No order from Gonzales to put up junta — AFP

There was no order from Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales for the military to put up a junta in case the May 10 elections fail, an Armed Forces spokesman said on Monday. Armed Forces public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos said there was no truth to the claim of civil society leader Pastor “Boy" Saycon that Gonzales has been instructing battalion commanders to prepare for failure of elections. “We have not received any directive to that effect [junta]," said Burgos. “We know nothing about it. There is no such thing." Saycon said Gonzales had met with battalion commanders in Cagayan de Oro and would have a similar meeting in Central Luzon. He said he got this information from military sources. Gonzales has admitted meeting with the battalion commanders but denied that he instructed them to put up a junta. He described Saycon as having a “very fertile imagination." Burgos said Armed Forces chief Gen. Delfin Bangit has been visiting military camps and installations to check on the security preparations for the coming polls. On Sunday, Bangit visited military units in Zamboanga City, Sulu and in Basilan. “He talked to the troops to check on their preparations for the elections so that we would be able to protect the sanctity and integrity of the ballot this coming May polls. We are preparing before and even after the elections," he said. Talks of a military junta became rife when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed members of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class of 1978 to key positions in the Armed Forces. President Arroyo is an honorary member of the controversial PMA class. - KBK, GMANews.TV