Saturday, February 25, 2006

Alleged Coup Plotter Is A West Point Graduate

It was a "a clear and present danger to the Republic" in the form of a conspiracy to overthrow the government and establish a military junta that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said was the immediate reason for her declaration of a "state of national emergency" Friday in Manila. It was reported early yesterday that a Brigadier General Danilo Lim was one of the parties referred to by the President as having stepped out of the chain of command. Head of the elite Philippine Scout Rangers and shown at left in a "boodle fight" with GMA in 2003, (via Newsbreak). General Lim is reportedly a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point. AFP Chief of Staff Generoso Senga claimed Lim tried to recruit him into the plot by having him withdraw support for the President as Gen. Angelo Reyes did in 2001. So who is Brig.Gen. Danilo Lim? Is the Palace's pretext for Proclamation 1017 sound? Veteran journalist and Manila Times columnist Julius Fortuna wrote the following about him last July. Does this sound like a guy who would go into tactical alliance with the CPP-NPA-NDF as the President claimed in her speech explaing Proc. 1017? --
FORTUNA: Brig. Gen. Danilo “Dan­­ny” Lim, commander of the Scout Rangers of the Philippine Army, is probably the most credible military officer today. That is why the Palace tapped him on Saturday to debunk a report that adventurous young officers have reorganized the legendary Young Officers Union (YOU) that he used to chair. A graduate of the West Point Academy in the United States, Lim is respected in military circles for his idealism, integrity, expertise and bravery.

In December 1989, Lim, along with then-Maj. Abraham Purugganan and one Colonel Galvez, led the YOU in a nine-day siege of the Makati business district.

That siege, the most serious threat to the Aquino administration, had a story of its own. Suffice it to say that Lim, Purugganan and Galvez and their men fought the government forces to a draw in a battle that made the headlines all over the world. Lim accepted his punishment with dignity, but a good man cannot be down forever. Finally, good judgment prevailed among the brass and Lim became a general to lead an elite army force today.

When I had the chance to ask Danny how the Scout Rangers were able to adjust to the city, Danny replied that they imagined the buildings to be mountains whose terrain they are familiar with.

When the YOU issued a statement last week that it was being revived to threaten the government, the Palace press people called Lim from his Bulacan camp to refute the report. Lim obliged, saying that in his talks with the leaders of the YOU, there is no more YOU. It has been disbanded long ago. But he also cautioned the government to take care of the officers in the field.

Lim’s statement was corroborated by Diosdado Valeroso, another idealist officer. Valeroso, who was known by his war name, “Captain Maglalang,” even elaborated that the old group of YOU upholds the Constitution, debunking coups as a way of social change.

Should we believe the statements of Lim and Valeroso? Is the YOU really over? We can believe that it has been disbanded, with its members now scattered in various commands. But what of a new group that might emerge from the present crisis? We can never say because each situation produces new rebels and military leaders, and after EDSA 1, the military from top to bottom have been heavily politicized.
The way Senga was answered media questions yesterday makes me wonder if this was a coup d'etat or a great big hoo-hah. We shall have to await further disclosures to see where this national emergency caused by the extreme Right and the extreme Left in tactical alliance, is actually headed.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

DJB,

If you collate all the info this week and try to make sense of the whole thing, you will not be surprised to discover that the proclamation of the state of emergency had been thoroughly planned, timed with Edsa I anniversary celebretaions to finally put the spirit of EDSA to rest because she doesn't want people (and herself) to be reminded that she used Edsa to breach the constitution and to thwart the Rule of Law.
-- Gloria anounced more than a week ago that she will not be celebrating EDSA and insists on playing down importance of Edsa
-- MBC meeting with Cory and other personalities
-- Palace spin of a coup d'état cut in the bud (then declaring state of emergency even after the so-called foiling of the coup)
-- Ricky Carandang's blog at 3AM on 24th Feb that Malacanang was busy as a military bee even in the wee hours of the night (or early morning)
-- Cory was going to march to Edsa come what may

She's fulfilled and confirmed her political mission statement that she's the single most terrible reason for the continuing divisiveness in the country (and will continue to do so).

The woman is abominable.

Bernardo F. Ronquillo said...

It's all in the eyes DJB. Gen. Senga's eyes betrayed him when asked how Gen. Lim tried to recruit him. I won't say he was lying, but he was telling only a small part of the truth. He was hiding something especially when asked if after speaking to Lim he made him wait and then pounced on him.

Mike Defensor said that GMA declared 1017 because they detected a coup in the offing and nipped it in the bud because Gen. Lim was supposed to supply the military component to the rallies that will happen yesterday. DJB, this is a SPIN that they want us to believe without offering any proof at all. But they want us to take their word for it. As if their word is worth a centavo to us ordinary people.

I repeat a coup will not succeed because GMA, Ermita, Defensor and their berks expect it and have done their homework. They know how to defend against it by means of preemptive strike like they did yesterday.

If GMA is to go down, it will be by somebody she does expect and by a means that she does expect and at a time that she will not expect and therefore cannot PREEMPT. It will be by someone she believes is not capable of unseating her but who should put his life on the line with his back on the wall in a venture where there's no turning back for the sake of the Pilipino people.

Now, It's time to keep silent, except in the blogosophere, and keep everybody guessing, do not telegraph a punch and let the wind blow where it will... and wait.

Deany Bocobo said...

Welcome Lord Dracula (hey, i'm ticklish there.)

BFR--You caught that too I guess with Senga. Let's play it with it for a while. What could be the true story here about this danilo lim. Hey look at my picture of him in a boodle fight with gma. How tell would you say he is?

Deany Bocobo said...

Oops, I meant, How TALL would you say he is?

Unknown said...

DJB,

Right on BFR...

Agree with your tack - DO NOT TELEGRAPH A PUNCH!