With at least 10 active military generals supporting the renegade
military’s cause who are about to surface before the end of this month and
announce their withdrawal of support from President Arroyo, an escaped
Magdalo officer predicted the fall of Mrs. Arroyo by end-February.

“Before the end of February, the 10 will surface. They are not retired but
are in the active service,” 1^st Lt. Lawrence San Juan, one of four escaped
mutineers, said during an interview over radio station dzRH yesterday.

San Juan also claimed that “negotiations” are ongoing for a similar
“arrangement” with active generals in the Philippine National Police
(PNP). But he refused to name names for the moment, but said the 10 military
officers are not on floating status. “They occupy good posts,” he said of
the generals allegedly supporting the rebels, stressing that the 10
generals will surface only after the Magdalo group or their supporters get
the ball rolling.

The interview was marked with several beeping sounds, which San Juan said
may be a sign that military intelligence operatives were monitoring the
radio interview by tapping his phone line.

“Our call is for that worthless monster to leave Malacañang but nothing
will happen if we just talk, so before the end of February or after the
end of February, we will take action,” San Juan, speaking in Pilipino,
said. The renegade officer, however, assured the public that the overthrow of
Mrs. Arroyo will be effected through peaceful means.

“No civilians will be caught in the crossfire. We ask the public for help.
This is not for us, this is for reforms,” he said.

In his address to his fellow soldiers, San Juan said: “ We swore
allegiance to the people. The time to fight is now. We are soldiers of the
people, not soldiers of whoever is in Malacanang”.

San Juan also denied he and three other fugitive officers are being
coddled by former Sen. Gregorio Honasan, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, or any
military officer.

“Nobody is hiding us. The money we spend while we on the run comes from our own pockets, from our family and friends,” he said. San Juan said his
escape, along with Capt. Nathaniel Rabonza, and 1^st Lts. Sonny Sarmiento
and Patricio Bumidang Jr. from Fort Bonifacio in the evening of Jan. 17
was proof of cracks in the military chain of command.

“If the government controls the military, why were we able to escape?
There were checkpoints at the entrance and exit (of the military camp),”
he said.

He also claimed that he, Rabonza, Sarmiento, and Bumidang attended the
Philippine Military Academy (PMA) alumni homecoming in Baguio City. He
said they hid inside a car.

The four rebel officers, along with recaptured mutineer Marine Capt.
Nicanor Faeldon, were among those who plotted but failed to oust Mrs.
Arroyo when they and more than 200 other junior officers and soldiers took
over the posh Oakwood apartments in Makati City in July 27, 2003.

San Juan confirmed reports that the Magdalos were at the PMA last week,
and that the PMA had the barracks raided shortly after he met with a
reporter from television station GMA-7.

“We were surprised how the PMA knew we were there. It confirmed we are
under surveillance. It was good that we already left before the raid,” he
said.

“What we want is change, to restore the people’s trust. Once that happens,
we will face the charges lodged against us,” he said when asked about the
group’s plans should they succeed in toppling Mrs. Arroyo.

Meanwhile, anti-Arroyo groups are massing up in their attempt to sweep
Mrs. Arroyo out of Malacañang on the 20^th anniversary of the first people
power that toppled former strongman Ferdinand Marcos, with some forces
within this group pinning their hopes on the support of the military to
recreate or surpass that popular uprising.

Former University of the Philippines President Francisco Nemenzo, Laban ng
Masa chair, said there is currently continuing talks between the
anti-Arroyo forces and active military men to effect not only a regime
change but a “system change” where an entirely new system of government is
put in place.

“This is going to be a combination of mass movement and reform-oriented
military groups,” Nemenzo said during an interview yesterday.

This developed as anti-Arroyo forces claimed that the days of the Arroyo
regime are numbered.

In a press conference at the Alex Grill 3 restaurant in Quezon City,
leaders of Sanlakas, Black and White Movement, Laban ng Masa, the Hyatt 10
and the Citizens for ConCon said they are now preparing for a huge mass
action on the 20^th anniversary of Edsa People Power.

Former Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman admitted to having served a
government that had institutionalized oppression, saying she had betrayed
the poor while she was Mrs. Arroyo’s social welfare chief.
Nemenzo, for his part, warned that Mrs. Arroyo’s government is coming to
an end.

“The days of the illegitimate regime are counted. Eighty percent of
Filipinos want Gloria out. The traditional pillars of state power such as
the Church hierarchy, big business and the state’s military machinery are
fast crumbling amid GMA’s extreme political isolation,” Nemenzo said.
Nemenzo also said if ever another popular uprising occurs, his group, the
Laban ng Masa, will not allow the “elite” to decide on the fate of the
government.

“We will do anything we can to prevent an Edsa-type of people power from
succeeding,” he said.

He said they are not going to be at Edsa to celebrate the anniversary of
people power but to “lament the betrayal of the masses” by the elite. He
added there were more people during people power 3 than the previous two
popular uprisings that toppled Marcos and former President Joseph Estrada
even as he pointed out that the military component was absent in the
latter.

Jun P. Yap, Gina Peralta-Elorde and Gerry Baldo.