Although the state of emergency was lifted last Friday, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the President is leaving it up to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to mop up any residual threats of the failed coup.

"We leave to our law enforcers and the criminal justice system the task of meeting the residual threats posed by the remnants of the failed conspiracy," he said in his Sunday column which he issued in lieu of the regular press statement.

Even while he is lauding Mrs. Arroyo’s move to lift Proclamation 1017, former President Fidel V. Ramos, however, warned of more dangers and threats to political stability unless she moves to address unresolved accusations leveled against her.

There have been calls for Mrs. Arroyo to tell the truth behind allegations that she cheated her victory in the last elections.

She has been accused of allowing her spouse, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, and family members to amass great wealth while in office, notably from the proceeds of the illegal jueteng games.

"With the plot effectively beaten back, we can now get back on track. The enemies of the State will always test a new threshold of destabilization but they will never dent the rock steady foundations of our constitutional democracy," Bunye added.

Mrs. Arroyo earlier expressed openness to hold dialogue with some disgruntled junior military officers, especially those who were reportedly recruited to join the alleged failed coup.

She also ordered Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales to collate evidence against some businessmen who were purportedly providing financial support to the failed coup, aside from those individuals who had been ordered arrested.

Gonzales was reported to be closely watching some seven journalists whom the government claimed have connived with the conspirators by allowing themselves to be used in inciting the public to take up arms against the government.

"The President is back on schedule as the nation leaves this crisis behind. She has a job and that is to grow the economy, fight poverty, hunger and unemployment," Bunye added.

Meanwhile, despite the lifting of the state of national emergency, administration solons yesterday agreed that it is still best to allow the Supreme Court to decide whether Proclamation 1017 is legal or not to guide the government in the use of its powers in similar cases in the future.

Lakas-CMD Reps. Marcelino Libanan (Eastern Samar) and Aurelio Umali (Nueva Ecija), both lawyers, took this position as they expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will uphold the legality of Proclamation 1017 issued by the President on discovery of a conspiracy of leftist and rightist groups with opposition politicians to bring down the government.

Libanan and Umali recalled that in the case of the state of rebellion declared by President Arroyo on July 27, 2003, in connection with the failed Oakwood mutiny, the Supreme Court ruled that the declaration was legal on February 3, 2004, although the President had lifted it on Aug. 1, 2003.

Libanan, vice chairman of the House Committee on Justice, said that the issue before the Supreme Court has been mooted by the President’s lifting of the state of emergency.

"The petitions had been overtaken by events. But it’s good to have a precedent that will guide the government in the use of its powers in case the same situation arises in the future."

Libanan said the Supreme Court’s ruling will provide enlightenment to everyone on why it deems Proclamation 1017 legal or not. "We are still confident that the Supreme Court will uphold the legality of the proclamation especially since there was no indication that police or military authority had usurped the functions of the civilian government during the one-week state of national emergency."