Anti-government forces again recruiting cops, soldiers

They have not yet given up the fight.

The so-called EDSA III forces who launched a failed attempt to reinstall deposed President Joseph Estrada in Malacañang are reportedly beefing up their ranks in another bid to regain power.

Senior and mid-level police and military officers loyal to the Arroyo administration divulged that colleagues identified with the opposition have tried to recruit them or asked them to at least remain passive about destabilization efforts against the present leadership.

"Yes, they have approached us to either actively join their ranks or for us to remain neutral when they launch their planned destabilization," one of the sources said.

The sources, who asked not to be named, said the plotters gave assurance that there would be no persecution of soldiers and policemen who refused to cooperate with their struggle in case they succeeded in toppling the Arroyo administration.

While the sources did not categorically say a coup would be staged, they said it was not unlikely.

The pro-government group vowed to resist any attempt at a power grab "despite our limited resources and manpower."

They also hinted at a growing disgruntlement among their colleagues over the appointment to sensitive posts of several soldiers identified with EDSA III forces.

"Given the present disposition of field police and military forces, it is sad to note that most of these units are now being headed by police and military officers identified with the opposition," one of the sources said.

They lamented that although the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Ma-kabansa (RAM) has become a symbol of reformist militancy in the military and police, some of its members have joined the EDSA III forces at the expense of the EDSA II alliance.

"As the EDSA III forces become stronger, the EDSA II groups are gradually dissipated," one source noted.

Discontent and demoralization within the ranks allegedly set in as numerous officers and men who were instrumental in the January 2001 EDSA revolt were not given field commands.

"Most of them were given instead office assignments or deputy positions unlike their counterparts in the other side (EDSA III) who are now commanders of police and military field units," the source asserted.

Malacañang has downplayed allegations by RAM about a growing discontentment in the ranks under the Arroyo administration.

Then Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was swept to power by a military-backed, but bloodless popular revolt triggered by accusations of widespread corruption under the Estrada administration.

The uprising largely spearheaded by business religious leaders came on the heels of a failed impeachment trial of Estrada on charges that he amassed a fortune in bribes from illegal gambling operators and other forms of corruption.

Estrada vainly tried to hold on to the presidency, but eventually stepped down on January 20 as the EDSA forces gathered more strength.

Estrada, along with his son, former San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada, was subsequently arrested and detained without bail on plunder charge, a capital offense in the country, theoretically punishable by death.

The arrest sparked the so-called EDSA III uprising by pro-Estrada forces that threatened to storm Malacañang on May 1 last year.

The assault also set off riots around the Palace where four died and countless other people were injured.