhile, a military official told The STAR yesterday disgruntled junior military and police officials are secretly forming a new reformist group that would include a hit squad.

"We want the government to go after officials whose corrupt activities are already becoming an open secret," the military official said. "They should remove them from their posts and prosecute them. Otherwise, we might be forced to take matters into our own hands.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said combat troops and policemen have been deployed in strategic points in Metro Manila to thwart any attempt to topple the government.

"The forces of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and PNP (Philippine National Police) are prepared for any eventuality, any untoward incident," he said. "We have taken a muster of all the forces that are usually prepared for something like this."

However, Golez said the government was not giving importance to rumors of a coup, although they are not taking any of these reports for granted.

"(Mrs. Arroyo) was just smiling (over rumors of a coup)," he said. "In fact, I was talking to her just a few minutes ago and she’s just laughing off these matters. But as I said, we don’t take it too seriously but we do not take anything for granted."

The PNP Special Action Force, along with the Marines and the Army’s second, seventh, and fifth divisions have been deployed throughout the metropolis, he added.

Golez said he has met with key generals of the AFP and the police and they have concluded the situation in the country is stable after discussing various reports of a planned coup.

"We are monitoring things and we do not see the problem right now," he said.

Golez said the rumors are part of a destabilization campaign against the Arroyo administration and to muddle the reputation of Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes.

"This could be a demolition job versus Secretary Angelo Reyes because he is now at the center of attention," he said. "Also, the military as an institution is being targeted."

The military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a core group has been meeting "as often as they can" to finalize their organizational structure after conducting "consultations" with "sympathetic" AFP and PNP units nationwide.

"A special operations group would be given the task of eliminating suspected corrupt government officials if they are not prosecuted in court," the military official said.

Foremost in their agenda are genuine reforms in the AFP and the PNP, where they will expose anomalies in the supplies and procurement system, he added.

The military official said the group’s leaders have also been meeting with various non-government organizations and business groups like the Makati Business Club to get "inputs" and gain their support.

"We are also establishing links with concerned sectors who want reforms in our country," the military official said.

The official also scored the "ineffective" leadership of Reyes and Armed Forces chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva which was evident in the prolonged Abu Sayyaf hostage crisis in Basilan.

Reyes and Villanueva failed to defend Army Brig. Gen. Romeo Dominguez, the most senior military official accused of conniving with the Abu Sayyaf bandits, the military official added.

However, the official did not say if the group was calling for the resignation of the two top defense and military officials.

The military official said the group is after "corrupt elements," particularly in the military and police, and that they are not against the Arroyo administration.

But a military counter-intelligence official said the unnamed group has been infiltrated by anti-administration groups identified with Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

"There is indeed a reformist group being formed but it did not have a large following because it was trying to be discreet," the intelligence official said. "They cannot make a move on their own, so they allied themselves with other shadowy groups."

To gain more recruits, it was infiltrated by anti-administration personalities who have strong links with certain powerful political and business sectors, the intelligence official added.