Philippine army chief says coup plot crippled

The Philippine military has crippled a suspected coup plot by identifying and investigating 14 officers who were allegedly involved, the army chief said today.

Some of the men have renounced their membership in a breakaway group and were allowed to go back to work, sai Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, while others are being restrained.

The officers had planned to mobilise at least 200 soldiers to remove President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo by force, Esperon said. While he felt the alleged plot had been undercut, he said he was not sure if other officers may be involved.

Esperon said seized documents outlined the alleged plot.

The government earlier today called coup rumours a feeble attempt by Arroyo’s opponents to grab attention and destabilise the country.

Such rumours have intensified ahead of the 20th anniversary of the first “people power” revolt, which toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos on February 25, 1986.

Opponents have vowed to mass tens of thousands of people to oust Arroyo, who says she won’t step down and predicted any attempted revolt would fail.

“Our people are wise to the spread of coup rumours and black propaganda as feeble attempts of a disgruntled, unproductive few to grab public attention through the media,” said presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye.

“But still, we call on the media to exercise vigilance against rebels and insurgents who wish to cause our people harm through destabilisation and by spreading wild rumours across the airwaves,” he said.

Esperon said 14 men at the core of the plot were junior officers, with the ranks of captain and lieutenant, mostly based in Luzon and Mindanao.

“They all have the intention, but no capability. They cannot win and they cannot succeed because many have turned around,” Esperon said.

He said the military discovered the coup plot in December, when they seized a document entitled The Last Revolution which outlined the stages of establishing a revolutionary government after forcibly removing Arroyo.

More details were discovered with the seizure of another document, Operation Hackle. It detailed the planned escape of jailed rebel soldiers from prison, massive recruitment of participants, then the “abolition of democratic institutions,” Esperon said.

Esperon said recruits had a secret handshake and underwent a ritual, pricking their forefinger to draw blood and mixing it with red wine in a glass. A dog tag was dipped in the mix before being given to the new members.

At a news conference, Esperon showed some of the dog tags that he said had been turned in by officers who backed out of the group. He also demonstrated their handshake.

Many of the members backed out after learning that some of the coup leaders were forging an alliance with communist guerrillas to topple Arroyo, Esperon alleged.

Arroyo – who succeeded ousted President Joseph Estrada after a second “people power” revolt in January 2001 – survived three impeachment bids in September, when her dominant allies in the House of Representatives used a technicality to block complaints of alleged massive corruption and vote-rigging.