One of Philippine President Gloria Arroyo's senior aides said yesterday he will meet with fallen president Joseph Estrada to discuss a possible pardon following his corruption conviction.
Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said he was due to meet Estrada next week.
"We are trying to find a way to help President Erap [Estrada] out of his predicament. That is what we are focusing on," he said.
"I'm seeing the beginnings of an agreement. Erap is saying he will accept a pardon and the president already said that she is willing to extend a pardon if asked," he told reporters.
"I think the situation is ripe for a solution on this matter. I'm hoping that we can do it before Christmas," he said.
Estrada lawyer Rufus Rodriguez said in a television interview if the pardon was "absolute, unconditional with no admission of guilt, then he will accept the pardon."
The 70-year-old former president, popularly known as "Erap," was sentenced to life in prison last week by a special anti-graft court for receiving millions of dollars in bribes and from insider trading during his 30 months in office.
Estrada, a former movie star, was ousted in a popular uprising spawned by his corruption scandals. Arroyo, his vice president was installed in his stead.
He remains popular with the poor and is still de facto leader of the political opposition which has sought to unseat and embarrass Arroyo.
Puno denied a pardon was intended to halt opposition attacks on Arroyo.
"The palace is used to criticism and attacks on policy," he said.
A group of lawyers who helped prepare the corruption case against Estrada issued a statement opposing a pardon, saying it would amount to political accommodation.
Meanwhile, the Philippine military has suspended or reassigned at least six junior officers sus-pected of recruiting soldiers for a coup attempt against the government, the armed forces chief said yesterday.
The announcement by General Hermogenes Esperon came a day after he said the military uncovered new attempts by some soldiers and officers to prepare for a possible coup.
"We have done some moves short of arresting them, like reassigning them or putting them on hold, and continuing surveillance on them," he told reporters, without offering details.
The Philippine military has been rocked by at least two coup attempts recently. Junior officers demanded President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's resignation in a daylong uprising in July 2003, and last year, the president declared a weeklong state of emergency to pre-empt another alleged plot by restive soldiers to seize power.
Esperon said the latest plot was discovered after some of those targeted for recruitment reported to their superiors about the attempts.
"Our soldiers know their real motive so it will really be hard for these destabilizers to recruit from us," Esperon said.
The military also was looking at the possible involvement of politicians who may capitalize on a scandal linking government officials and President Arroyo's husband to an allegedly overpriced broadband contract with a Chinese company, he said.
Esperon said no movement has been detected among military units, leading officials to believe the recruitment efforts have been unsuccessful.
He said officers detained over last year's plot may have friends among soldiers, "but whether these friendships translate into them being able to order them to join destabilization is altogether a different matter."
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