Emergency Rules

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When ordinary Filipinos took to the streets in 1986 to overthrow dictator Ferdinand Marcos, they transformed their nation into perhaps the freest in Asia. But last weekend, on the 20th anniversary of the People Power revolution, Filipinos found themselves once again living under the chill of emergency rule. Capping a tense week of coup rumors, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo proclaimed a state of national emergency on Friday morning, announcing in a taped message on television that she had crushed an attempt by prominent military officers to overthrow her government. Arroyo appealed for calm, even as security forces were put on "double red alert" at the presidential palace, at army bases and on the streets of Manila. Earlier that morning, the army had detained Brigadier-General Danilo Lim, commander of the military's élite Scout Rangers, for allegedly planning to lead soldiers in a military-civilian coup against the government. Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor told reporters that up to 10 military and civilian figures were being sought in connection with the plot, while administration sources say the military and police have compiled two separate lists of people to be arrested, with some 200 civilians included.

Few official details have been released about the nature of the alleged coup, but on Thursday night a TIME reporter was invited to witness a meeting held at the home of Jose Cojuangco, brother of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, where a possible plan for a "withdrawal of support" from President Arroyo was being discussed. More than a dozen middle-level politicians and businessmen, including current Representative Robert Jaworski, Jr. and former Representative Ding Tanjuatco, were in and out of the meeting, which ran well past 1 a.m. While one of Cojuangco's daughters kept a buffet table piled high with chicken sandwiches, macaroni salad, corn and cookies, Pastor Saycon, a businessman and longtime Arroyo critic, discussed a new government. As the others listened, Saycon spoke over the phone to a person he identified as an American official in Washington, assuring him that the post-coup regime would remain on good terms with the U.S. "You will still be our friend," he said. Then, around 9 p.m., Saycon phoned a man whom he addressed as "Delta" and identified as General Lim. On speakerphone, Lim confirmed that he was set for the planned movement against Arroyo. According to Saycon, a military contingent was to march on Friday morning to Manila's EDSA Shrine commemorating the first People Power revolution, where the 20th anniversary celebrations were to take place. At the shrine they would be met by a contingent of Catholic bishops, and a Marine general would read a statement withdrawing support from Arroyo's government. The bishops, according to Saycon, had one request: that the action be bloodless.

General Lim, however, was detained by the army early on Friday morning, and the plan appears to have been aborted for the moment. (Several papers reported on Saturday that Lim had contacted armed-forces Chief of Staff General Generoso Senga on Thursday night to ask that he withdraw support from Arroyo. Senga refused, and took Lim into custody.) Cojuangco spoke to TIME on Saturday and characterized the meeting at his home as a "briefing on the current crisis," rather than an active plot against the government. As of Sunday morning, none of those present at the meeting had been detained or questioned.

Meanwhile, defying a ban on street rallies and occasionally scuffling with riot police, thousands of protesters marched to the EDSA Shrine Friday afternoon. One group of 5,000 was led by former President Aquino, who called on Arroyo to "make the supreme sacrifice" and resign. That's unlikely—Arroyo has told Time in the past that "nothing" would make her resign. But a real risk exists that in declaring emergency rule on the eve of the People Power anniversary, the President may have overplayed her hand and given her fractured opposition a unifying cause. "It could result in more political hemorrhage and security risk," says Representative Rolio Golez, formerly Arroyo's national-security adviser. Former President Fidel Ramos, whose support helped save Arroyo's presidency during a crisis last July, told reporters on Saturday he was "appalled and dismayed" by the declaration of emergency rule. Though he stopped short of calling for her resignation, as Aquino did, Ramos said his support for Arroyo was waning. "She's fond of using people. I don't want to be used as a prop anymore."

Unfazed by the outcry, the government appears ready to act aggressively: on Saturday police raided the offices of an opposition newspaper, and several Arroyo critics, including leftist Congressman Crispin Beltran, were reportedly detained for questioning. But the real hinge remains the military—Arroyo cannot remain in power without their support. Though top army leaders have repeatedly pledged their allegiance to Arroyo's administration, 14 junior officers were briefly detained last Wednesday for alleged involvement in a separate coup plot, and rumors of unrest among the armed forces have become common. In her televised address on Friday, Arroyo assured the nation: "As commander in chief, I control the situation." That remains to be seen.