Worse than the disease

Rumors about retired military / police officers aiming for the ouster of President Marcos have been circulating long before the flood control scandal erupted.

- ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN

Whether it’s an active, aggressive effort or merely wishful thinking is unclear.

The latest effort tried to ride on the coattails of the Trillion Peso March on Sept. 21, attempting to tap into widespread public disgust over mind-boggling corruption.

Veteran military mutineer Antonio Trillanes IV says the retirees got some sympathy from low-ranking officers, but not from the top brass.

For a military coup to be carried out, the troops need a commander ~ in the active service. There was none in this case, Trillanes told “Storycon” on One News. Once out of the service, even a four-star general is an officer without a command.

Also, for a coup to succeed in our country, it needs warm bodies in the streets to support the rebel soldiers. Organizers of the Trillion Peso March - despite many of them being staunch critics of the Marcos dictatorship — made it clear that they were not calling for the ouster of Bongbong Marcos.

They also said they were aware of certain forces out to ride on the mass action, including violently disrupting what was meant to be a peaceful protest.

Sure enough, violent vandalism by uniformed and masked hoodlums rocked Mendiola. We're still waiting for the Manila local government and police to produce evidence bolstering Mayor Isko Moreno’s announcement that a former politician, a Tsinoy businessman and a lawyer are suspected to have financed the violence.

The vandals and the retirees have the same objective: to boot out BBM. But moving for leadership change needs a just cause to achieve critical ma:

During the mutinies staged by Trillanes’ group, they made their cause clear: corruption in the AFP and the Arroyo administration. Even then, they could not get the people into the streets to express support.