Coup to install ‘Kuya’ planned for today

The coup d’etat by junior military officers was originally planned for today, had intelligence units not smoked it out the other weekend.

Seven companies of 500 to 1,000 soldiers would have attacked Malacañang, while other units would have taken over the Cebu and General Santos City airports before proceeding to the Manila international hub.

Part of the scheme was to take over Camp Aguinaldo, headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The coup would have installed "Kuya" (elder brother), a codename used by the plotters for Sen. Gregorio Honasan, who has gone into hiding after last July 27’s mutiny launched at Oakwood Premier Ayala Center in Makati City.

Details of the plot are contained in a "Campaign Plan Andres," a document intercepted by intelligence operatives at the height of the Oakwood incident. At least three coup leaders arrested on the night before and right after the 22-hour holdout have corroborated the paper, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR yesterday.

Consisting of four phases, CP Andres states the plotters’ intent "to execute the mission with minimum damage to life, property and institutions, (with) emphasis on speed, surprise and shock action."

It identifies friendly forces as the "New Filipino Heroes," by which the plotters call themselves in a separate paper called "The Last Revolution - Towards a New Philippine Order." Opposition forces are identified as "people of status quo." The mission: "establish a government with leadership of character and political will that shall implement concrete programs focused on social equity and justice."

The "New Filipino Heroes (NFH)" in CP Andres consists of coded units with certain numbers of officers: Alfa, 40; Romeo, 40; Fox, 8; Palaka, 17; Pawikan, 16; FB, 26; WC, 56. It also identifies "Kuya’s supporters" as "Guardians and RAM."

Intelligence analysts figure that Palaka and Pawikan are light-reaction and special units of the Army and Navy. Honasan is head of the Philippine Guardians Brotherhood Inc., an organization of enlisted men that expanded to policemen, firemen and civilians. RAM (Rebolusyonaryong

Alyansang Makabansa) consists of AFP senior officers, mostly retired, who had staged eight unsuccessful coups against President Corazon Aquino in 1986-1989. Although Honasan is a member, most of its members led by retired

Commodore Domingo Calajate and Col. Proceso Maligalig denounced the attempted power grab of July 27 as "an act of political demagogues."

CP Andres’ Phase I, Preparation, is the "recruitment,

consolidation, procurement of logistics, establishment of safe houses, identification of staging areas." Investigators have raided three such safe houses: an office in San Juan of former President Joseph Estrada’s son Jinggoy, a two-story house in Mandaluyong of Estrada’s mistress Laarni Enriquez, and an unoccupied mansion of his former Malacañang aide Eki

Cardenas.

Phase II, Direct Action, has three contingencies. Plan Alfa, if "force inventory is sufficient to take down all necessary targets," states: "D-day, H-hour will be disseminated through ‘barangay captains.’ Countersigns must be worn on the left arm by operating units. Official flags must be flown by desig(nated) transport/armour vehicles. Air assets

will be marked with white ‘I’. Operating units will have five-day provisions. Standard map: 1:20,000 Metro Manila." Among the details: "Direct all defectors to report to TG-12 for proper disposition. Commo equipment and working channel to be provided by TG-9 commel team."

Plan Bravo is for a "condition (where) force inventory is notsufficient enough." Execution would be "same as Plan Alfa."

Plan Charlie is for a situation where "security (is) compromised." It anticipates that "actions are being taken by opposition (enemy forces) to neutralize the movement. Bulabog!!!" In such a case, "all NFH will link up at Makati Glorietta vicinity and conduct a barricade scenario on

pre-designated DTM (date-time-month). Task Group-3 will activate and take down GMA-7. Information team to broadcast the group’s position and call on the people.

It was Plan Charlie that the plotters apparently resorted to before daybreak of July 27, since the plot was discovered and President Arroyo ordered the arrest of AWOL officers two nights before. CP Andres stated a DTM of +555; that is, the coded date, time and month of strike would have added five more days, hours and months to throw off government

agents who could be tracking the plotters.

Hours before the Makati siege, Navy units spotted and apprehended three vans of soldiers preparing to raid the armory in Sangley Point. Other units intercepted two more vans full of civilians and five buses only with the drivers. The first three vans contained several firearms, a copy of CP

Andres, red banners and armbands of the so-called Magdalo group, and copies of "The Last Revolution" and Honasan’s "National Recovery Program (NRP)."

CP Andres’ Phase III is Consolidation. It is to "account and

conduct inventory of forces; shift posture on defensive mode; handle defection; population and resource control measures; continuous monitoring and surveillance of opposition; massive info ops." It stresses: "Ensure that Kuya is installed on the top position."

Phase IV is Civil Administration, "a transfer of civil authority to a transition government ... implement NRP as the first program of action."