8 detained for plot against Gloria Arroyo

A team of soldiers and police swooped on a house in suburban Manila near the House of Representatives complex before dawn and arrested the eight, seizing guns, bombs, documents, and a blueprint of the government building, they said.

"As we all know, the state of the nation address of the president is approaching," national police chief Oscar Calderon told a news conference.

Arroyo is set to deliver the annual policy address at the legislature on July 24.

The group rented the house several weeks ago and the authorities pounced after a three-day stakeout, military officials said.

"It arouses your interest why they would rent a house there at this point in time, and then we found this blueprint of the (House of Representatives building) in their possession," said armed forces chief of staff General Generoso Senga.