AFP chief douses coup talk as troop movements fuel jitters

From InterAksyon (Jul 30): AFP chief douses coup talk as troop movements fuel jitters

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Gregorio Catapang on Wednesday doused talk started by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV about a supposed coup plot against Peresident Benigno Aquino III, saying: “There is no intelligence report on that.”

News reports quoted Trillanes as claiming retired generals with ties to the former administration were supposedly “recruiting” troops for the alleged plot.

Emerging from a hearing of the Select Oversight Committee on Intelligence and Confidential Funds at the Senate, the AFP chief said: “Wala naman pong rason kasi maayos naman po ang pamamalakad ng ating mahal na Pangulo at suportadong-suportado po kami sa modernization program natin (There is no reason because our President’s governance is sound and we fully support our modernization program).”

He pointed out that the supposed coup plot was not even brought up during the committee hearing.

He also dismissed the need for a “loyalty check” of the troops.

“Our soldiers are loyal (to the Constitution and to their mandate) so there is no need for any loyalty check,” he said.

Earlier, AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the military has not monitored any attempt to destabilize the government from within its ranks.

"Presently, there is no monitored destabilization among active members of the AFP, there is no recruitment nor any moves within the active service to do such," said Zagala in a chance interview.

Several reported sightings of military vehicles moving in convoys through major Metro Manila thoroughfares on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning fueled jitters, but sources within the intelligence community brushed aside the fears as groundless.

But at the House of Representatives, lawmakers who once served in the police and military urged security and intelligence officials to verify the reported destabilization attempts, even as a number said such moves would not succeed.

"We are monitoring interchanges on the radio, and I think it is just right to give clarity to these report," Pangasinan Representative Leopoldo Bataoil, a former police general, said.

Magdalo party-list Representative Gary Alejano said such talks of destabilization should not be dismissed because "that's where plans and movements are hatched."

"Kung may ganung usapan, kung may naamoy, maganda nilalabas para ma-preempt (If there is such talk, if you smell something, it is good to get it out so it can be preempted)," he added.

Alejano’s party-list takes its name from the group of junior officers, including himself and Trillanes, who staged a failed mutiny in 2003 against then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

However, he added, "based on the present situation, such moves might find it hard to take off."

Fellow Magdalo Representative Ashley Acedillo said it was "incumbent on security and intelligence agencies to verify" the reports. "This is not a matter to be trifled with ... this is a developing issue," he said.

However, Antipolo Representative Romeo Acop, another former police general, said the clout of retired general was overrated.

"Why don't we just let retired generals just fade away? Being retired, my clout has diminished. Men in the uniformed services (face a) different situation," Acop said.

"On destabilization within the ranks of the AFP, there is none," Zagala said. However, he added that if retired officials "wish to speak against the government or conduct rallies, that is part of our Bill of Rights, and since they are already retired, we have no control over them."

"I think that is part of the freedoms that each citizen of our country enjoys," he said.

Zagala stressed that the level of professionalism in the AFP is very high and the morale of all its officers and enlisted personnel is excellent.

"I think like any Filipino who wishes to be heard, there is nothing wrong as long as they (retired senior officers) don't instigate the taking up of arms," he added.

The Philippine National Police also dismissed talk of destabilization and said any attempt would not come from its ranks.

“Coup d’etat? I(t is) military in nature … the PNP is totally out of it,” PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac told reporters during a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.

He said the PNP’s intelligence unit is always verifying reports of destabilization threats against the government.

But in case the threat turns out to be true, Sindac said, “the PNP will not tolerate …  not this time; the PNP will stand its ground we will not allow such a thing to happen.”

On Tuesday evening, there were reported sightings of convoys of military trucks accompanied by armored personnal carriers along EDSA and in Cubao.

A convoy of three trucks, carrying what appeared to be ammunition crates. and an APC was also sighted Wednesday morning heading southbound on EDSA.

But an intelligence officer who asked not to be named said the convoy was heading to Tanay, Rizal, where the Army's 2nd Infantry Division is based.
The unit was instrumental in helping quell past mutinies against former President Corazon Aquino, mother of the incumbent, as well as the one mounted by the Magdalo group.

Another source criticized Trillanes for airing his claim, saying, "Walang sasama kung GMA (Arroyo)-funded ang coup."

He said the only time the military might intervene is in the event of an anti-government uprising mounted by "extreme forces.”

He added that respect for the Constitution was strong within the ranks.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/92229/afp-chief-douses-coup-talk-as-troop-movements-fuel-jitters