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Arroyo warns that threats still remain

President Gloria Arroyo yesterday said that threats to her presidency remained despite a massive crackdown on leftist legislators and military officers accused of a failed plot to topple her government.

In a statement, Arroyo warned her opponents that she would "sternly enforce the rule of law in the streets" despite having lifted a state of national emergency she declared on Feb. 24 to quell the alleged plot.

"I am directing the police and the military to expose all residual and anticipated threats of destabilization even as we push the normalization process," Arroyo said.

"We are fully aware that some groups have not ceased in their attempts to undermine our democratic way of life," she said.

The government however had the resources to counter any further attempts, Arroyo said, stressing a "solid military and police chain of command."

"We are one step ahead of the enemies of the state," she said.

Arroyo on Feb. 24 invoked emergency powers to thwart what she claimed was an alliance between communists and "military adventurists" aimed at toppling her. She banned street protests, enforced tighter rules on the press and ordered the arrests of officers and legislators allegedly involved in the plot.

Today, state prosecutors are to formally launch an investigation into five leftist legislators implicated in the plot.

The investigation will determine whether they should be indicted on charges of coup d'etat and rebellion, senior state prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco said yesterday.

The five -- Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza, Joel Virador, Teodoro Casino and Rafael Mariano -- were among 16 opposition figures whom the police have recommended should be charged by the justice department.

The five have sought sanctuary in their offices at the House of Representatives and accused Arroyo of employing tactics similar to those of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. A sixth congressman, Crispin Beltran, was earlier arrested.

The legislators have openly called on Arroyo to quit and have been at the forefront of anti-government street protests. If charged and convicted, they could be jailed for up to 20 years.

Arroyo's political luster has dimmed since she survived an impeachment vote in Congress last year over charges she rigged the May 2004 election.

"The holding of the PI [preliminary investigation] at Congress is out of respect for our lawmakers," said Emmanuel Velasco, who heads a special anti-rebellion task force at the justice department.

Prosecutors are also slated to present today a "star witness" who has intimate knowledge of the five's alleged involvement, Velasco said without elaborating.

"There is obviously an alliance [between communist rebels and military men]," said Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales, adding that documents seized from the rebels would prove this.

Apart from the leftists, the military has detained 25 soldiers including eight officers mostly from the elite Army Scout Ranger unit.

The group is being investigated for alleged links to the plot, while their commander, Brigadier General Danilo Lim, was removed on the day Arroyo assumed emergency powers. Two Marine officials and the head of a police commando unit were also sacked.
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