Here's Mike Arroyo's take on the Jan. 20 Coup aka Edsa Dos

Ellen Tordesillas of Malaya reprinted excerpts of the interview with Mike Arroyo by Nick Joaquin in the Philippine Graphic (3/5/2001). In the interview, he talked about a Plan B where elements in the military one by one would withdraw their support from Erap:

"Chavit Singson had Plan B involving elements of the military to strike the first blow. They would kindle the spark by withdrawing from the government, and one by one others would follow: Class '71 would also withdraw, then Class '72, and so forth. But General de Villa warned that the timing had to be precise because one untimely move against the government and the military would automatically defend it. The move must be made at what De Villa called a 'defining moment.'

One wonders what could have happened if Erap did not step down from power and hand over the presidency to Mrs. Arroyo. Here's more from Mike A.:

"Our group there was a back-up strike force. In fact, it was our group that won over to our side the PNP first. If Panfilo Lacson had resisted, he and his men would have been repelled: there would have been bloodshed, but not on EDSA. In every place where Erap loyalists had a force, we had a counter-force to face it, with orders to shoot. And not only in Metro Manila. Carillo had already been sent to the provinces; and in Nueva Ecija, for instance, we had Rabosa. This was a fight to the finish. That's why those five days that Erap was demanding were so important. He was counting on counter-coups and baliktaran."