GMA: What coup plot?
The President instead said she succeeded to the presidency "via a constitutional process and that it was God who willed the process."
Mrs. Arroyo’s defense of her mandate came in the wake of claims by the opposition that former President Fidel Ramos and former National Security Adviser Jose Almonte were hatching a plot, supposedly called "Black October," to unseat her.
The opposition has alleged that Ramos and Almonte were "engineering" a crisis situation so that the Supreme Court would be forced to affirm the plunder law under which Estrada is charged before the Sandiganbayan.
Ramos has vehemently denied the allegations.
At the same time, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said no coup plot can succeed at this time because there are no moral issues against Mrs. Arroyo and that she enjoys a 65 percent approval rating.
She also enjoys the support of the so-called "civil society" as well as key members of the police and military establishments, Golez added.
But while the Arroyo administration is not alarmed by the rumors, Golez said the government "is keeping its ears close to the ground" as authorities weighed down on a police official who has been linked to the supposed coup plot.
Meanwhile, key members of the police and military establishments closed ranks behind the President and challenged supposed coup plotters to push through with their plans.
Condemning the coup plots as "squid tactics to divide the police and military," police and military officials said they have already met secretly in Quezon City last week and mapped out counter-measures against any coup attempt.
But the President, who refused to make direct statements on the rumors, remained unfazed and said she is strengthened not only by her allies but by God as well.
"Some said Gloria wouldn’t be able to make it because she is weak," Mrs. Arroyo told Romblon folk in the Visayan language during the inauguration of the new town of Magdiwang.
"But I was not the one who willed it," she said. "It was God. He has given me the strength so that our country will be able to prevail, will be able to survive."
But Mrs. Arroyo, in a subsequent trip to Boracay island in Aklan, stressed she will refuse to believe such rumors unless there is solid evidence and noted that Ramos was "very angry" in a televised statement where he denied involvement in any plot.
GMA’s foreign trips to push through
In an apparent effort to belittle the rumors, Palace officials also announced that Mrs. Arroyo would push through with at least six overseas trips this year.
The President will fly to Hong Kong on Sunday to address the World Economic Forum and proceed to Beijing for a state visit on Oct. 29-31.
On Nov. 4-5, the President will fly to Brunei Darussalam to attend the biennial Leaders Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
She will then go to Indonesia for state visit on Nov. 12 followed by a "working visit" to the US on Nov. 18-20. Finally, she will fly to Mexico from the US to speak before the Christian Democrats International’s annual conference.
Mrs. Arroyo’s security managers, however, did weigh down on Superintendent Rafael Cardeno, president of the Young Officers Union (YOU), for his supposedly suspicious movements.
"We invited Cardeno to confront him because his name cropped up in the counter-intelligence information," said Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Leandro Mendoza.
Mendoza said the PNP will summon more police officers to explain why they were linked to coup rumors but he refused to identify them.
Cardeno, for his part, presented himself to PNP Directorial Staff chief Deputy Director General Rex Piad at Camp Crame on early Wednesday night and was questioned by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).
But Cardeno was held for several hours after he refused to sign an affidavit he supposedly prepared with the assistance of his lawyer-brother.
Instead of signing his statement, Cardeno supposedly started sending text messages to his military and media friends, leading police to tighten security around Camp Crame.
Cardeno, however, denied knowledge of the supposed coup plot and professed support for the Arroyo administration, adding he was recruiting police and military officers only for YOU membership and not for any coup plot.
Sources said Cardeno even bragged that he was close to the President and would not dare initiate any destabilization plot against her administration.
Cardeno and his fellow YOU official Diosdado Valeroso were alter brought to Malacañang Palace yesterday for a half-hour meeting where they against expressed support for Mrs. Arroyo and her administration.
Cardeno told Palace reporters he and other YOU officials have volunteered to help the government in "whatever program or projects in whatever position in government."
"Now that we are in a position to achieve this, we should take a shot at it. We’re, in fact, asking the President to utilizer us," Cardeno said.
Cardeno, assigned in the PNP Traffic Management Group, is detailed was chief of staff of Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Brig. Gen. Edgardo Abenina (ret.), chairman of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM).
Valeroso is the special assistant to the executive director of teh Philippine Center on Transnational Crime under the Office of the President.
Police, military ready counterplan
While other groups in the military and police confirmed recent moves to recruit officials, they said the names of some of their colleagues were only being used to entice more junior officers to join the supposed plotters.
"We have already confronted several officers linked to the plot and we’ve found that these officers were being used by name-droppers to entice our junior and field officers to join them," said an Army colonel, who requested anonymity.
The colonel said several key military and police officials, from all the uniformed services, have already conducted meetings to map out counter-measures.
"Kung ano ang balak nila, ituloy na nila kaagad at nang malaman natin kung sino ang mananalo (Whatever they’re planning, they should push through with it right away so we’ll know who’ll prevail)," said a ranking Navy official.
"This time, we will not allow it to happen and whoever are behind any plot should come out and make good on their threats," said a police superintendent.
The group stressed that their colleagues have vowed to defend the constitutional government at all cost. - With reports from Christina Mendez, Jaime Laude
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