August 01, 2008	Friday	Rajab 28, 1429

MANILA, July 31: At least 28 Philippine soldiers, including two generals, were indicted on Thursday in a military tribunal for attempting to oust President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and grab power two years ago.

Arroyo, recently voted the country’s least-popular leader since dictator Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in 1986 ,has survived three attempts by rogue troops to remove her from power and defeated three impeachment motions in Congress over allegations of corruption, election fraud and rights abuses.

Coup plots are common in the Philippines where soldiers have been instrumental in the overthrow of two presidents.

There have been more than a dozen such incidents since Marcos’ ouster.

Arroyo herself was originally propelled to power after an army-backed revolt in 2001.

Major-General Renato Miranda, who used to command the Marine Corps, stood to attention on Thursday and said “not guilty” when the charges against him were read by the army court.

The 26 other soldiers, including Brigadier-General Danilo Lim, the former commander of the elite Scout Rangers, did not respond, allowing their lawyers to make the not guilty plea.

Another soldier, Captain Joey Fontiveros, responded with a loud “never”, pausing before he finished his sentence with “will I ever contradict my lawyer”.

The court admonished him.

“This is not a laughing matter,” said Colonel Marian Aleido.

Traditionally, military adventurists in the Philippines do not have to fear tough punishment. The government tends to take a soft line for fear of stirring up trouble among the armed forces.

In 1987, mutineers were given 20 push-ups as punishment for a botched mutiny. This soft approach has encouraged wave after wave of plots.

The court dismissed four minor cases against the soldiers who allegedly planned to join left-wing activists in an anti-Arroyo march that was meant to trigger a revolution on Feb. 25, 2006, the 20th anniversary of the army-backed ousting of Marcos.

About 30 young officers are facing separate coup charges in a civilian court for an attempt to seize power in July 2003, leading 300 troops in the takeover a high-rise apartment in Manila’s financial district.

Lim and a dozen other young officers from the July 2003 coup attempt had been slapped with extra rebellion charges when they seized control of a luxury hotel in November 2007, the third time rogue soldiers tried to remove Arroyo from power.

—Reuters