Philippine prosecutors filed rebellion charges yesterday against 49 people, including six leftist lawmakers and some soldiers, for their alleged role in a plot to overthrow President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in February.

The government has said the plot against Arroyo, who survived an impeachment attempt last year over accusations of vote-rigging and graft, included plans to kill her by a group of rogue troops conspiring with ultra-leftist rebels and some of her political foes.

Emmanuel Velasco, head of the seven-member panel of state prosecutors that evaluated rebellion complaints by the police, said there was probable cause to send the cases to court.

Political turmoil and coup plots are common fixtures in the Philippines after presidents were deposed by popular revolts backed by the military in 1986 and 2001.

But many analysts say Arroyo overreacted to the alleged plot by invoking a state of emergency for a week and playing up the left-right conspiracy to allow security forces a freer hand to fight ultra-leftists rebels and intimidate her other opponents.

Among those charged with rebellion were the leaders of the rebel movement including Jose Maria Sison and Luis Jalandoni, who both live in exile in the Netherlands and two retired soldiers believed to have links with the insurgents.

Brigadier-General Danilo Lim, removed as commander of the army's elite Scout Rangers regiment after being identified as a leader of the failed coup attempt, was not among those charged.

The military said Lim was one of 20 officers facing court martial for encouraging elite soldiers to remove Arroyo and set up a junta.

Velasco said there was some proof the leftist lawmakers, five of whom have taken refuge in the lower house of Congress since late February, allowed their offices to serve as fronts for anti-Arroyo protests.

"They were also accused of using the facilities and finances of the House of Representatives and the armed forces to overthrow the government," he added.

The leftist lawmakers quickly protested against the justice department's decision to file charges, saying it as "a classic example of persecution by political association."

"The motive is to kick us out of Congress and bar our party-list organisations from further participating in the parliamentary arena," they said in a statement.

Source: China Daily