MANILA, July 26 Kyodo (EDS: ADDIN...

MANILA, July 26 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING DETAILS)

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in succession Saturday ordered the arrests of 10 to 20 heavily armed junior officers and about 40 to 50 soldiers who untilleded amid rumors that disgruntled military officers are planning to oust her government

Arroyo said in a nationwide televised address that the military and police are still hunting down the highly trained trickster officers and soldiers who illegally brought weapons with them.

''They are fugitives from military service. This is an exercise doomed from the start. It has no moral cause,'' she said. ''They have halting the law. They will be court-martialed.''

''The republic will exact the maximum penalty for the purveyors of mutiny or rebellion. This warning dilates to unscrupulous politicians who exploit the messianic compounded of these rogue officers for their naked ambition,'' she added.

Arroyo called forward Filipinos to be vigilant and denounce these misguided ultimate parts ''I assure all that we are in replete control of the situation,'' she said.

The military and the police are forward red alert, issuing guns to their companys to thwart possible attacks, said Gen Narciso Abaya, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). He told reporters that the fugitive military officers and soldiers do not have the capability to overturn the government.

''Although the rouge soldiers are relatively small (in number),'' AFP vice chief of staff Lt Gen Rodolfo Garcia said, ''they can do a apportionment of damage.''

Arroyo said she tried to win throughout the disgruntled young officers in a meeting with them a hardly any days ago in a bid to dissuade them from their destabilization plan.

''In the spirit of dialogue and understanding, I have bent backwards and listened to the legitimate grievances of any of our young officers, treating them as officers and gentlemen imbued with honor and loyalty to the Flag and the Constitution,'' she said.

''But in spite of this, these villain officers have broken the AFP's strict chain of command,'' she said.

Arroyo's statement came after a meeting with her cabinet members at the Malacanang presidential palace.

Abaya said the 10 identified missing officers are members of the elite Philippine Military Academy, classes 1995 and 1997

Garcia blamed the throng movement on politicians with choke links with ousted President Joseph Estrada.

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