|
|
||
Home | From the Soldiers | The Struggle for Change | Withdrawal of Support | The Armed Forces | The Nation | Issues and Concerns -------------------------------------------------- From the People | Soldiers of the People | About Us | Links --------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
================= ================= ================= ================= ================= ================= ================= Restiveness Redux Angling for Support ================= ================= ================= Coup d'Etat: A Practical Handbook ================= |
Restiveness Redux Ninez Cacho Olivares, Daily Tribune, July 7, 2006
Restiveness in the military organization hasn’t gone away, and neither can this be expected to be brushed away with Malacañang and military brass’ claims of their being in control of the situation, or that of the oft-repeated pronouncements of the chain of command holding strongly. This was claimed in 2003, after renegade junior officers who staged a mutiny at the posh Oakwood Hotel in Makati City stood down, were charged and jailed. At the time, the Oakwood rebels, called the Magdalos, focused their gripes solely on issues affecting the military establishment, such as graft and corruption, that have been turning the soldiers into sitting ducks for the insurgents, both communist and Islamic, along with allegations of state-sponsored bombings staged for political purposes. The rebel soldiers demanded the resignation of Gloria Arroyo and the then Defense secretary, Angelo Reyes, and when they finally stood down, there was said to have been an agreement forged between the Magdalos and the government negotiators, to the effect that only the core group leaders would face punishment while the rest of the soldiery would be spared. Malacañang was accused by the Magdalo leaders of having reneged on the agreement. Now comes the alleged Feb. 24 foiled coup, with the Palace pointing to the video of Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim’s withdrawal of support from Gloria Arroyo. This time around, the issues are no longer limited to the military. The issues raised, in a capsule, are the lying, stealing and cheating ways of Gloria Arroyo and her prostitution not just of the military but of virtually all the democratic institutions. Now comes the leak of the video and the military probe report on the Feb. 24-26 coup, where some 38 officers have been found to have been involved in it, including the Marines during the Fort Bonifacio standoff, where clearly the issue was the vote-rigging during the 2004 presidential polls. Word is out that once again the reported agreement reached between the Marines officials — which had something to do with the commanding officers facing the consequences but with the rest of the soldiers being spared — has been reportedly breached again. How good then will the word of Malacañang and the military brass be when military restiveness rears its head again? More to the point, how can the needed reforms — especially in the military establishment — be attained when there is continuous cover-up of the regime and its generals of their crimes? For that matter, how is the Armed Forces of the Philippines expected to shape up and shun Malacañang’s prostitution of the AFP when even the military general that stands accused of having engaged in poll-rigging to ensure the fraudulent victory of Gloria Arroyo is slated to be the next AFP chief of staff? Also, even as Gloria and her aides condemn Lim’s withdrawal of support and the alleged coup plot, it is almost impossible for her, having grabbed power herself through a coup that was hatched by her a year before the actual ouster of a legitimate and constitutional president and government, to even come clean. The proof of that hatched coup plot is in that video presented before the anti-graft court during deposed leader Joseph Estrada’s direct testimony. Moreover, there is yet another piece of evidence that is with the high court — a letter signed by Gloria to the then Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., stating that she was withdrawing support from Estrada, as the civil society, Cabinet, the military and the police have also withdrawn support. And there was Angie Reyes with his service commanders, publicly announcing his, and the entire AFP’s withdrawal of support and delivering that support to Gloria Arroyo. The letter, incidentally, was written for Gloria by now SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. It is also to be noted that the high court justices upheld the Reyes military mutiny, calling this and the revolt an expression of free speech. There can’t be two standards of justice, but for Gloria, a double standard is what she wants. Yet no one is likely to obey this without question, especially when ordered by one who is seen by the vast majority of the Filipino people as a bogus President who lied, cheated and stole the presidency twice over. To the entire soldiery, a violation of its Articles of War is a violation. If the top officers violated this and went unpunished and were even rewarded, why should those who do the same, be punished? That is the logic that must be faced. Like it or not, Gloria and her generals’ original sin can never be expunged through what they claim as reforms. She will eventually have to go — and along with her, her prostituted generals. =====================================
Angling for Support Ninez Cacho Olivares, Daily Tribune, July 5, 2006 From all indications, the leakage of the military’s investigation into Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim et. al, as well as the videotape of Lim’s withdrawal of support from the “bogus” Gloria Arroyo to the two distinct media, ABS-CBN and The Philippine Star, could not have come from anywhere else but Malacañang and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). No AFP probe report is likely to be leaked out without the nod of the AFP and its bogus Commander-in-Chief. But what is intriguing is the timing of the release — both of the video and the probe report, which suddenly the military says is not yet final. So why now? Speculations abound, but what is interesting is the reaction of presidential aide Michael Defensor, who immediately pointed to this videotape and the report as proof positive of a failed coup while justifying the imposition of Presidential Proclamation 1017. Was this leak done for the purpose of getting the Supreme Court to reverse its ruling on 1017? A motion for reconsideration has been filed by the Solicitor General and the high court’s final ruling should be out soon enough. Is this done to provide the court with a justification to reverse itself on 1017? Yet this would be an odd justification for a reversal, owing to the fact that when PP 1017 was declared by Gloria, she could not have known of the existence of the videotape. And even if Lim had told Senga he was ready to withdraw his support from Gloria, the fact is that he did not have the opportunity to do so, as he was quickly ordered detained by Senga and there was no coup attempted, nor was a march with the people attempted. Besides, what was wrong with PP 1017 was not that Gloria was barred from proclaiming a state of emergency, but that in so doing, she unconstitutionally curtailed the freedoms of the people and violated their rights. More to the point, what was more telling was the fact that the state of emergency decree was lodged on an economic constitutional proviso. This would be extremely difficult for the justices to justify a reversal of their ruling on 1017. There is no question that Gloria can even declare martial law, if she so chooses, but she must still follow the constitutional path, which will have to be a 48-hour declaration, within which time Congress will have to get into the picture, and in any case, there can be no curtailment of the basic rights and freedoms of the people. But it is very possible that Gloria is again thinking of imposing yet another martial law proclamation as things are getting too difficult for her to control. The series of impeachment complaints may not amount to anything, but they are certainly not making her look good, especially in the human rights situation, not to mention the resurfacing of the “Hello Garci” poll-rigging controversy. And her relationship with the Catholic bishops is not too great these days. There is said to be fear on the part of Malacañang that the bishops after their four-day retreat may just come up with a very strong pastoral letter aimed at her and her regime. To gain their sympathy, she could also be using the videotape and the military report to convince them that all those acts she is being charged with in the impeachment complaints all stem from the danger of a military coup d’etat that will install a junta or council government, with military-type generals at the helm, which is probably why certain personalities were linked to the alleged coup. Gloria is hanging by the thread and she needs more than ever, the SC and the bishops’ support. All this is being done for her political survival. Will these two pillars buy this latest Malacañang gimmick? =====================================
|
|
|
Home | From the Soldiers | The Struggle for Change | Withdrawal of Support | The Armed Forces | The Nation | Issues and Concerns -------------------------------------------------- From the People | Soldiers of the People | About Us | Links --------------------------------------------------
|
||
