Arroyo met Gregorio Honasan, popularly known as "Gringo", on Thursday at his request, presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

During the meeting, "Honasan disavowed any intentions to overthrow the government and he also said so in a letter which he personally handed to the president," Bunye said.

Bunye said Honasan had "sought an audience with the president in connection with the rebellion case against him," following reports heavier charges may be levelled against him.

Honasan, who is running for Senate in the congressional polls on May 14, is accused of planning two attempts to overthrow Arroyo in 2003 and 2006.

He has already been indicted for the crime of coup d'etat, which is punishable by life imprisonment, for his alleged role in a July 2003 mutiny by some 300 soldiers led by a cabal of junior military officers.

Bunye said the president had responded by saying Honasan should "follow the process and prove your innocence in court."

Honasan, who served as a senator from 1995 to 2004, is also under investigation for allegedly masterminding a February 2006 plot by several military officers to withdraw support for Arroyo, their commander-in-chief.

Honasan, then a colonel, was part of a cabal of junior officers who helped spark a popular revolt that toppled then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and which installed opposition leader Corazon Aquino, in his place.