The Last Mon Standing

FROM THE YAHOO NEWS

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency Friday, saying she had quashed a coup plot but that the Philippines still faced a "clear threat" from treasonous forces.

Clashes erupted as riot police used water cannons to disperse about 5,000 protesters defying a ban on rallying at a shrine to the 1986 revolt that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Police then used truncheons and shields to roust a stone-throwing group trying to gather for a second protest. Several people were arrested; others were left bloodied.

Amid a massive security clampdown, the military barricaded its camps to keep troops from joining the demonstrations and detained an army general allegedly involved in the takeover plot. The military has played major roles in two popular uprisings and has a recent history of restiveness.

While she vowed she was in control, Arroyo clearly was worried about events getting out of control as her opponents tried to hijack events surrounding the 20th anniversary of the revolt against Marcos.

The commemorations were canceled, presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye told a news conference, adding that the military has been ordered "to prevent and suppress lawless violence."

Many Filipinos see the four-day "people power" revolt on Feb. 25, 1986, as their country’s proudest moment.

Arroyo, who survived two earlier coup attempts, said her action was the result of ongoing efforts by the political opposition, along with both the extreme left and the extreme right, to bring down the elected government.

"I am declaring a state of emergency because of the clear threat to the nation," a defiant Arroyo said in a taped, nationally televised statement.

"This is my warning against those who threaten the government: the whole weight of the law will fall on your treason."

Appealing for calm, she claimed the military had quashed a coup plot by some military officers and their men. The military has played strong roles in the two "people power" revolts and has a recent history of restiveness.

"There were a few who tried to break from the armed forces chain of command, to fight the civilian government and establish a regime outside the constitution," Arroyo said. "We crushed this attempt."

She stopped short of declaring martial law, a sensitive issue as Marcosused it to rule by decree.

Her chief of staff said the declaration will not include a curfew but bans rallies, allows arrest without a warrant, permits the president to call in the military to intervene and lets her take over facilities — including media outlets — that may affect national security

MY COMMENT

are we really in to this again?

cmon… the philippine peso-dollar exchange rate last tuesday was 51.49 that was waaay better  than last year…

what i really mean is…

i am so against the coup attempt…

if we filipinos keep on doing this… the prosperity that we are all looking for would be just a figment of our imagination…

cant we just stop talking and start working together?

a new people power cannot do us any good… do you think the opposition willl let our vice president , noli de castro, to be the new president…? no… what is happening right now is pure politics… the essence of EDSA revolution is not in this one…

let us pray for our country..

GOD BLESS US!!!