Honasan raps unrelated to 2004 polls

The rebellion charges against fugitive Sen. Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan were not meant to derail his bid for the presidency next year, a Malacañang official said yesterday.

"I don’t think there is any intention on the part of our President to go after Honasan because of the elections," Press Secretary Milton Alingod said in a radio interview.

Honasan is being hunted down for his alleged involvement in the failed July 27 mutiny, Alingod said.

Honasan plans to run for president in elections next May, he told The STAR in an exclusive interview last week.

Honasan, who has not appeared in public since security officials linked him to the July 27 mutiny, has denied any link to the uprising.

"I categorically deny that," Honasan said. "I cannot imagine myself participating in the formulation of a plot, no matter how well-crafted, precisely for the use of force in overthrowing the government."

Honasan went into hiding after authorities linked him to the mutiny. He had earlier said he would surface once the President lifts the state of rebellion she declared on July 27. But he has stayed in hiding even after the declaration was lifted last week.

Mrs. Arroyo and some lawmakers have urged Honasan to come out and prove his innocence but he said he would not surface as long as the government refuses to "downgrade" the charges of coup d’etat, a non-bailable offense, filed against him by Interior Secretary Jose Lina Jr.

Prosecutors have given Honasan until today to answer coup charges against him in connection with the mutiny.

Honasan, 55, was linked to three failed coup attempts in the late 1980s against Corazon Aquino but received an amnesty. He was elected senator in 1995 after leaving the military and still wields influence among young army officers.

Honasan was quoted by The STAR as saying that he will use a program calling for reforms that he had drafted "should I decide to push through with my plan to cast my hat into the ring under the banner of the united opposition, either as a presidential or vice presidential candidate."

Honasan’s proposed reform program — dubbed the "National Recovery Program" — outlined steps to get the country’s poverty-stricken economy back on its feet.