Intelligence community blamed for coup rumors

A former chief of the constabulary and national police accused the military intelligence community yesterday of spreading coup rumors in order to get into the good graces of President Arroyo.

Retired Maj. Gen. Ramon Montaño, former chief of the defunct Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police (PC-INP), told police officers at Camp Crame in Quezon City that coup rumors are the "product of the imagination" of military intelligence personnel.

"These (destabilization reports) are being propagated by our intelligence community and I do not know the reason why they are reporting this to the media when there are no threats," Montaño said.

Meanwhile, the national security adviser of former President Fidel Ramos said it’s possible for a civilian-military junta to take over the government in the event that Mrs. Arroyo is ousted in a coup.

At Malacañang, Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao denied yesterday intelligence agents were monitoring the activities of Ramos, whose former aides are being linked to coup plots against the Arroyo administration.

Montaño spoke during the birthday and farewell party of Director Thompson Lantion, who retired as head of the Philippine National Police Directorate for Community Relations upon reaching the age of 56.

Over dzRH radio yesterday, retired Gen. Jose Almonte, national security adviser under the Ramos administration, said he was not ruling out a civilian-military junta as "an alternative" in case of an uprising against the Arroyo administration.

Broadcaster Deo Macalma had asked Almonte to comment about the endorsement of Salvador Enriquez Jr., convenor of the People’s Consultative Assembly (PCA) and budget secretary under the Ramos administration, of a civilian-military junta.

However, Almonte, who helped found PCA, said he does not believe Filipinos are open to the idea of a government under a civilian-military junta.

"It does not mean that because they are talking about it, they’re going to do it," he said.

Anti-Arroyo administration forces are not in a position to seize power, he added.

Almonte said any attempt to overthrow the Arroyo administration would not succeed because the people will not support it.

"As of this moment, the people are in no mood for that," he said.

Almonte said Filipinos will only take action against the government when "necessary," as what happened during the impeachment trial a year ago, when 11 senators voted against the opening of the second envelope that was supposed to contain "damning evidence" against President Joseph Estrada.

"There is no outrage," he said. "The Arroyo administration has not been hit by scandals of the magnitude as those that toppled the Estrada government."

However, Almonte warned Mrs. Arroyo that she should not take criticisms lightly because the Filipino people are expecting a lot from her administration.

"(The President herself)...has said that she wanted to make reforms in government," he said. "Mrs. Arroyo has so far been wanting in implementing her promised four pillars of reforms. There is a continuing review and examination of government’s performance."

Mrs. Arroyo must realize that the people are continually appraising her performance, he added.

Montaño said military intelligence men are trying to "outdo" one another in reporting to Mrs. Arroyo alleged destabilization plots against her administration.

"In their bid to look good before the President, they have started to report nonsense," he said.

Montaño said military intelligence men can fabricate reports about coup rumors and destabilization campaigns but that they cannot do anything about the New People’s Army and the Abu Sayyaf.

"Where can you find an intelligence service that believes on Ador Mawanay, (the star witness of AFP intelligence chief Col. Victor Corpus against Sen. Panfilo Lacson)," he said. "They know of the supposed destabilization plot but what they don’t have (are) reports against the enemy of the state."

Montaño, who is an active member of Lakas-NUCD-UMDP, said he was "speaking for myself" when he made the revelations against military intelligence men.

When Montaño was PC-INP chief, he led government troops in crushing a series of coup attempts against President Corazon Aquino.

Tiglao said Ramos is "an ally" of Mrs. Arroyo, who is grateful for the former president’s advice on security matters and for helping improve the country’s image abroad.

"That’s preposterous!" he said. "FVR is not being monitored."

Tiglao said coup plotters will be "crushed in an hour’s time" if they "make the slightest move to violate our laws" and the "gloves will be off" this time.

"And the process here is that the bottomline is that you have intelligence reports but our military forces assure us that these are simply delusions of a power grab," he said.

The Arroyo administration is treating coup rumors as intelligence reports that need to be validated, he added.

Meanwhile, Tiglao told reporters government intelligence agents have uncovered a "coup plot racket" in which "certain personalities" would approach anti-Arroyo administration people to propose recruiting demonstrators for a fee.

"And they claimed that they can mobilize their forces and ask for money for mobilization forces," he said. "They would even quote amounts like P2,000 per demonstrator per day. They even undermine the integrity of media by saying: ‘We need money for payolas, for psychological warfares’."

Quoting intelligence reports, Tiglao said the swindlers later run off with the money and leave the anti-Arroyo administration people fuming.

"And those swindled are now very angry," he said. "So I think all of these coup plots should include that in your assessment that it’s becoming the newest scam in town where they get money from those trying to create trouble but they run off with their money." — With reports from Romel Bagares, Marichu Villanueva