Armored vehicle stalls on way to Metro

One of the eight tanks sent to reinforce troops in Metro Manila for President Arroyo’s oath-taking tomorrow stalled thrice at the Luzon Expressway yesterday after its engine overheated.

Seeing the convoy of tanks parked on the road shoulder, motorists thought that they were part of a battalion of rebel soldiers headed toward Metro Manila to launch a coup.

Text messages started going around that a coup was in progress, and that 100 tanks were already rolling toward Metro Manila to seize the government.

Worried about the delay, military headquarters sent another batch of troops to look for the tanks and escort them to the Armed Forces headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

The stalled tank delayed by an hour the convoy’s scheduled arrival at 1 p.m.

The tank first developed engine trouble in San Simon, Pampanga after its engine overheated and it suddenly stopped in the middle of the highway.

As the tank rumbled again toward Metro Manila, it experienced another mechanical problem and its engine conked out in Pulilan, Bulacan.

As the military convoy was nearing Metro Manila, the tank’s engine broke down for the third and last time at next town, Bocaue.

Brig. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang, commander of the Light Armored Brigade based in Capas, Tarlac, said the eight tanks were escorted by a machine gun-mounted Humvee and 80 troops on a military truck.

Maclang saw off the military convoy at 10 a.m. yesterday.

Armed Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero said the seven other tanks were in perfect running condition and had not experienced engine trouble on the way to Camp Aguinaldo.

At present, the Armed Forces has about 127 tanks.