Airborne troops on alert for arrest

Just like in the movies, airborne troops would have rappelled down from helicopters hovering over No. 1 Polk st. in North Greenhills, San Juan to whisk deposed President Joseph Estrada to jail had the Sandiganbayan ordered his arrest yesterday.

About 6,000 policemen stood ready at nearby Camp Crame in Quezon City awaiting the order to arrest Estrada and bring him in handcuffs to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for fingerprinting and mug shots.

The arresting officers, who would be led by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Leandro Mendoza himself, would have been reinforced by battle-ready Marines and Special Action Force (SAF) troops in seven vehicles and five buses.

However, by 3 p.m. yesterday, the Marines and SAF troops marched back to their barracks after being informed that their mission had been aborted.

The Sandiganbayan had not issued any warrant for Estrada’s arrest.

But some 6,000 Estrada supporters continued to block the gates to the North Greenhills subdivision of the ousted president in anticipation of the arresting officers.

More than 10 jeepneys were parked at the entrance to Club Filipino Avenue to prevent policemen from forcing their way through the human barricades.

Earlier at 2 p.m., the situation became tense when 20 anti-riot policemen in full gear arrived at the scene and started marching towards the mass of people blocking an entrance to North Greenhills.

But the policemen later withdrew amid the jeering and taunting for fear that they might antagonize the Estrada supporters and start a riot.

The big number of policemen, Marines, and SAF troops that would have arrested Estrada have been on standby as early as 6 a.m. yesterday.

As planned, Mendoza would have led a 30-man police squad to formally serve the warrant of arrest on Estrada at his residence in No. 1 Polk st.

But they would have been backed up by 6,000 SAF troops and almost the same number of Marines, who would be in full battle gear.

However, the plan also called for airborne troops to assault No. 1 Polk st. from the air and forcibly take Estrada if his thousands of supporters succeed in preventing the entry of Mendoza and his squad.

Once arrested, Estrada would be detained in an air-conditioned jail inside Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna after he had been fingerprinted and his mug shots taken at the CIDG headquarters at Camp Crame.

Another police squad will then proceed to the Sandiganbayan along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City to return the warrant of arrest to inform the court that Estrada had been arrested.

San Juan police commander Superintendent Gilbert Cruz told reporters yesterday 65 policemen had been deployed around North Greenhills to maintain peace and order.

Around 4 p.m. yesterday, some Estrada supporters left for home upon learning that the Sandiganbayan had not issued a warrant for the arrest of the ousted president.

However, 4,000 of their comrades continued to stand guard at the entrances to North Greenhills to ensure that Estrada would not be taken out.

Former Ambassador to Washington Ernesto Maceda called on the Arroyo administration yesterday to show Estrada supporters the "same tolerance" that the Estrada administration had allowed participants in People Power II at EDSA.

"We cannot control or deny everybody’s right to self-expression," he said. "The majority of Filipinos firmly believes that Estrada had been denied due process."

On the other hand, Estrada’s lawyer Raymund Fortun urged the Arroyo administration to tolerate the mass action of Estrada supporters as long as this is within the bounds of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, the PNP has mobilized 3,000 troops to protect Estrada from communist rebels, who have threatened to abduct him.

A spokesman for the New People’s Army said over television last Monday that guerrillas would try to kidnap Estrada if the courts fail to prosecute him for his alleged crimes.