Enrile: Palace should probe alleged kill plot vs Arroyo

(Updated 11:50 a.m.) Although he personally doubts the existence of an alleged plot to kill former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Thursday said it would be in the best interest of the Palace to investigate the matter.

 

"I don't know the thinking of people. I will not discount anything [but] it seems rather improbable. [But] they [Malacanang] should really expose [this] to scrutiny to find out the truth. If I were dealing with the case, I would welcome an inquiry into that threat," Enrile told reporters during the weekly forum at the Senate.

 

Enrile issued the statement after Mrs. Arroyo's spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn claimed there was a plot to kill the incumbent Pampanga representative dubbed "Put the Little Girl to Sleep."

 

Enrile said the Palace should investigate the matter because they will be the first ones to be blamed if something happens to Mrs. Arroyo.

 

"If something happens to the former president, meron din naman siyang mga follower, it can create a problem for the country," said Enrile, a former defense minister.

 

He specifically cited the assassination of the late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., whose death was blamed on the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, which eventually led to the dictator's ouster by mass uprising.

 

Still, Enrile noted that nobody would gain anything by taking he life of the former Philippine leader.

 

He likewise said that the Aquino administration would not be as "foolish" to make such a threat.

 

"I don't think Malacanang would do such a thing a thing. No administration would gain in making a threat or a plot against the life of an adversary, a nationally known adversary, unless they are insane," he said.

 

"I'm not discounting the possibility that some people are [planning] that kind of havoc. Whether itis true or not, I would say it's a little farfetched," he added. — RSJ, GMA News