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FVR's ‘no-el’ warning unfounded - Palace exec


Malacañang has branded as “unfounded" former President Fidel Ramos’ warning that the government might use the military to postpone next year's elections and extend President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s term beyond 2010. “Those are unfounded, meaning to say they should be verified by the right authorities," said deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez, Jr. in a press briefing on Monday. Ramos on Saturday cautioned members of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1978, of which President Arroyo is an adopted member, against staging a coup or putting up a military junta before May 2010 to prevent the conduct of an election. Ramos, a former military officer, had served as Armed Forces chief before he became president in 1992. He was instrumental in toppling the Marcos regime in 1986 through the historic EDSA People Power revolution. Golez said nobody could say the elections would not push through in 2010, noting that even President Arroyo has been consistent in saying that there will be one. The official likewise assured that members of PMA Class of 1978 would not be involved in politics despite the key positions being held by some of its members in the military and police organizations. Among the members of the class whom President Arroyo appointed to important positions were Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit, commanding general of the Philippine Army; Maj. Gen. Romeo Prestoza, chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp); and Police Director Roberto Rosales, head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO). The president of PMA Class of 1978, meanwhile, assured Ramos that they would not be participants in a no-election scenario, stressing that his classmates are loyal to the Constitution. “We assure him that the members of the PMA Class 1978 are professionals and as professionals, we remain loyal to the Constitution and to the government," said Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Roland Detabali. - GMANews.TV

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