DND chief in junta plan?

[explorer]

from: www.inquirer.net

[SIZE="3"]Saycon tags DND chief in junta plan[/SIZE]

By Arlyn dela Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:42:00 04/18/2010

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines—Is Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales preparing the military for the possible failure of election of a president on May 10 and the takeover of a junta?

This is the question raised by Pastor “Boy” Saycon of the Council for Philippine Affairs (Copa) based on what he describes as an “A-1 report” from field officers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines following quarterly battalion assessments by Gonzales.
“Since when has it been the official function of the DND secretary to conduct battalion assessment with battalion commanders in the AFP? Is he now functioning also as the chief of staff of the AFP? Does Gen. Delfin Bangit know anything about this?” Saycon asked in a recent interview with the Inquirer.

In the latest such assessment in Cagayan de Oro City, Saycon said he was told by his military sources that Gonzales had ordered battalion commanders to be on heightened alert for a possible failure of election for the presidency.

Contacted by phone, Gonzales confirmed the Cagayan de Oro meeting. He said that it was followed by another in Cebu and that in the coming days there would be similar gatherings in camps in Central Luzon.

“It’s an ordinary meeting as far as I am concerned. Let me clarify though that I am the one invited to these gatherings of battalion commanders,” he said.

Copa is one of the supporters of Sen. Benigno Aquino III, the Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate.
What’s cooking?

Saycon said that based on the LP’s assessment, nothing extraordinary was expected to happen that would result in the failure of election.

He said that President Macapagal-Arroyo would not have decided to run for a congressional seat in Pampanga if she expected a scenario in which the credibility of the country’s first nationwide automated elections would be undermined.

“Are they cooking something? Why is Gonzales telling the AFP’s battalion commanders to prepare for a failed proclamation? What will happen in the proclamation? Why will it fail? Are they setting the stage for what? What post-election scenario are they hatching?” Saycon added.

Asked about Saycon’s questions, Gonzales, with a chuckle, said, “The problem with Boy Saycon is that he has a very fertile imagination.”

But did he really discuss with battalion commanders a no-election scenario?

Gonzales explained that in his meetings with battalion commanders, a lot of issues were tackled and the election was just one of them.

“What happens is a free flow of exchange of ideas, no more, no less,” he stressed.

Reaction to Aquino threat

However, another source outlined to this reporter a post-election scenario that had something to do with failure of proclamation, the one Saycon said Gonzales had discussed with battalion commanders.

The source, a high ranking official like Gonzales, said that that scenario only cropped up as a reaction to an earlier statement supposedly made by Aquino that he would call on the people to rally behind him if he were cheated.

“There’s already a presumption on their part that they are going to win and that any other result other than victory is unacceptable. What if he loses and somebody else wins? Is that basis for saying he’s cheated? Is that basis for him to call for support? For another people power?” the source said.

‘Gentle’ coup?

In this scenario, the military will mount a “coup to save the country and the Constitution, peaceful and bloodless, one for democracy,” the source said. This possibility is being discussed in various circles.

The coup, according to the source, will be the “gentle” kind and should not be feared.

Involved in the discussion of this option were military officers with unquestionable records, the source said, including a general regarded as a “hero” who had been involved in previous coups against the late President Corazon Aquino and the war against terrorism.

“We are certain that when this officer in the AFP speaks his mind about this and one of those who will represent the face of the junta, no one will doubt that it’s for the country and the Constitution,” the source said.

The source said the junta would not keep Ms Arroyo beyond her term ending in June and that this was the reason why active officers expressed “openness and even readiness” in the undertaking.

Coup to benefit Arroyo

“The readiness of some sectors in the military to act in a post-election scenario is not to extend the stay of the sitting president but rather to ensure a transition period that would create the least impact or damage to the country’s economic stability,” the source said.

But Saycon said any plot by anyone in the circle of President Arroyo would benefit her tremendously.

“Why will Gloria run in a failed election? You know what? We believe that the endgame here, whatever it is they’re hatching, is for Gloria to be proclaimed prime minister under a parliamentary form of government.”

[Gen. Miting]

ever since, edsa II that saycon guy has always been paranoid of the military.