Philippines security chiefs cite plot to kill Arroyo, hit embassies
MANILA (AFP) — Philippines security officials said Thursday they had uncovered a plot by Islamic militants linked to the Al-Qaeda network to assassinate President Gloria Arroyo and target foreign embassies here.
Her security chief, Brigadier General Romeo Prestoza, said Arroyo had been informed of the threat, which forced her to cancel a scheduled trip Friday to the northern resort city of Baguio.
The announcement came a day ahead of a major rally by Arroyo's political opponents to demand her resignation over allegations of corruption linking the first family.
Security forces in the Philippines were placed on full alert, with Prestoza saying the plot was hatched by "extremists Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and the Abu Sayyaf," referring to Muslim militant groups with reported links to Al-Qaeda.
"It is not just the president, there are other targets," he told reporters.
"A number of embassies in Manila have also been targeted for attack," Prestoza said, without naming the embassies.
"The only event we have cancelled is the President's trip to the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio as it is wide open and difficult to secure."
He said the plan did not appear to be connected to the opposition rally at the Makati business district in Manila, planned for Friday.
National police chief Avelino Razon said a letter had reached them, outlining the plot against Arroyo, adding that Muslim extremists appeared to be behind it.
He said the letter "appeared to know her (Arroyo's) schedule," but he did not specify where it had come from.
The police later released a statement saying it had recovered several documents from "a parking lot somewhere in the Metro Manila area," which detailed the schedule and movements of Arroyo and other figures.
Armed forces chief General Hermogenes Esperon said news of the plan "had become the basis for putting the armed forces of the Philippines in full state of preparedness."
He said elements composed of militants from Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah were also planning to hit "high-value targets" around Manila.
Both groups, which have been blamed for the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines in recent years, are known to operate on the southern island of Mindanao.
They are, however, known to field "cells" responsible for bombings around Manila in the past.
Earlier Thursday, army spokesman Captain Carlo Ferrer cited intelligence reports that elements from the communist New People's Army (NPA) rebel group may infiltrate the ranks of protesters Friday and instigate violence.
The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a Maoist rebellion since 1969.
Opponents of the government, however, expressed caution.
Adel Tamano, spokesman for the so-called united opposition, said: "The security forces should not use the bogey of terrorism or destabilisation to disrupt the people's right to peaceful assembly and movement."
Arroyo's critics have been holding daily protests around Manila calling on her to resign over fresh claims that her husband and a political ally tried to get millions of dollars in kickbacks from a telecoms deal with a Chinese firm.
The 329-million-dollar deal for a national broadband network with China's state-run ZTE has since been cancelled by Arroyo.
Leaders of the influential Roman Catholic Church, business leaders and even lawyers' groups have expressed support for the protest planned in the Makati business district.
Renato Reyes, secretary-general of the leftist "Bayan Muna" opposition group, said they are expecting "several thousands" of protesters to join Friday's rally.
