BY VICTOR REYES

DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. yesterday said he was not discounting the possibility that rightist groups would launch another attempt to grab power this year.

"I believe it’s an assessment of the our intelligence services...There’s a possibility that there may be destabilization by various threat groups," Teodoro told reporters after the traditional New Year’s call by defense and military officials on a defense chief.

Teodoro said the threat of a power grab is emanating from "political groups" that are agitating soldiers. But he said the threat is not imminent. "(It’s) just a general assessment, the actual details I have not received."

"But you know information just crops up suddenly. Things like these are really done below ground level and it’s hard to get credible information on it. It just happens," he added.

Teodoro could not say if the same people behind the November 29 Manila Peninsula incident are involved in the planned adventurism. "Right now, there is an investigation as to who are really behind the November 29 (incident) so it’s hard to say," he said.

The Manila Peninsula standoff followed the walkout of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and other leaders of the Magdalo group from the Makati court hearing of their coup d’état case. Trillanes, who was a Navy lieutenant when the Magdalo officers staged the Oakwood mutiny in 2003, then marched to the Manila Peninsula, holed out at the hotel for about six hours and called for President Arroyo’s ouster before surrendering.

Joining the Trillanes group in the walkout was Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, who was at the Makati court as a witness for the Magdalo group in the coup case.

Lim, former commander of the elite Scout Rangers, is facing court martial with 27 other Marines and Army officers for a supposed power grab attempt in February 2006.

The supposed power grab was allegedly planned to coincide with anti-government mass actions during the 20th Edsa anniversary on Feb. 24, 2006, when Lim and accused Maj. Renato Miranda, former Marines commandant, would supposedly lead their men to the Edsa Shrine and announce withdrawal of support from President Arroyo.

The second anniversary of the February plot is giving rise to speculations of another power grab attempt.

AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, asked about a destabilization move next month, said: "We are on the lookout for that... but we have not verified anything."

"If they should do it again, I must tell you that the resolution will even be quicker this time than last November," he added.

Asked to elaborate what they are looking out for, Esperon said: "I do not know what plots they are talking about. I said some people, especially those who have delusions of grandeur, will always plan out things. They never give up. They were defeated in 1989 (coup), they failed in 2003 (Oakwood mutiny). What good things have they caused?"

Lim, then a major affiliated with the Young Officers Union, was involved in the 1989 coup.

Esperon told military commanders to stick to the chain of command.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo V. Puno said there are still groups planning to bring down the Arroyo administration but would not elaborate.

"I just want to emphasize that, not just the PNP, but everybody is prepared for any recurrence of this sort because we have to put a stop to this already and start dealing with things in a normal way. Let us follow the constitutional processes," Puno said.

He advised those eyeing to topple government to just wait for the 2010 elections to air their sentiments through the legal selection of the next leaders of the country via elections.

PNP chief Avelino Razon Jr. said the destabilizers "continue to see if they could make their move."

"These are criminal elements, these are terrorists, mga destabilizers. So, the PNP has to be more on guard, more alert, they have to perform more, they have to attend to all of these threats," he added.

Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said destabilization moves, particularly from the military, are a "thing of the past."

"The officers and men of the officers and men of the AFP have achieved a high level of professionalism and discipline that any recruitment to join the rogue ranks will just fail. The AFP is very much insulated from politics," he said. – With Raymond Africa and Jocelyn Montemayor