Police filed charges of rebellion yesterday against 16 people suspected of plotting to overthrow President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, as dozens of protesters tried to storm the legislature, officials said.
Among those charged were former opposition senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, a veteran of past coup attempts in the 1990s, five members of the House of Representatives, a communist rebel leader and some soldiers.
They "conspired to overthrow the Arroyo government," prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco said.
Rebellion is a non-bailable capital offense punishable by at least 40 years in jail.
Last Friday Arroyo declared a state of emergency to quash an alleged coup plot by the political opposition, elements within the military and left- and right-wing civilian groups, officials said.
Police yesterday arrested left-wing Representative Joel Virador and Dennis Maga, a spokesman for a group calling for Arroyo's resignation.
Several other Arroyo opponents have been detained since Friday's declaration, but at least four have been released, including two retired police generals.
About 100 left-wing protest-ers, yelling anti-government slogans, barged into the House of Representatives yesterday to denounce the decree and the arrest of a leftist lawmaker, but were pushed back by police, officials said.
Shouting "No to martial law!" and displaying anti-Arroyo placards, the rowdy protesters ran past guards and entered the House lobby, but other guards quickly shut the main door to the plenary hall, where lawmakers had just gone into recess after opening their session.
Arroyo said yesterday that her government would work to avoid economic fallout from recent political turmoil, a day after disgruntled marine officers ended a standoff that was viewed as a challenge to her leadership.
Schools across the Philippine capital were closed in an apparent bid to prevent students from protesting against Arroyo.
Two groups of lawyers and other citizens petitioned the Supreme Court to lift the emergency decree, saying it was unconstitutional.
The court's spokesman, Ishmael Khan, said the court could take up the matter as early as today.
The decree bans rallies, allows arrests without warrants, permits the president to call in the military to intervene and lets her take over facilities -- including media outlets -- that may affect national security.
Anti-Arroyo groups have vowed to defy the ban on protests.
In a television appearance, Arroyo said previous attempts to unseat the government since 1989 had undermined economic growth in what she described as a "steep price for political mischief."
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