BY VICTOR REYES

ARMED Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. yesterday said reports about a plot of the New People’s Army to liquidate President Joseph Estrada or members of his family have yet to be validated.

Esperon said security forces, nonetheless, have adopted measures to ensure Estrada’s safety. He did not elaborate.

Estrada is on house arrest at his Tanay rest house, which is across the street from Camp Capinpin, while facing plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan.

Esperon said there is no need for additional security detail for Estrada. "We have a lot of troops, that’s the 2nd (Infantry) Division area."

"In our general work, we have to secure Camp Capinpin and as I said it is just a fence between us so when we secure the camp in general we are also securing that resort, that compound of the former President," said Esperon.

Esperon said he has not seen the report mentioned by National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales although he has been informed of the alleged plot.

"To be frank about it but it, the (report) is very sensible. The plotters could do something that could be blamed on the government," he said.

"I have been told about some reports on such. The validations will continue," he added.

Gonzales on Thursday said NPA assassins are out to get him, Estrada and the former president’s children before the elections and then lay the blame on the administration.

Asked if the NPA is the only group plotting to assassinate Estrada, Esperon said: "If you are a security man, you consider all threats but on the matter of NPA having plans to harm the former president, it’s really worth looking into."

Gonzales said a "special operations group" of the New People’s Army is planning to mount the assassination before the election in order to "change the environment of the elections," Plaza Miranda-style.

In 1971, the "miting de avance" of the Liberal Party was bombed. The attack was blamed on the Marcos administration, but recent reports tag the NPA.

Gonzales, in a press briefing at the Palace Guest House, said at the top of the NPA-SOG priority are himself, President Arroyo, Esperon, and Estrada or one of his children, possibly Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.

He said a longer second priority list includes Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez and retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan.

He said he obtained the "very reliable information" less than a month ago. He said they already know the tools that would be used in the assassinations and have instituted counter-measures.

"We consider this to be a very serious threat and what we are not able to explain here is this threat is time-bound. (Communist Party of the Philippines founder) Joma Sison wants us dead before the election is over," he said.

"I consider this one as following the same thinking that he wants to change the environment for this election. So he is targeting people who he thinks have influence on the outcome of the fight of the fronts of the communist movement in this coming election," he said.

Gonzales said the communist movement is sore at him because it has "lost 50 percent of the votes for their front organizations" in the last elections as a result of his campaign against party-list groups that allegedly serve as fronts for the CPP-NPA.

Gonzales said additional security measures have been placed around President Arroyo but her activities could not be restricted.

"The threat to the President is constant. This is not new to her, although we in the security group of government are saying that this is a very serious threat," he said.

Gonzales said he spoke to Estrada Thursday night to inform him of the threat to his life and that of his family.

"My thinking is that they (communist rebels) would want the Estrada family to react that is why I am even cautioning the former president that maybe it is not him. It could be Jinggoy Estrada," he said.

"This has nothing to do with our partisan politics. This has something to do with security. We do not want our country to be driven further to chaos," he added.

GIBBERISH

The Communist Party of the Philippines through its spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal denounced Gonzales’ "latest gibberish" about the supposed assassination plot.

Rosal said: "This latest noise from Arroyo’s clerico-fascist clown is another one of his worn-out and incredible slanders against the NPA. It is sheer intrigue against both the CPP and the anti-Arroyo opposition."

Rosal said that no such assassination plot exists.

"It is obvious to all, including the opposition and especially the Estrada family, that this latest utterance of Gonzales, who is most known for his diehard anti-communism, Red scare tactics, pathological lying and dirty intrigues, are pure hogwash," he said.

Rosal said it is obvious that the real and only reason is to prevent Estrada from communicating with his political allies and other anti-Arroyo forces and, thus, prevent him from exerting influence during the election period.

Following Gonzales’ warning, Estrada’s police guards confiscated his mobile phones and barred the entry of all visitors with the exception of family members and one of his lawyers.

Estrada’s lawyer Rufus Rodriguez debunked claims of the PNP that it has barred visits to Estrada due to the death threats.

"This is clearly a desperate move on the part of the administration to prevent President Estrada from participating in any discussion or planning session on campaign strategies which will ensure the landslide win of the opposition’s senatorial candidates," Rodriguez said.

"It is the government’s hope that by marginalizing him, they will likewise compromise the chances of his candidates in the May 2007 elections by barring any attempts at complete unification by all parties with ties to the opposition," he said.

Rodriguez said Estrada’s lawyers will file an urgent motion with the Sandiganbayan to have his rights restored, including his access to communication equipment.

He added they will also go to the Commission on Human Rights to seek redress for the violation of Estrada’s human rights. – With Regina Bengco and JP Lopez