SITREP 22: STATE OF EMERGENCY LIKELY LIFTED BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000970 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, DRL/CRA, DS, CA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2016 TAGS: PINS ASEC ECON RP SUBJECT: SITREP 22: STATE OF EMERGENCY LIKELY LIFTED BY MARCH 3 REF: MANILA 950 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: A/DCM Scott Bellard for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: NSA Gonzales told A/S Hill March 2 that he expected President Arroyo to lift the State of National Emergency today or tomorrow. Defense Secretary Cruz told A/DCM separately that the President would "definitely" lift it on March 3, due mostly to arguments from her economic team. In a March 2 joint press conference, the Defense and Justice Secretaries and the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief all stated that the situation in the country appeared rapidly to be returning to normal. PNP and AFP have both reduced alert levels already. Manila remains calm, with no major demonstrations. Five leftist representatives remain in the protective custody of the House. Mission discontinued the operations of the Crisis Management Center on March 2. End Summary. -------------- Security Advisers Confident about Situation -------------- ¶2. (C) As he was departing Manila, A/S Hill called National Security Advisor Norberto "Bert" Gonzales regarding the State of National Emergency. Gonzales assured Hill that President Arroyo believed the situation was returning to normal and would lift the State of Emergency today or tomorrow. Separately, Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, aboard the USS Essex (along with AFP Chief of Staff General Senga and all service chiefs) at Admiral Fallon's invitation, told A/DCM that the President would "definitely" lift Proclamation 1017 on March 3, in large part at the urging of her economic team, as well as assurances from DND and AFP that the situation had now stabilized sufficiently. ¶3. (U) In a joint press conference given mid-day March 2 (local),Defense Secretary Cruz, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, and Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Arturo Lomibao said the national security situation had largely normalized. They said they would recommend the lifting of the State of Emergency if the situation continued to normalize. The three said they have been assessing the situation since February 24, and planned to issue a report to the President on the law and order situation within 24 hours. Also during the press conference: -- Secretary Cruz cited a report of General Senga that the actions of the alleged destabilizers continued to recede and subside. Cruz stressed that the AFP and PNP would continue to be vigilant, with appropriate alert levels still in place to ensure that security forces would be able to respond to any problem; -- Secretary Gonzalez said the Department of Justice (DOJ) believed that the plotters who sought to undermine and bring down the government had been thwarted. "The trajectory is toward lifting since the situation has leveled off;" -- PNP Chief Lomibao confirmed that there was marked improvement in law and order in the past several days. -------------- Tensions Easing -------------- ¶4. (U) Manila remained calm. There were no reports of any major protests or unauthorized troop movements. Police Senior Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao told the press on March 2 that the PNP had lowered the alert level from red (the highest level of readiness) to blue (heightened readiness). The office of the AFP Chief of Staff confirmed that the military had also lowered its alert level from red to blue. The stock market rose slightly and the peso continued its rally, closing slightly higher against the dollar. -------------- Five Representatives Remain in House Offices -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Five left-wing "Party List" lawmakers, accused of inciting rebellion (reftels),remained inside the House of Representatives under protective custody. Justice Secretary Gonzalez told the media on March 1 that DOJ would not attempt to arrest the lawmakers while it conducts a preliminary investigation into the charges, at least until about March 16. MANILA 00000970 002 OF 002 -------------- Crisis Management Center Discontinued -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Based on a decision by the Emergency Action Committee chaired by the Charge (septel),Mission discontinued the operations of the Crisis Management Center on March 2. Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/ Jones