In the Presidential Palace's operations room where President Arroyo and his staff were meeting, there was a land-line speaker phone on the center of the meeting table. As the group tried to coordinate the rapidly unfolding events in the country, it suddenly rang. Everyone froze. It was usually used for outgoing calls to conference someone in from a remote location. Receiving an unexpected call was almost unthinkable.
The men in the room exchanged glances. "Answer it," the President told his secretary.
His secretary, Javier de la Cruz, reached over and punched a button. "This is the President's office, may I ask who's calling?"
A strong male voice spoke through the speaker. "I am Rafael Camal de Leon."
