MANILA, Philippines (AP) – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency today as she struggled against a reported coup plot and a possible repeat of the protests that ousted two of her predecessors.

The announcement came after the military said a general had been arrested in connection with a coup plot and as people defied a ban on rallying at a shrine of the 1986 revolt that ousted Ferdinand Marcos. Clashes erupted as police tried to disperse the protesters.

Arroyo said her action was the result of ongoing efforts by the political opposition, along with both the extreme left and the extreme right, to bring down the elected government.

“I am declaring a state of emergency because of the clear threat to the nation,” a defiant Arroyo said in a taped, nationally televised statement.

“This is my warning against those who threaten the government: the whole weight of the law will fall on your treason. You are unhinging the economy from its strengthening pillars.”

Arroyo claimed the military had quashed an effort by some military officers and their men to intervene in politics.

“There were a few who tried to break from the armed forces chain of command, to fight the civilian government and establish a regime outside the constitution,” Arroyo said. “We crushed this attempt.

Military chiefs said they backed the democratically elected Arroyo. They arrested an army general, who leads elite special forces unit, for alleged involvement in a coup plot and ensured that a marine colonel was in his barracks.

An unspecified number of other people also were taken into custody, and police were seeking eight to 10 more, said Arroyo chief of staff Mike Defensor.

Already-tight security was bolstered in the capital. The government canceled rally permits and told schools to call off classes, aiming to keep the opposition from exploiting the scheduled demonstrations commemorating the 20th anniversary of the peaceful revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Extra barbed wire and shipping containers were set up on roads leading to Malacanang, the presidential palace, and only essential staff were allowed in. Security council members had to leave their cars outside and walk into the compound.

Checkpoints appeared around the capital. Media were barred from the main military headquarters, Camp Aguinaldo, where reinforcements arrived in eight armored personnel carriers. An armored personnel carrier sat outside the marines’ camp, with a truckload of marines in full battle gear nearby.

Police already were on red alert nationwide as widespread reports of a coup plot have circulated for more than a week; even elementary school students were discussing it in detail.

The Philippine stock market and the peso both plunged on the emergency declaration.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon has said 14 junior officers were identified as being involved, and that the military stood ready to crush any takeover attempt.

Esperon said seized documents outlined the alleged plot, which included establishing a revolutionary government after Arroyo was forcibly removed and abolishing “democratic institutions.”

Arroyo survived three impeachment bids in September over alleged massive corruption and vote-rigging. Opposition groups have continued to call for her resignation.

Last week, Arroyo met the military’s top brass to discuss security threats and ordered the generals to hasten efforts to bolster the morale and welfare of soldiers, according to a general at the meeting.

AP-ES-02-23-06 2323EST

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