Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV: Coup rumor monger? Photo by Ryan Leagogo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–The Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) on Thursday denied reports of an imminent coup even as it dismissed threats that retired military officers who are critical of the government are considered “security risks.”
“There is no such thing,” Maj. Gen. Eduardo Año said, referring to claims of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV of a supposed brewing coup against the Aquino administration.
Año said the ISAFP has not processed any information pertaining to the possible recruitment of troops or meeting of retired generals with other officers and men in the AFP active service for any potential destabilization move.
He said the issue of retired generals talking openly or discreetly on significant issues affecting the lives of the people, such as the legislators’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), which was recently declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, was not even a security concern.
Año said soldiers do not meddle in public discourse on the PDAF or DAP, these being political issues that must be left to the politicians.
“They’re retired officers, so they’re civilians. A conversation among retired officers about politics is part of the democratic space,” Año told the Inquirer.
“As long as they’re just talking, they’re just communicating, then that’s not a threat to national security,” he said.
A retired three-star military general who asked not to be identified confirmed that two groups of retired generals have been meeting to discuss national issues and the President’s declining public acceptance ratings even with some of their former colleagues in the active service.
“But they’re not talking about a coup. It’s more of people expressing their views on DAP, PDAF and their disenchantment with the government. It ends there,” the source said.
The source said the groups, who were identified with former Presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, use these meetings to cause the approval and trust ratings of President Aquino to drop.
Trillanes, on the other hand, was resorting to coup rumor mongering just to gain media mileage, according to the source.
“He wants to run for Vice President in 2016. He thinks he is better than his military officers before,” the source said.