State of Emergency in The Philippines (moved from ATSNN)

news.bbc.co.uk
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has declared an emergency after the army said it had foiled a coup plot involving security forces commanders.

Mrs Arroyo said she had given army and police extraordinary powers.

Security was tightened this week amid rumours of a coup timed to coincide with the anniversary of a 1986 revolt against President Ferdinand Marcos.

The army says the coup plotters had planned to speak out against Mrs Arroyo at an opposition rally on Friday.


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US Military Maneuvers in the Philippines Condemned

The Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP-1930, the Philippine Communist Party) condemns the new series of U.S. war games in the Philippines, dubbed as Balikatan ("shoulder-to-shoulder") 2006 Exercises, which were due to start this week. The first round of joint US-Philippine war games, a month-long small-unit field training exercise, is to be held starting 17 January 2006 in and around Camp Lucero, the base of the Philippine Army's 602nd Infantry Brigade in Carmen town, North Cotabato province, in the southern island of Mindanao. The last time that war games were conducted by US forces with their Filipino counterparts in this town was in July 2004.

Next month, from February 19 to March 5, similar war games are to be conducted in the vicinity of Jolo, Sulu, as well as in other parts of the country – at the former US naval base in Olongapo, Zambales province; the former US air base at Clark Field in Pampanga province; the former US military stations in Cavite, Cebu and Zamboanga provinces; and at the Philippine Army base at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province. In all, around 5,500 US soldiers will be involved in these joint war games up to March.

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