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Bacolod City, Philippines Friday, March 3, 2006
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RPA probed for
Arroyo ouster link
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

The Armed Forces of the Philippines is now investigating the alleged participation of the breakaway Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade communist rebel faction in the campaign to oust President Arroyo.

Maj. Michael Samson, spokesperson of the AFP Civil Relations Service, said that while the alleged involvement of the RPA-ABB is being investigated, they are focusing their efforts to determining the extent of the alliance between the Communist Party of the Philippines and the Magdalo officers.

Samson , however, said lawyer Jose Cristopher Belmonte who was arrested last week with fugitive Magdalo military officer, ILt. Lawrence San Juan, used to be a member of the RPA-ABB.

As stipulated in the document entitled "Final Talk 2" , of which was contained in a computer diskettes and among the items recovered from San Juan during his arrest on Feb. 21, a certain Sony, claimed by the military to be retired Col. Rafael Galvez, was quoted as saying that the massing up of various groups calling for the ouster of Arroyo will be in coordination with "military strikes" of the Makabayang Kawal Pilipino, and with the RPA-ABB.

Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, Scout Ranger Regiment commander, Chief Supt. Marcelino Franco, director of the police Special Action Force, and Col. Ariel Querubin, commander of the 1st Marine Brigade, are now being investigated on suspicions of involvement in the foiled coup plot.

The RPA-ABB and its political wing - Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Mangagawa-Pilipinas - entered into peace talks with the government in year 2000.

RPA-ABB spokesman Victorino Sumulong could not be reached for comments last night, and failed to respond to text message from the DAILY STAR.

The 18-page Final Talk 2 documents dated Feb. 20, a copy of which was furnished to the DAILY STAR by a military officer assigned at Camp Aguinaldo, also enumerated the final coordination meeting between the CPP led by Leo Velasco who chairs the National Military Commission, and Katipunan ng Anak ng Bayan, an umbrella organizations composed the military, academe, local government units and a national government line agency.

The KAB group is composed of "Sony", San Juan, Belmonte, Sy and Karlo, two ranking retired military officers who had participated in the 1989 foiled coup attempt.

The two groups agreed on five points as their common bases for reform such as national sovereignty and independence, economic, cultural,political and peace talks, according to the documents.

They also discussed the emerging political forces with the Drilon-Cory outer circle and the Ping-Erap inner circle, the military said which quoted the alleged documents, said.*GPB

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