Full text: Arroyo's declaration of martial law in Maguindanao

Full text: Arroyo's declaration of martial law in Maguindanao



Proclamation 1959: Proclaiming a State of Martial Law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the province of Maguindanao except for certain areas.

Whereas, Proclamation No. 1946 was issued on 24 November 2009 declaring a state of emergency in the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and the City of Cotabato for the purpose of preventing and suppressing lawless violence in the aforesaid areas.

Whereas, Sec. 18 Art. VII of the Constitution provides that “in case of invasion or rebellion, when public safety requires it, the President may, for a period not exceeding 60 days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law."

Whereas, Republic Act 6986 provides that “the crime of rebellion or insurrection is committed by rising publicly and taking arms against the government for the purpose of depriving the Chief Executive or the Legislature, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or
prerogatives."

Whereas, heavily armed groups in the province of Maguindanao have established positions to resist government troops thereby depriving the Executive of its powers and prerogatives to enforce the laws of the land to maintain public order and safety.

Whereas, the condition of peace and order in the province of Maguindanao has deteriorated to the extent that local judicial system and other government mechanisms in the province are not functioning; thus, endangering public safety.

Whereas, the implementing operational guidelines of the GRP-MILF agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities dated 14 Nov. 1997 provides that the following is considered a prohibited hostile act: “establishment of checkpoints except those necessary for the GRP’s
enforcement and maintenance of peace and order and for the defense and security of the MILF in their identified areas as jointly determined by GRP and MILF."

Now, therefore I, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and by law, do hereby proclaim as follows:

Sec. 1: There is hereby declared a state of martial law in the
province of Maguindanao except for the identified areas of the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front as referred to in the implementing
operational guidelines of the GRP-MILF agreement on the General
Cessation of Hostilities.

Sec. 2: The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall likewise be
suspended in the aforesaid area for the duration of the state of
martial law.

Done in the City of Manila this 4th day of December in the Year of Our
Lord, Two Thousand and Nine.


(Originally Signed)

Gloria M. Arroyo

By the President:

(Originally Signed)
Eduardo Ermita
Executive Secretary

The Trillanes Blitzkrieg: Makati Pen Standoff

Sen. Trillanes, Army General Lim, et al have made their point during the six-hour stand-out at Manila Pen. The inept corrupt Arroyo regime must be dismantled and the longer bogus President Gloria Arroyo clings to power the more sufferings to the country and its citizens. Brigadier General Danilo Lim is just doing his constitutional mandate-the protector of the Filipino people and the State.


Trillanes, Lim, Guingona
taken after Pen standoff
PNP uses tear gas, armored vehicle


BY ASHZEL HACHERO AND ELLEN TORDESILLAS

SEN. Antonio Trillanes IV and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim were arrested yesterday at the Manila Peninsula hotel in Makati City after a six-hour standoff following a hearing at the Makati regional trial court.

They were arrested on the basis of a warrant citing them and their followers for contempt for walking out of the hearing.

Trillanes, a former navy lieutenant who is detained at the Marines headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, was at the Makati court for a coup d’état case filed against him and 30 other officers for leading the Oakwood mutiny in July 2003.

Lim, former commander of the Army’s Scout Rangers and alleged leader of a supposed power grab attempt last year, was called to the hearing to testify on a "gentleman’s agreement" reached between government and the mutiny leaders in July 2003. Lim has been in detention at Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal since last year.

As they took positions inside the hotel, Trillanes said: "We have had enough. We are calling on the people to join us here in Makati. We are not going to tolerate this kind of torment."

After about six hours of being holed out at the hotel, Trillanes announced they were surrendering.

"We are going out for the safety of everybody. We won’t be able to live with our consciences if some of you get hit or get killed in the crossfire," Trillanes said.

The announcement came after elite police forces battered down the hotel door with an armored vehicle and fired tear gas into the lobby.

"We have been witness and victims of the kind of ruthlessness this administration is giving to the people. Like soldiers we are going to face this," Trillanes told reporters.

Trillanes faced the media together with Lim, Bishop Julio Labayen, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Fr. Robert Reyes, and other personalities and supporters also holed out at the hotel.

The group of Trillanes and Lim were later taken by a bus of the National Capital Police Regional Office and brought to the NCRPO headquarters in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan. Malaya
Related Links
Army Brig. General Danilo Lim Statement
Begging for a new EDSA
ABS-CBN Probe Team: Manila Pen Standoff

AFP Deployed Soldiers in Metro Manila's Depressed Areas

The strategic hamleting first used tactics during the Philippine-American War, then against the Huk agrarian rebellion in Central Luzon provinces, the Vietnam War and Gloria Arroyo government counter-insurgency campaign. The deployment of soldiers in the asphalt jungles of Metro Manila is related to counter-insurgency operations by intimidating militant party-list groups and their supporters. Why? Are they considered enemies of the state? The deployment of soldiers in depressed areas to maintain peace and order is a flimsy excuse. Soldiers are not trained to do police works. Peace and order in villages is the responsibility of barangay captains (village chiefs) and tanods (village guards). The barangay , country's smallest political unit may seek help from the mayor and local police to fight criminality. The militarization of Metro Manila may soon spill over in the provinces.



AFP nixes pullout; Comelec gives in

Daily Tribune 03/06/2007
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) isn’t going to pull out troops it deployed in slum areas all over Metro Manila, insisting that the troops are assigned to these areas merely to maintain peace and order in the community.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec), for its part, said it will not question the presence of the AFP troops deployed in the National Capital Region, if the purpose is “purely military.”
“If an operation is purely military and devoid of political motivation, the Comelec cannot intervene,” Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., yesterday told reporters, despite the complaint lodged before it by the leftist Party-list groups, complete with pictures and affidavits stating that the soldiers have been harassing and intimidating the members of the party-list group and instructing the voters there not to vote for the leftist groups, which the military has accused of being the fronts of the communist party of the Philippines.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. yesterday claimed that the presence of the military in Metro Manila has been requested by local government leaders to curb the drug problem in various areas and criminality, insisting that the accusations that the military troops deployed had been ordered to campaign against the leftist party-list groups were false.
But Esperon failed to show the alleged letters of requests from the local executives from 27 barangays.
Abalos seemed to have taken Esperon’s claim as gospel truth, and appeared to be disinterested in getting to the bottom
of things.
It also appears that all the military has to do, during the polls when the AFP gets into the picture, is merely to state that the activities the soldiers are engaged in are purely military and Comelec will not intervene.
The military brass said the AFP has no plan to pull out troops, with Esperon denying the allegations of party list groups on the military’s electioneering for the administration.
AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Jose Angel Honrado also insisted that the deployment of troops will stay and said there is no order for a pullout. “It (deployment) is not election-related,” he stressed.
But when asked what the deployment was for, the spokesman said: “I don’t want to answer that. Let’s wait for our (AFP chief’s) reply to the Comelec.”
Maj.Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, chief of AFP-National Capital Region Command said the deployment of soldiers in some areas of Metro Manila is “indirectly” related to counter-insurgency operations and part of a civil-military program to maintain peace and order in communities.
“Yes (the operations of the Armed Forces) are indirectly (related to counter-insurgency) because we are trying to help solve peace and order problems so the people will not go to streets or think of fighting the government,” Dolorfino said.
Dolorfino said the AFP is forging a partnership with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and local governments in maintaining peace and order in problematic communities.
“I think nothing is wrong when we have civil-military operations programs and these are promoting good relations between military and civilians,” he said.
He said the military has received requests to maintain peace and order in areas frequented by activist groups.
The party-list group Gabriela filed a complaint against the military whose troops were said to be campaigning against the group and harassing its supporters in Barangay Commonwealth in Quezon City.
Honrado said the military received formal notice from the Comelec seeking its comment on the deployment, on Monday
Comelec said it may ask the AFP, and in particular, Dolorfino to explain the extent of the military operations.
Abalos over the weekend asked Dolorfino to investigate the presence of military troops in Isla putting Bato and in Delpan all in Tondo and to submit a written report.
But Abalos said he has not received any report from Dolorfino as of yesterday.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders yesterday rebuked Esperon’s mobilization of soldiers to urban poor communities, saying this is a clear plot to harass candidates from militant partylist organizations and prevent from campaigning.
More than the issue of the military’s presence in areas not within their so-called war zones, the legality of the move by the AFP presents a danger, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. pointed out the danger as far as legality of the move by the AFP hierarchy.
His counterpart in the House, Minority Leader Francis “Chiz” Escudero, denounced the AFP deployment saying: The threat against opposition candidates on the campaign trail, the presence of soldiers in places where they have no business to be, seen against the backdrop of the continuing extra-judicial executions, create an atmosphere of fear that makes a free, orderly, and fair election impossible.”
Escudero warned the administration against continuing the enforcement of such policy as it might compel the public to resort to violence if the people’s will is frustrated at the polls.
He reminded the administration over the public backlash experienced during the 2004 presidential election, which was a serious blow to country’s democracy when the people refused to accept the results.
“Another fraudulent election will again drive people to the streets, and this time they could very well succeed in their desire to oust the President. To an incensed people, impeachment would cease to be an option,” he said.
He said the mid-term elections had better be clean and honest. Otherwise, he added, the people will resort to extra-constitutional means.
“Do not make the elections a prologue to chaos and disorder that could very well run out of control,” he said, addressing the administration.
Pimentel, principal author of the Local Government Code, emphasized that under existing laws, it is only in the event that the civil agencies that maintain law and order are unable to do so that conceivably the military as military can now make its presence felt in the barangays.
“The barangay officials are the civilian arms of law and order in their barangays. They can assert that authority first by calling on their tanods to do so. If the tanods cannot do the job for one reason or another, the next civilian officials they can ask for help are the mayors of their cities and municipalities.
“The mayors can, then order the police, another civilian agency, to go out to the barangays concerned and maintain law and order there. If the mayors prove unavailable, the barangay officials can always call on the governor and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan concerned to help them out with their problem,” he explained.
He urged barangay captains and their barangay councils all over the country to now assert their right as civilian functionaries to maintain law and order in their barangays.
“They should do so before the nation becomes fully militarized under a President who is a captive of certain generals in the Armed Forces.
“Unless the local government officials are unable to maintain law and order, soldiers should stay in their barracks and wait until they are called upon to help. Or perhaps, they can do construction work,” he added,
Pimentel also said that their unwarranted intrusion into local government domain raises alarm bells that during this election period, they are sent to the barangays to intimidate people into voting for the administration candidates, or, worse, to condition the minds of the people that the law of the gun or martial law is inevitable and that there is nothing we can do about it.
Escudero also asked: What is the Comelec doing about it?,” pointing out that the various militant groups had already raised this issue long before the election period and yet nothing is being done about it either by the Comelec or Malacañang.
He also stressed that the AFP chief of Staff did not even bother to present any petition coming from the community or communities that demanded for the military presence to back his claim that the military acted on the request of the barangay leaders.
As early as the last two months of last year, partylist Gabriela has been sounding its alarm over the presence of military troops in many areas in Quezon City, and yet Malacañang and the AFP ignored this..
The Palace has admitted that it gave AFP the go signal to push through with the deployment of troops in some urban areas in the metropolis, claiming it is only the Palace and AFP’s will to protect civilians from the threat of insurgency and criminality.
But this was immediately dismissed by members of the partylist group Bayan Muna.
Reps. Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casino belied claims made by Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Esperon. Dolorfino and Col. Bartolome Bacarro that the deployment of the military was for the protection of the people.
“They were dishing out barefaced lies to cover up the government’s dirty war against progressive partylist groups,” they said in a press statement.
It was also untrue, according to the legislators that the deployed military personnel were unarmed.
Aside from that, these military personnel impose curfews, and even threaten leaders and supporters of the partylist group, according to Casiño.
“The deployment began in November last year. This is part and parcel of two AFP documents entitled ‘CPP-NPA-NDF Partylist Operations for 2004 Elections,’ a 51-slide powerpoint presentation, and ‘AFP Onward to Political Warfare Arena,’ authored by Lt. Col. Yogyog-NIWG1. This is an anti-party-list plan to ‘make it hard for progressive partylist groups to campaign and make it easy for AFP partylist allies to campaign,” Casiño further said.
To achieve these aims, these documents pushed for “focus denial operations” in 305 cities and towns tagged as CPP-NPA-NDF strongholds, the division of potential votes by promoting AFP-preferred partylists, and the actual use of AFP and PNP operations.
According to Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, in order to inform the public well and to avoid confusion, the AFP has to explain more thoroughly the issue of deployment of troops in the slum areas in the metropolis.
The Palace spokesman, however, became clueless and almost speechless when pressed if President Arroyo was aware of Esperon’s order or if proper consultation between the Palace and the AFP on the matter took place.
He appeared clueless and fell back on saying it will be the AFP that will do the explaining insread.
Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio defended the AFP saying that its only objective is to protect the communities from the threat of insurgency and criminality. With Gina Peralta-Elorde, Angie M. Rosales, Dona Policar and Marie A. Surbano.

Martial Law Declaration: LAWLESS VIOLENCE SCENARIO

President Elpido Quirino suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus to fight the Huks in 1951. The military intelligence arrested 26 persons for complicity with the Huks. Two biggest fish among the arrested newsmen: Jose Lan-sang, executive editor of Philippines Herald, and the Manila Times’s star police reporter, Mucario Vincencio, who has written several articles exposing graft.

I believe that the Arroyo regime is creating a LAWLESS VIOLENCE scenario in order to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and possible proclamation of martial law. The Arroyo regime declared all-out war with the Left. There’s a pattern in the assassination of Abra Rep. Luis Bersamin, the alleged assassination attempt of Pasig Representative Robert “Dodot” Jaworski Jr and assassination plot against Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles. It’s probably that Rep. Luis Bersamin is a sacrificial lamb to achieve its’ sinister plan.

Ilocos Sur warlord Rep. Floro Crisologo was assassinated on October 18, 1970 inside Vigan St. Paul’s Cathedral. Lawyer Floro Crisologo personally opposed Marcos’ martial law plan. The Plaza Miranda bombing on August 21, 1971 prompted then President Marcos to suspend the writ of habeas corpus hours after the blast at the proclamation rally of the opposition Liberal Party. Gloria Arroyo may declare martial law or suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus intended to eliminate all oppositions, to suppress dissent and civil liberties. First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo filed a series of libel suits against journalists and newspaper publishers.

Section 18, Article VII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that:
The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion. In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. Within forty-eight hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in person or in writing to the Congress. The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its Members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President. Upon the initiative of the President, the Congress may, in the same manner, extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by the Congress, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.
Proclamation 1081 and Martial Law
Marcos' Martial Law
‘Fake Slay Plot Vs Davao Solon Ushered in Martial Law’
Assassination Plots Set For Martial Law

General Esperon Orders Court-Martial For Coup Plotters

There’s no justice under corrupt and inept Gloria Arroyo regime. Why these military officers and men should respect their BOGUS-illigitimate commander-in-chief? The ghost of massive 2004 electoral fraud, corruption and favoritism are the root causes of military restiveness. Documentary and physical evidence have confirmed that Mrs. Gloria Arroyo and her cohorts cheated to win the 2004 presidential election. General Esperon and other high ranking officers allegedly conspired with election chief manipulator Virgilio Garcillano to ensure the victory of candidates Gloria Arroyo and Noli De Castro. I salute these principled men for their courage, sacrifice and loyalty to the Filipino people. The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State. Military intervention to protect the interests of the people is justified under the 1987 Philippine Constitution. AFP CS General Hermogenes Esperon and his FAKE commander-in- chief should be the ones behind the bars for stealing the true mandate of the Filipino people. Hang ‘em high!

Junking the Code of Honor

Malaya Editorial
11/21/2006
They can take anything Esperon can throw at them. But deceit is not one of them.’

AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon yesterday ordered that 30 Marine and Scout Ranger officers undergo court martial for allegedly seeking to overthrow the administration of Gloria Arroyo. Esperon’s decision, the AFP says, is expected to stop further plotting in the military to oust this administration.
The AFP’s wish is of a piece with Gloria Arroyo’s expectation that her "victory" in the presidential election in 2004 would put away questions over her administration’s legitimacy after grabbing power from Joseph Estrada.
Gloria’s "victory" was the result of her wholesale buying of local "trapos" and, when this could not assure her win, outright cheating at the polling booths and during the canvassing. When the fraud was exposed, Gloria had to resort to force and intimidation to quell the protest and outrage.
The same will result from the court martial of the officers, led by then Marines commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and Scout Rangers chief Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim. Esperon’s directive is characterized by deceit. Nothing reassuring will come out from the process.
It has now surfaced that the team from the Judge Advocate General’s Office which investigated Miranda, Lim et. al. found them innocent of mutiny charges. The panel’s finding was to indict them with the specific charge of disrespect to the commander-in-chief and the catch-all offense conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman.
Esperon, upon receipt of the investigation report, found the findings not to his liking. He returned the report to the JAGO panel. What else could the panel do but prepare a new report incorporating the wishes of the AFP chief?
And that’s where the deceit lies. Esperon could have simply trashed the first report, proclaimed he found the findings a lot of bull and formed a court martial to try the accused regardless of JAGO’s recommendation. That’s the honest way of doing it. After all, as AFP chief of staff, haling the officers before a court martial is his own call.
We recognize that the military justice system has nothing to do with the dispensation of justice. It is meant to be an instrument to maintain discipline and good order in the ranks. But deceit surely violates the code of honor in the officer corps.
Two of the accused coup plotters, Col. Ariel Querubin and Lt. Col. Custodio are the only two living Marine recipients of the Medal for Valor, the highest military award. Lim, a Gold Cross recipient, missed out on the Medal for Valor for repulsing Muslim secessionists during the Jolo siege in the early 1970s for the simple reason the latter award was instituted only in 1986.
They can take anything Esperon can throw at them. But deceit is not one of them.

Army Brig. General Danilo Lim: Withdrawal of Support
The Original JAGO Recommendation Was To Clear
Marine asks CA to stop court martial of ‘coup plotters’

Former R.A.M. Leader Col. Honasan Captured

Pro Gloria Arroyo newspapers are chanting “the other woman angle” that led to the capture of RAM leader Colonel Gregorio Honasan. The same propaganda line when Marine Captain Nick Faeldon was captured. The capture of Col. Honasan and the persecution of detained idealist officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will backfire on bogus President Gloria Arroyo. Military and police generals who participated in the massive election fraud in May 2004 national elections in favor of Gloria Arroyo were promoted. Former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief now DPWH secretary Ret. Gen. Hermogenes Ebdane is the alleged mastermind in switching fake certificates of canvass (CoC) ballot boxes in the House of Representatives' Batasan complex. Gloria Arroyo and Noli De Castro were proclaimed by the Congress based on tampered provincial election returns. Documentary evidence and witnesses/cheat operators testimonies have proven the Arroyo’s illegitimacy. The Department of Justice has no evidence to pin former Senator Gregorio Honasan as the financier of the failed Oakwood Mutiny last July 2003.



Malaya News BY RAYMOND AFRICA

FORMER Sen. Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, who had a P5 million bounty on his head, was captured before dawn yesterday after a brief chase in a subdivision in Quezon City.

The former Army colonel, who led coup attempts against the Aquino administration in the late 80s, is facing a coup d’état case for allegedly inciting junior military officers into staging the Oakwood mutiny in July 2003. A Makati court hearing the case issued an arrest warrant against Honasan and several others last March.

Honasan is also facing a rebellion case in connection with the alleged plot to overthrow the Arroyo government in February.

Honasan sustained injuries in his attempt to evade arrest, said PNP chief Oscar Calderon.

"The joint PNP CIDG-AFP team arrested him after a brief chase from one house to another, with him hopping over the fence. In the process, the ex-senator sustained a deep laceration on his right sole and a slight fracture on his left foot," Calderon said.

Honasan was initially treated at the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame and transferred later in the afternoon to the Asian Hospital in Alabang.

"He is seriously hurt. His left ankle has a large swelling and I think he will need an operation," said Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno after the decision to move Honasan to the Asian Hospital.

Puno said only immediate family members will be allowed to visit Honasan.

"It is not that we do not want visitors but he (Honasan) is a high security person," he said.

The military said Honasan’s arrest reduced threats to the Arroyo government. But it said it is not discounting the possibility that rightist groups would try to move against Arroyo as Honasan could still be enjoying a following among military men.

"This effort has caused a big deterrence or stumbling block on those who would like to destabilize government," said Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, Armed Forces public information office chief.

"We do not discount the possibility (of future destabilization moves) but, of course, with the apprehension of ex-Senator Honasan, we do believe that this will have an effect on groups (planning to destabilize government)," he said.

Asked if retired officers allied with Honasan can still mount destabilization moves, Bacarro said: "We are not underestimating their capability, so we are not discounting it."

He also said that if Honasan still has followers in the military, "it’s too small and most of his followers, we do believe, are aware what is really happening."

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Honasan’s arrest has broken the "backbone" of destabilization and brought to a close "a broad conspiracy to destabilize the government."

But he said there are no guarantees there would be no more coups, especially after the experience of the Aquino administration which faced down seven coup attempts.

Honasan is the founding chairman of the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa that staged the failed coups.

Ermita said the Palace is hoping that each time a coup or a rebellion is thwarted, "nothing more would follow."

"Imagine seven coups. Hopefully it would not happen again," he said.

The Arroyo administration has survived two attempts – the Oakwood mutiny staged by the Magdalo group of soldiers allegedly recruited by Honasan and the one in February which Arroyo said was a conspiracy hatched by some members of the opposition, "military adventurists," and the Left.

HONASAN’S ‘ESCAPE’ TRY

The 58-year-old Honasan was traced by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the PNP and the Intelligence Service of the AFP in one of the units at Enclave townhouse in Green Meadows subdivision in Barangay Ugong, Quezon City, Calderon said.

He was caught around 2:20 a.m. No firearm or document was taken from him.

Former Sen. Tito Sotto, after a meeting with Honasan, said the latter gave the following account:

Honasan got a tip that police and military operatives had been dispatched to arrest him in his house in Marikina City.

Honasan tried to give the arresting team the slip but it caught up with him near Green Meadows.

Honasan jumped out of his car, and climbed over the wall of the subdivision. He hurt himself while about to climb over a wall near the Christ the King church.

"He was in his car and was still trying to find a place where he could hide when the chase started," said Sotto.

Sotto he has been in close contact with Honasan since the warrant was issued against him.

Honasan’s driver/security escort identified as Jaime Baladad was also arrested.

A case of obstruction of justice will be filed against Baladad, Calderon said.

The townhouse unit where Honasan was spotted is reportedly owned by one Ingrid Ramos.

"I will let the CIDG investigate the possible liability of Ms. Ramos at bakit doon sa bahay niya nakita si former Senator Honasan," Calderon said.

He gave the assurance Honasan would not be able to escape if detained in Camp Crame.

Honasan was arrested in 1987 after the failure of his first coup attempt in August. He escaped from a Navy ship where he was detained.

"Hindi siya makakatakas dito… May gentleman’s agreement kami nung magka-usap kami kanina na we will help him basta he will help himself," Calderon said.

Puno, who visited Honasan at the PNP General Hospital, said they have yet to determine where Honasan will be detained.

He also said: "I think Senator Honasan is relieved in a way. His many months of hiding from the authorities have come to an end. He is looking forward to seeing his grandchildren."

SURRENDER APPEALS

Calderon said operations are continuing against Honasan’s co-accused, including former Navy Capt. Felix Turingan, (with a P1 million bounty), George Duldulao (P250,000), and Lina Reyes (also P250,000).

His other co-accused – retired Colonels Virgilio Briones and Romeo Lazo who both carried a P500,000 reward on their heads– were captured in Quezon City June this year. Ernesto Macahiya, spokesman of the military-based Philippine Guardians Brotherhood Inc. founded by Honasan, was arrested April this year in Los Baños, Laguna. He is out on bail.

Calderon said they are checking on people who might have coddled Honasan. Cases could not be filed yet as there is no hard evidence against them, he said.

Puno said he is trying to convince Honasan to talk to his co-accused so they can also yield.

"The other persons with warrants of arrest, if he can communicate with them, they can perhaps, surrender themselves to the PNP. They will be fairly treated. This is the normal procedure of the justice system," Puno said.

Calderon brushed aside speculations that Honasan’s arrest was timed with the approach of the May elections amid reports that surveys show Honasan is among the top choices for senator.

"This about law enforcement, arresting a fugitive with a standing warrant of arrest," he said.

President Arroyo commended the CIDG and Isafp operatives.

POLITICAL STABILITY

Ermita said government is hoping Honasan’s arrest would signal the return to political stability.

Ermita said the arrest is one of a series of good news. The others are the capture of an Abu Sayyaf leader Monday in Cotabato City and the extradition of former presidential consultant Charlie "Atong" Ang.

"So you see, justice will have its way. The rule of law being followed and people who figured prominently in Philippine politics and in some of the more celebrated offenses in the Philippines have been accounted for and that I think is what we mean by good news," he said.

He said the only bad news for the administration is that Honasan’s arrest might boost his chances if he runs for the Senate next year.

"Sasabihin ng iba lalong naging bida ang taong tulad niya dahil nakulong siya, tataas ang kanyang antas. Only the people can answer that when election comes," he said.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the Palace is hoping the arrest would be the "harbinger of growing political stability underlying steady economic growth."

"No one can make a mockery of the law by playing hide and seek with our law enforcement agencies, and get away with it…Let the evidence be presented against him and let the courts decide his fate," Bunye also said. – With Victor Reyes and Jocelyn Montemayor 11/15/2006


General Ebdane Identified As chief Cheating Operator
Col. Honasan: Rebel in Continuous Suspicion
Col. Honasan: Anti-Marcos Poster Boy Turned Coup Leader
Military court to try 30 officers for mutiny
JAGO Unsigned Report

Civilian Volunteer Organizations (CVOs) Against the New People's Army (NPA)

Is the Arroyo government really winning in the all-out war against the communists?

AFP recruits 9,000 militias to end insurgency
PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines
EO 465 to form Arroyo's fascist armed vigilantes -- CPP
October 14, 2006
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today urged the Filipino people to oppose the Arroyo government's Executive Order No. 465 to form a new Civilian Volunteer Organizations (CVOs) that will be used as Gloria Arroyo's fascist armed vigilantes. The CPP anticipates the intensification of human rights abuses as these CVOs will be used to suppress legitimate opposition to the ruling regime.
A brainchild of Interior and Local Goverments Secretary Ronaldo Puno, EO 465 was signed recently by Gloria Arroyo for the mobilization, training and arming of CVOs as local armed auxiliary units working under the supervision and command of the Philippine National Police (PNP) "to counter terrorist threats." The CVOs will be in addition to the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGUs) under the supervision and command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said Malacañang's formation of a new armed CVO "has the actual objective of building Gloria Arroyo's fascist armed vigilantes at the 'grassroots' livel to support its military, police and other state apparatuses. It aims to terrorize and lord over barangays and local governments, consolidate and perpetuate its hold on power and fight people's revolutionary and democratic resistance and other legitimate opposition to her regime."
"Arroyo's CVOs will only add to the fascist atrocities of the AFP's CAFGUs, death squads and other fascist paramilitary forces and will raise human rights violations to unprecendented levels of intensity," Rosal said.
Rosal said that Puno's planned nationwide barangay and town-based CVO setup is no different from Marcos' notorious Barrio Self-Defense Units (BSDUs) and Civilian Home Defense Forces (CHDFs); Fidel Ramos' CVOs, CAFGUs and other armed anti-communist and anti-Muslim "vigilante" groups initiated since the Aquino regime; and the Davao and Cebu-based "death squads" which have heartened Gloria Arroyo. "Like these notorious vigilante groups, Arroyo's CVOs will be used as instruments of violent suppression in the vain effort to perpetuate itself in power."
Rosal recalled that it was also Puno who originally conceived and initiated the Barangay Tanod under Marcos' martial law dictatorship. "Inspired by Hitler's Brown Shirts Stormtroopers, he planned to transform the barangay tanods into a loose local fascist force." Rosal said that Puno had already set up a number of secret training schools to train local goons to put up a barangay-based Marcos army, but this was frustrated by the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship.
shocking effect at first, but it will not take long before their political and military weaknesses begin to show and disintegrate them.
"These CVOs are viable targets of political work or military operations by the New People's Army. The more arms the government supply to these auxillary groups of theirs, the more arms will eventually be available to the NPA either in the course of battle or in the course of neutralizing or winning them over to the side of the revolution."

Reference:
Marco Valbuena
Media Officer
Cellphone Numbers: 09179776392 :: 09282242061
E-mail:cppmedia@gmail.com

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