Philippine ex-Cabinet secretary arrested

MANILA, Philippines --Philippine police on Friday arrested a former Cabinet secretary for illegal assembly and two suspected followers of a former senator wanted for his alleged role in last month's thwarted coup, officials said.

Former Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman and activist Vicente Romano were arrested for leading a silent protest in Manila of about 30 people wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan "Oust Now," apparently calling for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign.

Police said they were arrested for holding a rally without a permit at a popular tree-lined promenade on the edge of Manila Bay.

"We are not holding a rally, we are just strolling. We are not disturbing anyone, we don't even have placards," Soliman said.

Police plan to file an illegal assembly complaint against Soliman and Romano, and a prosecutor is expected to conduct inquest proceedings Friday night, Metropolitan Manila police chief Director Vidal Querol said by telephone.

Separately, police arrested Ricardo Pauso and Melchor Lobete, both members of a civilian-military fraternity known as the Guardians Brotherhood Inc., Friday in northern Bulacan province, Querol said. Police seized several high-powered weapons, including rifle grenades and magazines for M-16 rifles, from the men.

Former Senator Gregorio Honasan, accused by the government of playing a role in last month's thwarted coup, is a faction leader of the Guardians.

"We are checking if they are followers of ex-Senator Honasan because the Guardians have mutated into several factions," Querol said. "They are not giving a definitive statement."

Querol said the men were carrying Guardian membership cards and apparently spurious cards identifying them as military intelligence agents.

Honasan, a former army colonel, has not been seen in public since last month. After leading coup attempts against then-President Corazon Aquino in 1987 and 1989, the government granted him amnesty in 1995. He has since been charged in a mutiny by about 300 junior officers and personnel from elite military units in July 2003.

Arroyo imposed a weeklong state of national emergency last month to quash a coup plot that allegedly involved disgruntled soldiers, communist rebels and civilian backers.