AFP declares nationwide red alert on eve of EDSA I rallies

On the eve of rallies seeking the ouster or resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the military declared a nationwide red alert, and warned its personnel against joining protest actions during Monday's 22nd anniversary of the EDSA I uprising. “Its better to be prepared…Our reserve forces are there for any contingency," Armed Force chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr said on Monday. He said the declaration canceled all the leave of absences of soldiers. The National Capital Region Command, the military’s anti-coup force in the metropolis, has been on red alert since before the February 15 protest in Makati City where various groups denounced corruption in government and sought the resignation of President Arroyo. Esperon said the military would not intervene in the political turmoil, that stemmed from the Senate testimony of Rodolofo Noel Lozada Jr on the alleged anomalies in the aborted $329.48-million National Broadband Network controversy. “We are firm on our stand and if ever there will be (soldier) violators then we will be forced to take action to prevent them. If there are elements of the military who would join the protest, we are going to arrest them," he said. Esperon said soldiers should remain inside their camps, unless their assistance would be sought by the office of the National Capital Region Police. He said that if members of the military in uniform would join the rallies, "we are going to get them because that is against our regulation, that is against the mandate of the soldiers." But the AFP chief said that if ever there was an ongoing recruitment of soldiers to join Monday's rallies, there would be no other group involved in the recruitment, but those who were behind the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, the February 2006 power grab attempt and the Nov. 29 standoff in Makati City. Esperon said political problems, specifically the NBN mess, should be left to the politicians, and the courts. “Do not force us to take on the power because under an authoritarian rule, those democratic processes will not be present…When they (soldiers) entered the military, they have submitted themselves to perpetual constraints, to sets of rules. If they no longer want that, leave the military," he said. “The Armed Forces firmly believes that we should not intervene or join such extra-legal activities because when the Armed Forces joins, the country will lose what we achieved in Edsa I which is democracy and democratic way of life," added Esperon. - GMANews.TV