Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo lifted a week-old state of emergency yesterday, after her security advisers assured her that the threat of a coup had eased.
"I am happy to report that we have dismantled the sabotage efforts," Arroyo said in a nationally televised address. "I strongly believe that law and order has returned."
Arroyo declared the emergency on Feb. 24 to quash a coup plot allegedly involving disgruntled soldiers, communist rebels and civilian backers. On Thursday, the defense, justice and police chiefs said they would recommend lifting the decree because the situation was normalizing.
"It is important for our political opponents and the opportunists to stop this nuisance to our economy and embarrassment to the Philippines caused by these useless charades," Arroyo said.
"I will never tolerate this kind of adventurism. No matter how many times, I will act with steadfastness and determination each time our enemies undermine our nation and the economy," she said.
Former president Fidel Ra-mos, whose support was critical when Arroyo survived a political crisis several months ago, said lifting the decree "would pre-empt further, more serious action on the part of the restive military and police components."
But he warned the situation in the country has not stabilized and the threat against Arroyo's government still remains.
Opposition and civil activists have warned that political freedoms were being eroded under the state of the emergency.
Authorities have filed criminal charges against at least 51 opposition members, military personnel and others for trying to overthrow the president. They include five left-wing lawmakers who sought refuge at the House of Representatives and refused to be interviewed by police.
"Many subversives and some police and soldiers have been arrested," Arroyo said. "Our justice system will deal with them."
Civil libertarians, lawyers, businessmen and media groups have expressed concerns over a string of warrantless arrests, a ban on rallies and a raid on a critical newspaper.
Left-wing Representative Teodoro Casino, one of six lawmakers charged with rebellion, called the end of Arroyo's decree a "cosmetic" move amid all the flak generated by her emergency proclamation. He and four of the other legislators have been holed up in the House of Representatives building to avoid arrest.
"So what? We still cannot go out of Congress, we still have a lousy president and the military and police are still after `the enemies of the state,'" he said.
"She lifted it to escape the snowballing protest against the proclamation. It's cosmetic, but in a way it's a victory, because she was forced to lift it," he said.
US embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop welcomed the end of the state of emergency, saying: "We look forward to continuing to deepen our cooperation on important issues we both face like counterterrorism, regional cooperation, defense reform, economic development and so on."
Arroyo said she had been forced to declare the emergency because "there was a clear and present danger to the republic."
PHISHING: The con might appear convincing, as the scam e-mails can coincide with genuine messages from Apple saying you have run out of storage For a while you have been getting messages from Apple saying “your iCloud storage is full.” They say you have exceeded your storage plan, so documents are no longer being backed up, and photos you take are not being uploaded. You have been resisting Apple’s efforts to get you to pay a minimum of ￡0.99 (US$1.33) a month for more storage, but it seems that you cannot keep putting off the inevitable: You have received an e-mail which says your iCloud account has been blocked, and your photos and videos would be deleted very soon. To keep them you need
The Israeli military has demolished entire villages as part of its invasion of south Lebanon, rigging homes with explosives and razing them to the ground in massive remote detonations. The Guardian reviewed three videos posted by the Israeli military and on social media, which showed Israel carrying out mass detonations in the villages of Taybeh, Naqoura and Deir Seryan along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese media has reported more mass detonations in other border villages, but satellite imagery was not readily available to verify these claims. The demolitions came after Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz called for the destruction of
A US YouTuber who caused outrage for filming himself kissing a statue commemorating Korean wartime sex slaves has been sentenced to six months in prison, a court in Seoul said yesterday. Johnny Somali, 25, gained notoriety several years ago for recording himself doing a series of provocative stunts in South Korea and Japan, and streaming them on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. South Korean authorities indicted Somali — whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael — in 2024 on public order violations and obstruction of business, and banned him from leaving the country. “The court has sentenced him to six months in
The death toll from a shooting in western Afghanistan rose to 11 on Saturday, after gunmen targeted civilians at a picnic spot in Herat, the provincial authority said. Bullet marks were visible on a wall of the Sayed Mohammad Agha Shia shrine, while bloodstains marked a blanket abandoned at the scene. “Eleven people have been recorded dead and eight others wounded from Friday’s incident, with the condition of two of the wounded reported as critical,” Herat’s information office said in a statement. The update raises a toll of seven killed provided on Friday by the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs
RSS