Officer calls for support to sacked Filipino Marine

[maddezmom]

MANILA (Reuters) - A senior Marines officer called on Sunday for civilians and soldiers to throw their support behind a general who was relieved of his command of the elite force on suspicion of involvement in a coup attempt.

Marine Colonel Ariel Querubin, a brigade commander, said on ABS-CBN television that the dismissal was "unjust," and he denied a statement by the military that Major-General Renato Miranda had stood down voluntarily.

a tad more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060226/wl_nm/philippines_dc;_

[Lasher]

1. OK, so much for bringing democracy to the mideast.

So, what's the new excuse du jour for invading Iraq?

[PassingThrough]

2. Um, this article isn't about the Middle-East.

[Lasher]

4. Umm, sorry. Too much beer I guess.

I think I meant to post to a different message string.

[IndianaGreen]

3. Officer calls for Philippines protests

Three days of demonstrations and government draconian clampdowns are finally starting to make it to the American MSM. There are a lot of good articles about the Philippines that have been posted in DU over the last few months. Check the archives!

Officer calls for Philippines protests

Head of Marines relieved of duty after alleged coup plot

Sunday, February 26, 2006 Posted: 1228 GMT (2028 HKT)

MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- A Philippines officer has called for protests against the removal of the head of the marines, who was relieved of duty following an alleged plot to overthrow embattled President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Sunday's call, on national television, came shortly after a spokesman for the Philippine Army denied rumors that the Marines had withdrawn support for Arroyo.

Earlier, a spokesman for the Philippine Marines, Maj. Melquiates Ordiales Jr., told a television news program that he could confirm the rumor that the head of the Marines has been relieved of duty, but he would not say why.

On Friday, Arroyo declared a state of emergency, after security forces thwarted what a top general said was a plot to overthrow her.

Several hours later, a former president said it was time for Arroyo to step down.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/02/26/philippines/index.html

[IndianaGreen]

5. Update: Marines holed up inside camp agree to stand down

The situation in the Philippines is very fluid, the Marine barracks at Fort Bonifacio is only one of many incidents involving civilians and military since Arroyo's Marcos-like edict.

Marines holed up inside camp agree to stand down

First posted 10:39pm (Mla time) Feb 26, 2006

By Alcuin Papa, Joel Francis Guinto
INQ7.net, Agence France-Presse, Inquirer

(2ND UPDATE) A MARINE colonel who holed up at a military camp with a small group of armed followers Sunday to protest the relief of the Marine commandant has agreed to stand down, his new superior said.

Colonel Ariel Querubin, who had appealed for public support after holing up with armed men at the Marine headquarters, emerged before 10 p.m. with his new commandant Brigadier-General Nelson Allaga after a standoff lasting five hours.

"I am now the commandant. We talked inside. Ariel is not the authority here. I am the authority,” Allaga told reporters.

“The Philippine Marine Corps is intact … The Marines are united,” he said. "We follow the chain of command. We follow the duly constituted authority."

Querubin and his men have agreed to recognize Allaga as their new commandant, according to Captain Geronimo Malabanan, Navy spokesman.

http://news.inq7.net/top/index.php?index=1&story_id=67637

[IndianaGreen]

6. Background on Colonel Querubin and a second related story

The first story is a brief background on Colonel Querubin, the second is about the fate of one of many elected officials that have stood their ground against the Arroyo dictatorship.

Querubin: A military hero who hunted down MILF

First posted 00:19am (Mla time) Feb 27, 2006
Agence France-Presse

MARINE Colonel Ariel Querubin, who led a band of mutineers in a standoff at a military camp for several hours on Sunday, is a military hero who received the Philippines' highest award for bravery in combat from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The powerfully built 49-year-old, a 1979 graduate of the elite Philippine Military Academy, found himself at the center of a deepening political crisis after supporting opposition calls for Arroyo to step down.

Querubin was sacked Friday as commander of the First Marine Brigade after telling his superior that he planned to lead his men, unarmed, to an opposition rally in Manila calling for Arroyo's resignation.

Hours later Arroyo declared a state of emergency, saying there was an imminent attempt by "military adventurists" in league with communists and the opposition to overthrow her.

On Sunday Querubin and at least 100 armed men made a defiant stand at the Marine headquarters in Manila in protest at the sacking of their commandant Major-General Renato Miranda, who had apparently taken the heat for his subordinate's political actions.

http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=1&story_id=67653

DoJ mulls inciting to sedition rap vs JV Ejercito

First posted 00:11am (Mla time) Feb 27, 2006
By Tetch Torres
INQ7.net

THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DOJ) is studying the possibility of filing inciting to sedition charges against San Juan Mayor Jose Victor "JV" Ejercito for allegedly spreading disinformation against the government, Secretary Raul Gonzalez said.

"We are studying that," Gonzalez said.

A Malacañang statement said that the public should not believe information about planned actions against the Arroyo administration.

But Gonzalez refused to comment when asked about Malacañang's basis for identifying Ejercito.

http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=2&story_id=67652

[ShockediSay]

7. Another police state ready to go down

on a smackdown