AFP maintains there is destabilization report but would not connect it to rumored term extension of Esperon

By Ronron
January 15, 2008

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) maintained on Tuesday that there is really a destabilization plot against the Arroyo administration.

But it was quick to say that it not a serious one, nor is it related to rumors that AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. will be extended beyond his term on February 9 when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56.

“The threat is there but it’s not that serious. It’s (something) that we can handle,” AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday.

Bacarro said they are looking at the probable collusion of Leftists and rightists in the attempt to grab power from the incumbent, similar to what happened in February 2006.

“Definitely, the threat was not imagined by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This has basis. There are developments that would lead to the possibility of a destabilization effort,” he said.

He refused to say, however, when is the target date to execute the plot, and how it will be carried out for security reasons.

But he admitted that the destabilizers “can take advantage of situations like on January 22” wherein there are scheduled mass rallies by militant groups.

“They can ride on the massing people,” Bacarro said.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), for its part, said that it is prepared to deploy 10,000 cops to secure the metropolis starting January 18 when militants will start taking the streets to commemorate the EDSA II People Power Revolution that catapulted Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency.

“We can deploy up to at most 10,000 cops because our concern here is public safety. We will provide security to everyone, including those in the rally,” PNP spokesman Sr. Supt. Nicanor Bartolome said.

The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) will be the group leading the mass action on January 18, while the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) will lead the activity on January 22 to commemorate the 1987 Mendiola Massacre.

Bacarro said elements from the AFP National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) will also be ready to assist the PNP if necessary.

Meanwhile, asked about rumors that the destabilization effort is being floated by government to justify an extension of Esperon’s term, Bacarro said: “To link with the rumors that the chief of staff would be extended, I think it’s not connected really.”/DMS