The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) chided Malacanang for its over-reaction regarding rumors that a move to oust Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would happen tomorrow. “They even went to the extent that the government officials and employees themselves were made to leave their cars in Malacanang park, and take a ferry to get to the Palace. It seems that the president does not even trust her own men. The Palace yesterday was also armed to the teeth, with conatiner vans placed to block the entrances and thousands of policemen and soldiers were deployed in its vicinity,” said Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, secretary general of KMP.

“Besides how did they chance upon thus plot anyway, a newspaper report say that the government got its information through electronic intercepts, our question is. Is this legal? Essentially what they did was wire tapping and infringe on the right to privacy of those they were monitoring,” added the peasant leader.

As for his part Ka Willy Marbella, spokeperson of the group “what the Palace did was really an overkill, but due to the fact that it is very insecure of its legitimacy and popularity, it went as far as what it did yesterday. This clearly shows the extreme isolation of the regime, that it is afraid of the ghosts that they themselves created,”

“DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzales’ warning on cable television really takes the cake of unconfirmed intelligence information gone out of control. To some extent it may seem funny how inutile and stupid, these guys are but when you realize that they are wasting the people’s money on such flights of the imagination, it makes your blood boil,” added Marbella.

“What Gonzales is doing now by still saying that the next 48 hours is critical, is just to create a door for his and Gloria’s graceful exit, for a really embarassing situation, that blew infront of their faces,”ended Marbella .# # #
 

KMP - 23 December 2004