Destabilization: 2 groups eyed

MANILA, Philippines - Two groups are being eyed by the military in the alleged new destabilization attempts against the government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said yesterday.

“We already have the suspects,” AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner declared.

Brawner said the groups have been traced and linked to the bombing at the Office of the Ombudsman and the attempted bombing of the Department of Agriculture last Sunday in Quezon City.

A third attempt was made at a high-rise condominium, also in Quezon City, last Monday.

Brawner said the AFP would gather more evidence against the groups and unmask the people behind the latest destabilization plot.

“We have to have hard proof before making our move to arrest them. For now, we are closely monitoring their activities,” Brawner said.

The group’s main objective, according to Brawner, is to create an atmosphere of chaos in Metro Manila by planting bombs and by spreading false information on the supposed rift between the military and the police.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales also said authorities have identified some of the actual perpetrators behind the bombings.

“This is a small group that also was involved in some terrorist activities in the past,” Gonzales said.

The military said the bomb recovered at the DA revealed it had a C-4 component, a highly dangerous and potentially fatal explosive that is often used by the military.

“The use of C-4 was intentionally done to link the military, as the explosive is a military spec,” Brawner pointed out.

“But the bomb itself, as per our experts, was assembled by amateurs,” Brawner said.

He stressed C-4 can also be purchased by civilians in the black market.

Brawner added the suspects behind the bombings are all civilians with no active or retired military personnel involved.

Brawner stressed if there are plots to destabilize the government it is not coming from within the military.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said the police are still analyzing the pattern and style of the bomb attacks to determine the group behind the attempts.

He said the PNP is tasked to check out reports revealing the supposed plans of the group behind the destabilization attempt.

Verzosa maintained there was no truth to reports that there were groups out to destabilize the government.

“We are being asked to monitor ‘August Moon,’ ‘October rain,’ ‘November fall’ and ‘December snow,’ as if we are Pagasa,” Verzosa said, referring to the state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

“Kidding aside, we have no reports about any destabilization,” he told reporters.

 ‘Coached’

On the other hand, Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) chief Maj. Gen. Romeo Prestoza said there are “desperate attempts” by some sectors to divide and weaken the military as part of moves to destabilize the Arroyo administration.

Prestoza noted the claims made by former ISAFP agent Vidal Doble in saying that the military was behind last Sunday’s bombing attacks.

Doble, a former Air Force sergeant, said he used to participate in bombings in the past as part of the agenda of previous administrations.

Prestoza, however, denied ISAFP was involved in any bombings.

He said Doble was obviously “coached” by an opposition politician to make him appear knowledgeable about politics and national issues.

Prestoza declined to name the opposition politician but described the personality as having “no other preoccupation but to sow chaos and having no other ambition than to be president without going through elections.”

“Whatever they do, they won’t be able to shake up the ISAFP, which is manned by professional and patriotic officers and men and women loyal to the country and the Constitution,” Prestoza said.

Prestoza said he was forced to deny the claims made by Doble and reports linking him to a group of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) graduates allegedly involved in an operation to prolong President Arroyo’s stay in power.

“I’ve been keeping a low-profile because I want to concentrate on my work but I have to expose these lies,” he said.

Brawner also dismissed the claims made by Doble, saying they were “doubtful.”

“We now consider him as an outsider and he may have other motives in saying that,” he said.

Doble had worked as an agent of the ISAFP when he became involved in the controversial “Hello, Garci” wiretap scandal.

He had claimed personally recording the supposed telephone conversations between former elections official Virgilio Garcillano and President Arroyo during the 2004 elections.

Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez, for his part, described Doble as “a mere telephone technician” of the ISAFP.

Golez, who testified in the Senate two years ago on the wiretapping operations that spawned the “Hello Garci” scandal, said Doble’s claims are all doubtful.

“I doubt if we should take him seriously,” Golez told a news briefing.

“With that job description, I find it clumsy that he has vast knowledge about these things with his salary grade at that time,” he said.

Golez stressed Doble’s stint at the ISAFP does not have sufficient security clearance for him to have access to all sensitive information.

“I very much doubt he had access to much information,” he said.

 ‘Stupid’

Security and intelligence officials earlier claimed the bombings were part of a destabilization attempt against the Arroyo administration.

Officials said some opposition leaders are using rightist military elements to overthrow the government.

The opposition, on the other hand, accused the administration of creating the scenario of another destabilization plot to justify forceful measures against critics.

Lawmakers led by Sen. Francis Pangilinan urged Malacañang to unmask the principal players in the new destabilization plot.

Pangilinan also urged Malacañang to stop blaming the opposition for the latest power grab attempt.

“The opposition has nothing to gain by destabilizing the government, not when a national election is about to take place. Who has got more to gain by creating the atmosphere of chaos and instability?” Pangilinan said.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, for his part, said the spate of bombings does not justify the imposition of martial law.

He said President Arroyo would be “stupid” if she decides to declare martial law just to perpetuate herself in power.

Enrile, who was defense minister of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, said the late president spent three years analyzing the situation before declaring martial law in 1972.

“It’s not that easy to declare martial law. There are so many factors to consider. If somebody would propose such a move to the president, I think she is not stupid to give in to it. If she would I’ll tell her: ‘You are stupid’ because it’s not that easy to declare martial law,” Enrile said.

A former reformist Navy officer also claimed Mrs. Arroyo will try all avenues available to her, including the imposition of martial law, to stay in power beyond 2010.

“Now the so-called bomb plots and bombing incidents that would make it appear that the nation is in chaos. Marcos’ boys created similar incidents before the declaration of martial law,” said retired Commodore Rex Robles, a ranking member of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) that started the mutiny against Marcos in 1986.

Robles said Mrs. Arroyo is now on a “how will I survive (beyond 2010) mode.”

The former Navy officer warned the President and her advisers that “they are in for a surprise” if Mrs. Arroyo imposes martial law.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Edno Joson added the alleged bombing plots and the bungling of the election automation program could be part of scenarios leading to no-elections in 2010 and martial law.

“We should be vigilant against these scenarios. The end game is that they want to survive beyond June next year at any cost,” Joson said. –With Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Jess Diaz, Mike Frialde, Reinir Padua