‘Noy ouster: All noise, no numbers’

MANILA, Philippines - They’re just the noisy minority.

Malacañang shrugged off yesterday calls for President Aquino to step down following the bloody police operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, saying resignation calls are nothing new and they never gained ground in the last five years.

“Again, if you look at some of the groups that have been making these statements, their positions are not new. Some of them have made these calls years ago,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

“It has not borne fruit favorably for them. Perhaps, at this juncture, only the people can tell if they will back these groups. But, thus far… there is no indication, at least at this point, that they are supported by the majority,” Valte added.

“The administration and the President are no stranger to the national issues that confront us, and we hope that in due time questions will be answered as well. We hope to move on and to properly find a resolution to all of these,” she maintained.

The undersecretary also denied that such misleading reports are “gaining ground.”

“In more or less five years that he has been in office, we have seen these sporadic calls from different groups, and they always have not resulted in a situation that would please them,” she said.

She noted that resignation calls are proof that democracy is very much alive in Philippine society, but as to whether these would succeed is another story.

“They are free to make statements, to issue calls for whatever action. Obviously, we disagree with their statements, but it’s part of the democratic free space that we have,” Valte pointed out.

She added that no loyalty check is needed among security forces, both in the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police, amid recurring reports of destabilization plots against Aquino.

“I think the military and the security establishments have made their positions clear on this issue. I also do not have any information on the basis of this particular group to say that,” she said.

No right to oust Noy

Malacañang stressed that it will crush and thwart any attempt at overthrowing the Aquino administration, as it pointed out that coup plotters hardly comprise the Filipinos who voted for him in the 2010 elections.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in Filipino that Aquino’s “bosses,” the Filipino people, are the ones who have the right to decide whether the President should heed calls for him to resign.

The President’s uncle, former Tarlac congressman Peping Cojuangco, along with several other members of the Cabinet wants him to step down, former national security adviser Norberto Gonzales has claimed.

Gonzales, who served during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, also reportedly warned that a very close friend of Aquino, whom he refused to name, and other elected public officials are seeking a change in leadership.

Coloma assured the public that authorities are continually monitoring these matters. “We won’t allow anyone to cause turbulence leading to concerns on the security and order of our people,” he said.

Bomb threat hoax

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Carmelo Valmoria urged the public yesterday to continue going about their daily routine like going to malls as he downplayed the circulating report about bomb scare tactics in Metro Manila.

Valmoria stressed the intelligence community has not monitored any group out to undertake bombing runs in Metro Manila and to create chaos amid the investigation on the Mamasapano incident.

“We do not take the bomb threat in malls and other areas of convergence seriously. We received no such report,” said Valmoria in an interview.

However, the NCRPO remains on heightened alert and is ready to respond to any contingencies, he added.

A text message warning the public of bomb attacks in crowded areas, like malls and the MRT (Metro Rail Transit) and the LRT (Light Rail Transit), circulated in the past few days. –Delon Porcalla, Non Alquitran