Philippines security officials said on Thursday they had uncovered a plot by militants linked to the Al Qaeda network to assassinate President Gloria Arroyo and target foreign embassies here.Her security chief, Brigadier General Romeo Prestoza, said Arroyo had been informed of the threat, which forced her to cancel a scheduled trip Friday to the northern resort city of Baguio. The announcement came a day ahead of a major rally by Arroyo’s political opponents to demand her resignation over allegations of corruption linking the first family. Security forces in the Philippines were placed on full alert, with Prestoza saying the plot was hatched by “extremists Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and the Abu Sayyaf,” referring to Muslim militant groups with reported links to Al Qaeda.
Foreign embassies: “It is not just the president, there are other targets,” he told reporters. “A number of embassies in Manila have also been targeted for attack,” Prestoza said, without naming the embassies. “The only event we have cancelled is the President’s trip to the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio as it is wide open and difficult to secure.”
He said the plan did not appear to be connected to the opposition rally at the Makati business district in Manila, planned for Friday. National police chief Avelino Razon said a letter had reached them, outlining the plot against Arroyo, adding that Muslim extremists appeared to be behind it. He said the letter “appeared to know her (Arroyo’s) schedule,” but he did not specify where it had come from. The police later released a statement saying it had recovered several documents from “a parking lot somewhere in the Metro Manila area,” which detailed the schedule and movements of Arroyo and other figures.
Armed forces chief General Hermogenes Esperon said news of the plan “had become the basis for putting the armed forces of the Philippines in full state of preparedness.” He said elements composed of militants from Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah were also planning to hit “high-value targets” around Manila. Both groups, which have been blamed for the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines in recent years, are known to operate on the southern island of Mindanao. They are, however, known to field “cells” responsible for bombings around Manila in the past.
Earlier Thursday, army spokesman Captain Carlo Ferrer cited intelligence reports that elements from the communist New PeopleÂ’s Army (NPA) rebel group may infiltrate the ranks of protesters Friday and instigate violence.