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Philippine intelligence has uncovered an
assassination plot on President Gloria Arroyo by Islamic militants.
Military chief Gen. Hermogenes
Esperon said the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah are
behind the attempt on the life of Arroyo. Security forces are also
verifying information that a breakaway faction of the MILF will
bring their action to Metro Manila and will hit high-value targets,
including embassies.
The PSG says it does not have
specifics about the threat on the President’s life but its
information indicated that the presidential convoy might be under
surveillance.
As a result of this information,
Arroyo canceled her attendance at the traditional Philippine
Military Academy (PMA) homecoming.
It’s strange, though, that the
assassination threat did not seem to affect her other appointments.
It is possible that they canceled other scheduled appearances. But
then she did not exactly disappear from public view since security
forces discovered the plot in a parking lot.
Her public appearances did not
seem to have been significantly affected.
Except for the PMA homecoming.
What it is about that event in
Baguio that it is such a big risk for Mrs. Arroyo to attend?
She would have been surrounded by
active and retired military and police officers and their families.
She couldn’t have been safer inside that fortress of warm bodies
whose loyalty they reiterate whenever a major scandal breaks.
But perhaps that is the big
concern.
She had a number of officers
jailed. I can’t imagine that sitting well with their families, who
could very well be attending the homecoming as well.
Were these families attempting to
seek audience with GMA during the weekend?
And if they were, would that
constitute a security threat to the President?
What’s obvious, though, is that
security officials announced the assassination plot the day before a
massive rally calling for her resignation.
An estimated 10,000 people
attended the mass demonstration in the heart if Makati’s business
district.
Admittedly, 10,000 might not look
impressive to some. But considering the pale attendance in previous
rallies, it is safe to say that last Friday’s gathering was among
the most successful in recent months.
The rally, of course, was
organized in the aftermath of the revelations of Rodolfo Noel Lozada,
Jr. He confirmed multimillion-dollar kickbacks and bribes from the
now-canceled broadband deal with China’s ZTE Corp.
On Sunday, the La Salle brothers
and prodemocracy icon Corazon Aquino sponsored a mass for Lozada.
Several thousands also attended the mass in support for the former
president of the Philippine Forest Corp.
The police and military had
warned that they have information that saboteurs were poised to
infiltrate these mass actions and agitate people into violence.
Police and military units
assigned to the capital have been placed on alert since the night
before Friday’s rally precisely because of these threats.
Both activities ended without
incident.
We have not heard anything more
about the assassination plot on President Arroyo.
Government is insisting, of
course, that there is no connection between the ZTE controversy and
pro-Lozada mass actions to Mrs. Arroyo’s decision to stay in
Manila.
Really now?!
Esperon said that a breakaway
group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was to carry out bombings
in Metro Manila. The MILF denies the existence of this breakaway
group, of course.
This new group, which some refer
to as the Hashim Salamat Group, is being blamed for the recent
bombings of electric towers in Mindanao.
Some in the intelligence
community said this group was initially monitored in Manila just
last week, although they hadn’t been aware that it was linked to
the attempt on Mrs. Arroyo.
Perhaps the military found
another link (to the assassination plot), I was told.
In any case, the authorities said
that they’ve identified the people behind this group, which
supposedly has been giving MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim a
headache.
Murad has supposedly been
attempting to disarm them when they made their decision to withdraw
support from him.
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