‘We’re over the hump’

The number of soldiers deployed in strategic areas in Metro Manila will be substantially reduced as the political and security situations in the country have greatly improved, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said yesterday.

"We’re over the hump," Reyes said a day after Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said the relative peace may just be the calm before the storm.

Reyes assured the people that President Arroyo "is firmly in the saddle."

He made the assurance even as some persons accused of involvement in an alleged power grab, including leaders of the political opposition, continued to evade police teams sent to arrest them for rebellion.

"I’m sure that with the enhanced peace and order condition, we might see lesser military presence, but that does not mean that the Armed Forces will be relaxing and reducing its vigilance," Reyes told reporters.

"The threat has been defeated, although there might be some other groups that might want to air their respective protests, grievances and concerns," he added.

President Arroyo said the siege of Malacañang was not part of a military coup but a failed political power grab, adding that there is no coup in the offing.

She placed Metro Manila under a "state of rebel-lion"after supporters of deposed President Joseph Estrada stormed Malacañang Tuesday in an attempt to restore him to power.

Eleven opposition leaders were subsequently ordered arrested for rebellion.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva ordered the deployment of about 3,000 troopers backed by armored personnel carriers (APCs), around Metro Manila to head off further attacks on the Palace.

APCs belonging to the Presidential Security Group and the Army’s Light Armor Brigade were also conspicuously posted at a main gate of Malacañang which the pro-Estrada rioters tried to ram through on May 1.

At Camp Aguinaldo, the Armed Forces’ general headquarters, two military attack helicopters and two bombers were also on standby, along with fully armed troops and two firetrucks.

Security was also tight at nearby Camp Crame, headquarters of the PNP.

Even television stations remained heavily guarded.

Rumors of a bomb attack at a shopping mall caused alarm late Thursday. Villanueva said he immediately sent Marines to the place, but the report turned out to be a hoax.

Malacañang said on Thursday that Mrs. Arroyo plans to lift the state of rebellion in the metropolis on Monday as opponents mounted legal challenges to the declaration, claiming it may damage business and international confidence.

Tuesday’s march was a breakaway from the main rally at the EDSA Shrine in Mandaluyong which began April 25 following the arrest of Estrada and his son, San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada, on charges of plunder, a capital offense, filed with the Sandiganbayan.

Pro-Estrada supporters have since failed to regroup, while some suspected coup plotters, among them Sen. Gregorio Honasan and former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Panfilo Lacson remained at large.

Reports reaching the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said a provincial governor and a city mayor in Mindanao had sent 500 young men to Manila to join the pro-Estrada rebellion.

"They were given P1,000 and a round trip boat ticket, plus accommodation in Manila. Some have already left (Mindanao) and others are scheduled to leave on board inter-island boats," the report said.

However, businessman Lepeng Wee and Zamboanga City Mayor Ma. Clara Lobregat branded as "unfounded, irresponsible and without basis" allegations that they sent people to help storm Malacañang.

Lobregat said she even discouraged her constituents to hold pro-Estrada rallies in Zamboanga City.

She also said she could not spend for such adventurism since their finances "are just enough for the poor people who need medicines."

All is not well yet - Perez

At yesterday’s Supreme Court hearing of petitions filed by two opposition senators questioning the legality of President Arroyo’s declaration of a state of rebellion in Metro Manila, Perez said there were still serious concerns about further destabilization attempts.

"We don’t know whether the calm that we have now is the eye of the storm. We have intelligence reports that (say) all is not well," Perez told the High Tribunal.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said the government was still concerned about possible bombings, but was confident the "unique factors" leading up to the unrest cannot be duplicated.

Tiglao said the government received intelligence reports that armed groups were planning to assassinate both Mrs. Arroyo and Estrada during the chaos, paving the way for the takeover of a junta.

"The report is that in the confusion, a team would assassinate the President. At the same time –that is why Estrada was immediately airlifted (to Sta. Rosa in Laguna) –another group would try to rescue him and in the confusion, Estrada would be killed," Tiglao told the Agence France Presse.

Opposition leaders accused the government of using the declaration of a state of rebellion to be able to carry out warrantless arrests in violation of civil liberties and constitutional rights of citizens.

Among those arrested earlier on suspicion of having instigated some 50,000 pro-Estrada supporters to march to Malacañang from the EDSA Shrine were opposition Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, former Ambassador to Washington Ernesto Maceda, Chief Superintendent Victor Batac and Superintendent Diosdado Valeroso.

Honasan and Lacson were given until yesterday to turn themselves in or be declared fugitives.

On Thursday night, the President visited Camp Aguinaldo to pay tribute to the troops who helped quell Tuesday’s disturbance, and join in their celebration of "Smoker’s Night" traditionally observed after a successful military operation.

"You are my heroes," Mrs. Arroyo told the soldiers. "Never did I doubt your loyalty...never did I doubt that you will win."

"It is the second time that you have saved democracy," she added.

In his introductory remarks, Reyes described the President as "cool, calm and decisive."

Mrs. Arroyo was flanked by Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Benjamin Defensor, Armed Forces vice chief Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim and Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Librado Ladia, who were believed to be sympathetic to Estrada.

Lift state of rebellion, Orly asks GMA

Former Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado urged the President to immediately lift her declaration of a state of rebellion in Metro Manila, saying this would contribute to the improvement of the political atmosphere in the country.

"It’s chilling effect on us in the political opposition and on our supporters, I believe, undermines the electoral process that is just a week away," he said.

Mercado, who is seeking a Senate seat in the May 14 polls, dared Mrs. Arroyo to fulfill her promise of lifting the state of rebellion on Monday.

Former Press Secretary Ricardo Puno Jr. said with the presidential declaration still in effect, the opposition candidates cannot proceed with their scheduled campaign rallies.

While Puno and Mercado advocated the immediate lifting of the state of rebellion, they avoided calling for the release of their colleagues in the opposition who were arrested for alleged involvement in the Palace siege.

For his part, former Executive Secretary Edgardo Angara called for the formation of a broad, multi-sectoral alliance to oppose the presidential fiat and "other threats to the basic freedoms of Filipinos."

In a statement, Angara said mass organizations, political parties, civic and religious groups, and concerned citizens should unite to fight the "creeping authoritarianism of the Arroyo administration." –With reports from Jess Diaz, Romel Bagares, Perseus Echeminada, Roel Pareño