MANILA, Philippines -- Fidel Ramos, the apparent victor in the presidential election currently being certified, said he was warned of a possible assassination attempt by right-wing rebels before dawn Friday.
The former defense secretary told reporters at a news conference he was alerted by his security aides at 11 p.m. Thursday a commando raid was imminent on his suburban home in the posh Ayala-Alabang Village.
Ramos said he requested authorities for additional security and told members of his family to prepare to leave their house. His family never left and Ramos went to bed at 2 a.m. after no attack was mounted.
Ramos, a West Point-trained former general, attended a breakfast meeting at the Manila Hotel Friday with actress Lea Salonga, the former star of the Broadway musical Miss Saigon.
'I was alerted by some of our security staff to be prepared for something untoward happening, meaning a possible hit on me or on my home,' said Ramos, who is President Corazon Aquino's favored successor.
Lt. Gen. Gerardo Flores, intelligence chief of the Philippine National Police, said the attack was supposed to have been carried out by military rebels.
'We believe in our intelligence reports,' Flores said. 'Whether we foiled it (plot) or not, we do not know.'
Ramos, a former armed forces chief, played a major role in crushing seven military uprisings during Aquino's six-year term. Four of the seven revolts were staged by rebels indentified with the Reform the Armed Forces Movement, or RAM.
'This plot against the life of Secretary Ramos has been there continuously in relation to his role in stopping all the coup attempts,' said Defense Secretary Renato de Villa.
Brig. Gen. Marino Filart, chief of the capital region south sector command, said officials were planning to beef up security for Ramos because 'he probably is going to be declared the next president of this country.'
Ramos, 64, won a thin victory over six other presidential candidates in the May 11 elections, according to an unofficial but authorized vote tally.
Congress has promised to finish certifying the ballots to confirm his victory and proclaim Aquino's successor by June 15. Her term expires June 30.
A Ramos spokesman said campaign headquarters has received several bomb threats, although police found no explosives near the building in the capital's financial district.
Press reports have said right-wing rebels and communist insurgents plan to assassinate Ramos, hoping to seize power in the confusion that would follow.
Military officials said, however, such an alliance between the right- wing RAM and the communist New People's Army was unlikely.
The RAM has threatened to seize power if widespread fraud marred the elections. Although allegations of cheating abound, the balloting was considered among the most peaceful and honest in the country's history.
Military officials maintain the support for the RAM within the army has faded. They say it lacks the strength to mount a successful coup but remains a terrorist threat.
The RAM played a key role in the 1986 revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos and swept Aquino to the presidency. The group later became disenchanted with Aquino.
