MALACAÑANG on Wednesday hinted that military adventurists are behind the rumored destabilization plot.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, while downplaying the alleged fresh destabilization plot against the government, said initial reports showed that the Abu Sayyaf is not responsible for the incidents, and that detractors of the government are “trying to set up a situation so that there is a reason for them to cause some mischief as far as the administration is concerned” in view of the State of the Nation Address (Sona) of the President on July 27.

Ermita said he is not convinced that the political opposition could be behind fresh efforts to destabilize the government.

Asked who could be behind the reported destabilization plot, he said: “Of course, we have opposition elements. I’m not talking about the political opposition. I’m talking about elements. How many events did we have before? Do you recall the Manila Peninsula thing? Do you recall February of 2006? You recall the Magdalo?”

All of those incidents involved military rebels.

However, Ermita said, “It is not serious enough to prompt President Arroyo to call for a special security meeting on the subject.”

Ermita said in a news briefing that he provided Mrs. Arroyo with the initial report of the Armed Forces and the National Police on recent incidents at the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Agriculture, where explosive devices had been detonated and discovered, respectively.

“There is nothing to be worried about. That is also what our security people reported to the President which I transmitted... as far as the President is concerned, everything is normal,” Ermita said.

He said such developments are “not that serious as people might think it is but it is worth looking into.”

“We hope to be able to get to the bottom of this but it’s not really a cause for concern. But we are not brushing it aside...we are just really taking note of it just to be sure that nothing untoward happens,” Ermita said.

But when asked further if the reported destabilizers are composed of renegade soldiers, he said: “I don’t want to speculate. It is still being investigated.”

He said what is “quite obvious” is that those reportedly behind the destabilization plot are “just trying to foment intrigue within the Armed Forces and I don’t think it will work because we know that the loyalty of those in uniform, the Armed Forces and the police, is beyond reproach.”