GMA is de facto, de jure president — AFP

Eleven days old but standing on solid ground.

This was the assurance given by the chief of the Armed Forces yesterday as he said the government of President Arroyo has the AFP’s full support.

"The administration is standing on solid ground, and it will remain so," Gen. Angelo Reyes said. "I, for one, will take it very seriously if there is reported involvement of any member of the Armed Forces with any such destabilization plot."

Mrs. Arroyo, installed Jan. 20 as her predecessor former actor Joseph Estrada was packing to leave the presidential palace, went on live television Tuesday evening to warn groups using ill-gotten wealth for destabilization purposes that she would "crush" them.

Her address came just hours after prosecutors said they have proof Estrada stashed away from P10 billion to P15 billion in 15 banks, using six aliases, in only 31 months in office.

Reyes, a key player in Estrada’s ouster, belittled the deposed president’s claim that he was still the country’s leader.

"The Armed Forces’ position is that the legal and de facto and de jure president of the Philippines is Gloria Arroyo. She was sworn in by no less than the Chief Justice (Hilario Davide Jr.)," he said.

Reyes’ comments came after Estrada said at the general assembly of his Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) that he was still the president and that he had only let Mrs. Arroyo take the post temporarily as crowds neared the Palace at the height of a peaceful revolt.

Reyes and other top military officials, along with most of Estrada’s Cabinet, withdrew their support from Estrada and joined the protesters demanding that he resign over corruption allegations.

Estrada singled out Reyes for turning against him, saying that when Reyes took his oath as chief of staff he gave Estrada his personal assurance he would follow constitutional processes.

"He easily forgot and did not follow the Constitution," Estrada recalled bitterly.

In reaction, Reyes said "the Armed Forces is the armed forces of the people ... and so the Armed Forces followed the will of the sovereign people."

The military withdrew support from Estrada after crowds of thousands took to the streets to protest a move by pro-Estrada senators to effectively acquit him in a landmark impeachment trial.

Estrada, marking his first public appearance yesterday since he was toppled from power, said he only went on leave to avoid violence with the forces seeking his removal.

He insisted that Mrs. Arroyo was only a temporary president and called on his partymates to mount legal challenges to her rule. But he ruled out any destabilization measures against the President.

Mrs. Arroyo brushed aside Tuesday night arguments that she was only a temporary president, saying "this certainly departs from the truth."

While coup rumors have persisted, Reyes said these were "very, very raw reports, subject to verification," and that some could merely be the work of pranksters.

"If we receive reports, we will take it seriously and we will throw the books" at them, Reyes said, adding that the military would use its full might against anyone trying to destabilize the government.

"These reports are really nothing to worry about. If there are any intentions, they will be nipped in the bud," he said.

Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim, which some rumors have linked to a possible coup, also pledged his loyalty to the new government.

"I have no illusion of leading a coup," he said. "It is time for healing and rebuilding our shattered economy."

Calimlim, the deputy military chief, charged that unnamed parties were circulating stories that he would lead a coup against Mrs. Arroyo in order to discredit him.

"These reports are designed not only to sow intrigues in the Armed Forces ... but to destroy my integrity as a person," said Calimlim, who was once head of Estrada’s security group and later appointed by Estrada as head of military intelligence.

The military’s prominent role in toppling Estrada has raised concerns that the Armed Forces may be encouraged to interfere in politics.

MBC optimistic

Two surveys among members of the Makati Business Club show that sentiment on how the economy will perform this year has taken a complete turnaround: from a bleak outlook to a more positive one.

The first survey was the semesterly Executive Outlook held in the waning days of the Estrada administration, from Jan. 4 to 19. A second survey was undertaken Jan. 24 to 31, or after the installation of the new Arroyo government on Jan. 20.

The radical change in business sentiments revealed in the two surveys reinforces the belief that a change in leadership was crucial in bringing back confidence in the economy.

While 85 percent of respondents expected the economy to perform worse in 2001 under the old administration, 66 percent now see a brighter economic outlook this year under President Arroyo.

The optimism is reflected in other indicators as well, such as inflation. Under Estrada, 92 percent expected inflation to be higher this year, while only 45 percent said the same under the Arroyo presidency.

A majority of respondents also felt that the peso’s slide has been arrested with the deposed leader’s exit, and that the currency can only appreciate under the new dispensation.