The threat of a coup against Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has subsided but troops will remain on alert over fears that a retired general could try to overthrow the government, officials said yesterday.
Security forces were on standby on the weekend fearing that any plotters would try to use May Day celebrations to mount a coup attempt, but protests and marches by trade unionists and leftists passed off relatively peacefully.
The military and police however would remain on a heightened state of alert and guard vital government installations in Manila, officials said.
Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes said anti-Arroyo forces led by retired general Fortunato Abat had failed to muster enough support during the May Day celebrations.
Abat on the weekend called for Arroyo's ouster and the installation of what he called a transition revolutionary government.
Peaceful protests on Sunday had proved that Arroyo remained "firmly in the saddle" and that the public would not support military adventurism.
"What we have seen is that the people will not take the bait of any wild proposals by some people," Reyes told a news conference.
Arroyo refused to make a direct comment on Abat, but she thanked security forces and said that it was now time to move on.
She said Sunday was a "day of responsible militancy," noting that police and military maintained a "fine balance between the firm application of the rule of law and the observance of maximum tolerance."
Reyes said Abat and his supporters failed to "assemble people who would believe in them" on Sunday, when military and police troops faced off with thousands of May Day protesters around Manila but kept the rallies peaceful.
Metropolitan Manila police chief Avelino Razon meanwhile said police fores would remain on alert and would "continue to provide necessary security measures" for vital installations, including the presidential palace.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales said he had received intelligence reports that men close to former president Fidel Ramos, including Abat, were plotting to sow trouble during the May Day celebrations.
Ramos subsequently distanced himself from the alleged plot, calling on the entire country to unite behind Arroyo.
Government lawyers were gathering evidence for possible filing of charges against Abat, a former military chief who had also served as a defense secretary, officials said.
"Several of his statements were clearly seditious. There is a thin line of difference between a seditious statement and a freedom of speech or to assemble peacefully," Gonzales said.
Abat had accused Arroyo of not doing enough to improve the country since she was swept into power by a military-backed popular revolt in 2001.
The government said he was earlier upset about his retirement benefits.
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