Corpus: Near zero chance for new mutiny

The possibility of a fresh military uprising against President Arroyo is "near zero," a senior military official said yesterday as the government sought to assure a wary public.

Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus, newly appointed chief of the military’s civil relations office, said there appeared to be no "justifiable reason" for a coup against Mrs. Arroyo, two months after she quelled a July military uprising without bloodshed.

While acknowledging that "a very small percentage" of the 130,000-strong armed forces remained restive, Corpus said all the leaders of the July coup mutiny against Mrs. Arroyo had been taken into custody and posed no threat.

Asked of the chances of a fresh uprising, he said: "Right now, near zero."

More than 300 junior officers and men took over a portion of the Makati financial district in Manila on July 27, demanding that the President and other top defense officials step down and accusing them of corruption.

Officials charged that it was part of a larger plot to assassinate Mrs. Arroyo and replace her with a 15-member junta. — AFP, Jaime Laude