Qaeda groups plot president's death: Philippines

Philippines security officials said Thursday they had uncovered a plot by militants linked to the Al-Qaeda network to assassinate President Gloria Arroyo as well as target foreign embassies.

Her security chief, Brigadier General Romeo Prestoza, said Arroyo had been informed of the threat, which forced her to cancel a scheduled trip Friday to the northern resort city of Baguio.

Security forces in the Philippines were placed on full alert.

Prestoza said the plot was hatched by "extremists Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and the Abu Sayyaf Group," referring to Muslim militant groups with reported links to Al-Qaeda.

"It is not just the president, there are other targets," he told reporters. "If they want to launch it, they can do it anytime."

Armed forces chief General Hermogenes Esperon said news of the plan "had become the basis of our action for putting the armed forces of the Philippines in full state of preparedness."

He said elements composed of militants from Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah were also planning to hit "high-value targets" around Manila.

Both groups, which have been blamed for the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines in recent years, are known to operate on the southern island of Mindanao.

Earlier Thursday, army spokesman Captain Carlo Ferrer cited intelligence reports that elements from the communist New People's Army (NPA) rebel group may infiltrate the ranks of protesters Friday and instigate violence.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a Maoist rebellion since 1969.

Arroyo's critics

The announcement came a day a head of a major rally by political opponents of Arroyo to demand her resignation over allegations of corruption linking the first family.

Prestoza said the plan did not appear to be connected to the opposition rally at the Makati business district in Manila, planned for Friday.

Arroyo's critics have been holding daily protests around Manila calling on her to resign over fresh claims that her husband and a political ally tried to get millions of dollars in kickbacks from a telecoms deal with a Chinese firm.

The 329-million-dollar deal for a national broadband network with China's state-run ZTE has since been cancelled by Arroyo.

Some business groups have warned that the scandal could plunge the country into a new round of political instability and dampen investor confidence.

Leaders of the influential Roman Catholic Church, business leaders and even lawyers' groups have expressed support for the protest planned in the Makati business district.

The presidential palace has called for calm amid the turmoil and challenged Arroyo's opponents to file charges in court.