The Philippine military assured Wednesday there is no coup similar to that in Thailand against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, stressing the loyalty of the Armed Forces leadership for its commander-in-chief is intact.

"We remain to be intact, the chain of command is intact and we don't see any similar event happening here," Bartolome Bacarro, public information officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), quoted AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon as saying.

Esperon presided over a command conference in Camp Aguinaldo Wednesday morning, hours after the coup in Thailand. But Bacarro said the weekly command conference has nothing to do with the Thailand incident.

"The AFP remains to be loyal to duly-constituted authorities, to include the judicial, legislative and executive branch of the government, and we are taking orders from the commander in chief which is the President," Bacarro also quoted Esperon as saying.

"We do believe that the Armed Forces of the Philippines has remained to be intact and that we are aware that even previous (coup) attempts have failed because of measures being undertaken bythe Armed Forces," added Bacarro.

However Bacarro expressed fears that some "threat groups" may take advantage of the Thailand incident for propaganda purposes. But he stressed that the Thailand scenario will not be replicated in the Philippines.

Bacarro said military dynamics in Thailand and in the Philippines are totally different. "There are a lot of differences,there are different stimulus so definitely it (Philippine condition) is different from what's happening there (in Thailand)."

For his part, Army spokesman Ernesto Torres said that "the Philippine Army leadership will never allow this to happen. The Philippine Army, as a matter of policy, isolates itself from politics and distances itself from political groups."

On the other hand, Navy spokesman Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said that "We are not allowed to interfere in the political affairs of other countries. The Navy remains loyal to the chain of command."

Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the government is confident that President Arroyo will not go the way of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, saying the President is in control of the government and the Armed Forces.

"Everything is normal in the Philippines ... The President is in firm control of the government and the Armed services are backing up the Constitution and the duly-constituted authority," Ermita said in his weekly press conference.

"There's nothing to be duly alarmed about," Ermita added.

However, Ermita said that in the wake of the recent developments in Thailand, he has talked to several officials of the Armed Forces because "we want them to be aware of what's happening."

President Arroyo is also closely monitoring the situation and has tasked the Department of Foreign Affairs to look after the welfare of the Filipinos in Thailand, ensure their safety, and monitor developments.

But Ermita said the Philippine government was not yet taking a stand on the issue, although like the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and several other countries, the Arroyo administration was also hoping for a peaceful settlement.

The Philippine military quashed a coup attempt against the Arroyo government in February. Apart from corruption charges, Arroyo is accused by oppositions of rigging the results of the May 2004 elections.