Army, police in WV remain loyal to Arroyo administration
Military and police units in Western and Central Visayas declared their continued support to Arroyo administration amid the holding out of the group of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim at the Manila Peninsula hotel yesterday.
"Our troops remain loyal to the Constitution and the chain of command," Lt. Col. Erwin de Asis, public information officer of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, said in a telephone interview. The 3ID commands around 5,000 troops on the islands of Panay, Negros, Bohol and Cebu.
De Asis said their troops are "focused" on going about their jobs in the counter-insurgency campaign of the government.
"The prevailing situation in Metro Manila does not affect the morale of the troops in Western and Central Visayas," said De Asis.
Chief Supt. Wilfredo Dulay Sr., Western Visayas police chief, said police units in the region have been placed on heightened alert.
Unit commanders have been directed to monitor unauthorized troop movements including units of the elite Scout Ranger Regiment stationed in Bohol and Negros Island.
Lim was the former commander of the SR and troops under the regiment were involved in previous coup attempts.
Trillanes and Lim walked out of a hearing in a Makati court and headed to the Manila Peninsula, along with armed escorts and other rebel soldiers. They have called for the ouster of President Macapagal-Arroyo and the formation of a new government.
They, however, decided to leave the hotel shortly after 5 p.m. for the sake of the civilians inside the hotel.
Footage taken by ABS-CBN showed a military armored personnel carrier ramming through the main entrance of the hotel after the rebels refused to surrender. A series of gunshots were heard after tear gas canisters were lobbed at the hotel lobby around 4:50 p.m.