"There was no coup! There were no movements! Gusto ko sabihin sa lahat na wala akong ginawang pangungumbinsi. I never gave them any orders to move. Walang danger," Lim said after a closeddoor meeting with NBI Officer-in-Charge Nestor Mantaring and officials of the NBI Special Task Force (STF).

"It would be unthinkable for me to be involved in such movements. How can I face my men kung pumapasok ako sa kasunduan na yan?" Lim asked.

Lim denied that he had a phone conversation with Council on Philippine Affairs (COPA) Pastor "Boy" Saycon during a dinner meeting last Feb. 23 hosted by Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) Chairman Jose "Peping" Cojuangco at his residence in Dasmariñas Village, Makati City.

Mantaring said that during their closed-door meeting, Lim "categorically denied" that he had a phone conversation with Saycon.

Lim said at that time, he was with Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Generoso Senga. He clarified that he did not meet with the AFP Chief of Staff to convince him to join a coup.

"Tinatanggi niya at sinasabi niya na hindi siya pamilyar kay Saycon," Mantaring said.

Lim said that he was also implicated in a group called "Para sa Bayan" (PSB). He denied this, saying, "Ni hindi ko nga alam na nage-exist ang grupong yan."

Lim said what he knows is that PSB is the slogan of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) in the 1990s.

He admitted that he participated in a coup in 1989, as an Army captain, but said he has not been involved in any military uprising ever since.

"I’ll never allow myself to be in that position again. Hindi tatanggapin ng mga tao ko yan. Madalas nagagamit ang pangalan ko," he said.

In fact, at the height of the coup rumors, he said that he was one of the officers who were discouraging his men from joining any such movements.

"I’ve been there, I’ve seen it... the effects, kaya makinig kayo sa akin," Lim told his men. He said that he has been consistent with his beliefs. (RSO)