Malacañang: AFP ready to thwart any coup attempt

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang expressed confidence the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is ready to thwart any coup plots against the Aquino administration amid the ongoing investigation into the Mamasapano incident.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said it is the duty of the AFP to quell any moves against the government and repulse enemies of the state.

Coloma stressed all threats were being monitored by the military but clarified he was not confirming if indeed there was a brewing coup against the government.

Coloma made the statement in reaction to Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s revelation yesterday that some groups are hatching a plot to oust President Aquino.

During the hearing at the Senate over the Mamasapano incident, Santiago said she had received intelligence reports that leaders of some groups met recently to thresh out details of the ouster plot.

“I have intelligence as of yesterday (Feb. 11) that leaders of certain alphabet soup acronyms who are familiar with the public had a recent meeting because they wanted to discuss how to stage a coup d’etat, who should be installed as president, and even their contributors were there,” she said.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin confirmed that there was such report but stressed it is still being verified.

“We received those reports and we are still verifying and confirming these. As far as coup is concerned, it will entail military support,” Gazmin said.

“We are very confident the military will not be involved in coup d’etat,” he added.

Santiago said all the coup plotters should be arrested immediately.

“No matter how bitterly I criticize President Aquino, I am a lawyer and I still remain standing behind the rule of law,” Santiago said.

“If he should leave his office, let him leave at a proper time but not by extralegal means,” she added.

Santiago declined to identify those behind the supposed ouster plot but revealed a “very rich man” supports them.

“He (coup financier) is one known to have funded similar coup d’etat in the past. That’s why you know him,” she said.

When asked if she can name the coup financier, Santiago said: “No, because he’ll make a cry about it, although I’m immune from libel since we’re discussing Senate matters within the Senate hall itself.”

“I don’t want to make a big deal out of it until after the DND (Department of National Defense) is already finished with their investigation or their clarification,” she added.

DND spokesman Peter Galvez confirmed there were text messages detailing the supposed power grab.

“It’s hard to say if the threat is serious. Those (messages) are unverified so we do not know their gravity,” Galvez said.

The military, for its part, said it has not received any feedback confirming reports about the alleged coup attempts.

“We have also established an excellent monitoring system where troop movements and suspicious activities are directly reported to the leaders along the AFP’s chain of command,” AFP public affairs chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said in a statement.

“We assure the public that the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are all dedicated professionals whose sole interest is to keep the peace and security of our country,” he added.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. maintained the PNP is always loyal and its policemen are professional.

Cerbo said the PNP leadership has not received any report of power grab being developed among their 150,000 police officers, even within the SAF unit.

“We have no reports of the alleged rumor of a coup,” Cerbo said. “We are confident in the loyalty and professionalism of our policemen and policewomen.”

Rumors about the supposed coup plots surfaced amid speculations that some officers are not happy with the way the Aquino administration responded to the Mamasapano incident.

“If ever there was indeed a plot, the PNP would know about it from the start,” Cerbo said. – With Alexis Romero, Jaime Laude, Cecille Suerte Felipe