Is ‘martial law’ in the offing?

The rumor that another coup is in the offing is sending jitters in the political community. Is another ‘martial law’ going to be declared and all opposition candidates arrested and detained?
– Perry Diaz

Oplan October Strike
from Filipino News Network

A sinister plan to derail the 2010 elections through the declaration of a transitory government is in the offing, says a top military source to this writer today. The plan, says the source, involves top military officials, a cleric, a high intelligence official and a group which supported previous coup plots in the Aquino and Arroyo governments.

The source, who refused to reveal his real name here, says that major service commanders are being recruited for the fresh plot. The recruiter, a very close aide of a top general, is currently going the military camp rounds and reportedly training a secret commando team of the Arroyos in Subic.

The cleric, a member of the Opus dei (?) and a Jesuit, is the one who crafted a sinister propaganda material meant to convince soldiers to create their destiny in state building. The high intelligence officer is the one involved in secret meetings with other cardinals and bishops while the group referred to here is the one who helped rebel soldiers during the 1988-1990 coup attempts.

Oplan October Strike is a swift surgical operation which aims to “secure the palace and its occupants” from a so-called threat coming from the Ramos group. The government will announce that there is an assasination attempt against Arroyo and a brewing plot to install a revolutionary government, purportedly headed by reformist groups helping Senator Noynoy Aquino. The plan is similar to the Thai model, says the source.

Through the transitory government, Mrs. Arroyo will be declared as the head of state and Commander in Chief. The plot also involves “counter-revolutionary” strikes against known critics of the Arroyo administration and incarceration of so-called “leftists”.

Two days ago, former president Fidel V. Ramos warned the Arroyo administration and PMA class 1978 of venturing into launching a coup just to perpetuate Mrs. Arroyo in power. Ramos says the plot will surely fail because it does not have the support of majority of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).