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Raissa Robles

Dismissing a bid to impeach President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may have escalated moves to oust her to dangerous levels, two of her allies warned yesterday. They said  members of the military, particularly junior officers, were concerned by the speed with which her congressional allies  killed off the impeachment complaints.

Senate Defence Committee Chairman Rodolfo Biazon  said one officer had telephoned him, saying: 'We are agitated because of what happened to the impeachment process.'  Congress had 60 days to decide on the impeachment proceedings but took only 14 days.

The president should not ignore this, said Mr Biazon, a former armed forces chief who put down a bloody coup attempt against  president Corazon Aquino in 1989.

The military played a major role in overthrowing two presidents - Ferdinand Marcos  in 1986 and Joseph Estrada  in 2001, he said.

Senator Ramon Magsaysay Junior,  a former defence committee chairman, described the situation as 'dangerous'. The son of the late president  said some officers could be tempted to help unseat Mrs Arroyo. He said some soldiers  wanted to move against her government but feared they would be discovered and thrown out of service.

Presidential aides did not react to the senators' statements.

A manifesto from a new group called the Young Officers Union New Generation  began circulating in military camps this week, saying it planned to punish crooked politicians, launch a 'total overhaul...of the dirty political system' and establish a 'principled, pro-poor new order'.

Political analyst Billy Esposo  said: 'It's frightening, this clamour for system change which is attracting young people to [side with] junior officers. A military component to people power is a normal event. What we all fear is a military that acts on its own.'

He said a July survey of 1,200 Filipinos by Pulse Asia on the quality of life in Metro Manila already contained 'danger signals'.  Twelve per cent said they would support an overthrow of the government, while 21 per cent expressed willingness to use illegal means to survive their economic hardships.

Taken together, this 33 per cent could easily be agitated to move against Mrs Arroyo, he said, since her critics say her staying in office is harming the economy. 'You don't need a majority vote to have a violent upheaval in the country.'

He said Mrs Arroyo may have survived for now, but 'is also taking all of us deeper and deeper into a point of no return in unknown and dangerous political waters'.

Even the opposition has changed its mind about replacing Mrs Arroyo with her  legal successor, Vice-President Noli de Castro. Instead, they are now pushing for a 'caretaker council' to take over, Congressman Teodoro Casino said.



Senators predict a coup against Arroyo