MARTIAL LAW

Richard C. Paddock, Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times

9:30 AM PST, February 24, 2006

MANILA -- Thousands of people took to the streets in protest today hours after beleaguered President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency in the Philippines, banned public rallies and ordered the arrest of alleged coup plotters.

Arroyo's declaration of an emergency was prompted by the discovery of an alleged plot by military officers to oust the president on the eve of a major rally to commemorate the "People's Power" protests that forced President Ferdinand Marcos to resign 20 years ago Saturday.

Source article at The Los Angeles Times



President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on September 26, 2005, assuring the Philippine public that she would not impose martial law at a time when she was threatened with impeachment.

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President Arroyo was threatened with impeachment last September, on a charge that she rigged the 2004 election that put her in office. She managed to stave off an impeachment attempt, and her national security advisor was detained in a hospital cardiac unit on charges of contempt of the Senate. He was hospitalized for heart problems after a heated exchange during the investigation of corruption in Arroyo's regime. One wonders if the Philippines will ever have a stable government free of charges of major corruption.