Hyatt 10 raises martial law bogey amid blasts

MANILA, Philippines - A group of former Arroyo Cabinet officials on Wednesday accused Malacañang of setting the stage for a state of emergency or even martial law in the wake of the recent bombings in Mindanao. In a prepared statement, the so-called Hyatt 10 said the declaration of state of emergency or martial law is President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s alternative to Charter change in her alleged bid stay in power beyond 2010. Aside from the bombings in Mindanao, the group cited as bases for their accusation the alleged militarization of the bureaucracy and the accelerated promotion of generals belonging to the Philippine Military Academy’s Class of '78, of which the President is an adopted member. “From mere survival, the President is now consumed by schemes, however illegal or unconstitutional, to perpetuate herself in power – indefinitely," they said. Malacañang officials on the other hand denied that a declaration of either a state of emergency or martial law is in the offing and branded the accusation as an “agitation propaganda." “This is a grand, very creative, very orchestrated, and widely implemented agitation propaganda against the government," Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said in a radio interview early Wednesday. President Arroyo’s security adviser, Norberto Gonzales, said there is no need for a state of emergency because the situation in Mindanao has not yet spread all over the country. The Hyatt 10 – named as such for announcing their resignation from the Arroyo Cabinet in a press conference at the Hyatt Hotel in Pasay City in 2005 – went to Malacañang to present their demands but were blocked by members of the Presidential Security Group. They instead held a press conference at a nearby restaurant where they said President Arroyo’s alleged hunger for power is due to a “profound fear of having to account before our people." They noted that none of allegations against Arroyo and her family have been solved, and that Arroyo has tried to escape the issues hounding her by traveling abroad more often. - GMANews.TV