‘Coup’ didn’t stop Palace carpenters
WHILE President Marcos was on television announcing that an assassination plot and coup e’etat against him had just been aborted, workmen constructing the platform for his inauguration inside the Palace grounds went on with their work. Sentry gates were not heavily reinforced as expected, and there was a relaxed atmosphere inside the Palace grounds. If there was such a plot and such a coup d’etat, there should have been tanks at the gates and reporters should not have been admitted. As it was, only foreign correspondents were barred and Palace newsmen were allowed inside. Our Malacanang reporter went in and out of the Palace, and the only inconvenience he suffered was having to walk out carrying all his camera luggage. Either President Marcos was sure the plot had been aborted and was getting ready for a good night’s sleep, or he was just getting ready for a good night’s sleep.
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Of course, what lends the President’s story some credence is the fact that foreign correspondents had been alerted by the Opposition some days earlier that “something big” was going to happen this Tuesday. Of course, it could have been just the projected National Day of Sorrow activities, but “something big” might have been Minister Enrile’s resignation.
That resignation had been ready to be submitted on Monday, and the reason two U.S. newspapers got the story was because Enrile had three U.S. embassy visitors last Wednesday in his office and they might have heard him dictating the letter to his secretary.
Enrile had told his law partners that he “had served the President for two decades and now believed that he should serve his country”. In short, Enrile expected to hand his resignation to Marcos on Monday. That does not look as if he was plotting to overthrow the President on Sunday.
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What is apparent in all this the fact that President Marcos has continued to keep his cool — and has been thereby a total disappointment to the Opposition. Last Saturday evening, the whole town buzzed with rumors that the independent press offices had been raided and would be raided. Palace and military sources informed me that there was such a plan for Saturday evening. The plans was to arrest four Cabinet Ministers and close down three newspapers, Veritas, Malaya and Inquirer.
Apparently, Minister Enrile and General Ramos were tipped off and jumped the gun on the President. As a result, the arrest plans were aborted and Mr. Marcos had to go on TV and announce he was not even considering arresting Enrile or Ramos since they were “friends and relatives”. Enrile and Ramos may have saved the independent press — for another day.
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It seems appropriate at this point to thank all the people who expressed concern during that long Saturday night when we were putting out two editions of the Inquirer. Besides personal friends who shall be nameless for their own safety — including people in the Opposition, the administration, private business etc. Even the Supreme Courts — we want to thank the local correspondents of NBC, ABC, CBS, National Public Radio of the US, friends in Embassy Row, friends in the Crony Press (would you believe it?), German TV, etc. etc. — so many people we had a difficult time putting out the paper and answering phone calls. That, incidentally, was the reason we had no column. Editing a paper during these parlous times and writing a daily column just don’t mix every day, so sorry for the gap.
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Whatever their reasons were, there is no doubt that the actions of Minister Enrile and General Ramos must inevitably bring home to the President that what he is faced with is continuous mutiny from his men and increasing hardening of position from the Opposition. It has reached a point when he must draw on his own inner circle and from the ranks of his own relatives for support and protection. Right now, for example, how many can he still trust? The resignation of Postmaster General Roilo Golez is a case in point. Golez, one of the few credible men in the administration, tendered his resignation on the same day the Enrile-Ramos scenario was being played out. Golez put his personal reputation and his record on the line when he came out with his Postmaster’s survey predicting a Marcos win. Just three weeks after Election Day, he quits. Power and privilege can cure many things, but an uneasy conscience becomes impossible to live with.
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Will Enrile and Ramos surrender? Both of them say they won’t and that they intend to die fighting. Both are not men of easy threats. The men surrounding them are among the most bemedaled soldiers in the AFP. The officers leading them are almost legendary in their own lifetime – fighting the MNLF and the NPA. If there is any attempt to take Enrile or Ramos by force, it is going to be the bloodiest street fighting in Philippine history. Is President Marcos ready to risk all that? Probably not. What is likely to happen is that the two men will stay holed up and there will be hundreds of thousands of civilians trekking to Aguinaldo and Crame to bring them food — while the Marcos men in the AFP try to starve them out. Hopefully, in the end, the whole thing will be settled not by arms but by dialogue. However, it will end in either of two ways either President Marcos will agree to step down, which is unlikely, or the two will quit and accept asylum in the U.S.
