Manila (AsiaNews) – The archbishop of Manila, newly appointed cardinal, Gaudencio Rosales, this morning urged the population to act with "calm and humility" in the face of the Filipino President's declaration of a national state of emergency.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo this morning published an "emergency proclamation" after a crisis meeting with the Council of Ministers. She has charged a "tactical alliance between communist forces and the government's extreme wing" of "wanting to eliminate democracy in the country". All forms of protest have been banned and select armed troops now protect the presidential palace and military camps.

Arroyo ordered the arrest of key military officers for allegedly leading a plot to topple her government. The officials arrested come from the elite units of the Armed Forces:  the Filipino marines, the Army Scout Rangers and Police Special Action Force. But the president "did not exclude that civilians could be involved in the attempted Coup d'Etat".

Cardinal Rosales said: "Some may say that everything is alright, and others may say everything is going badly, but what is important is that, in the eyes of God, we ask for unity… The state of emergency was declared because there is a real danger and because various forces in the field could be tempted to use armed violence. This must not happen: the national protest of 1986 [when the dictator Marcos was overthrown – ed. note] was a success precisely because it was peaceful."

The cardinal urged those involved to "show a more mature side, because these accusations and counter-accusations, which always end up in protests on streets, lead to a deterioration of our image in the eyes of the world and give a very bad example to those we should be educating. Who has something to say should do so with humility."