The Southeast Asian country was riven by military factionalism in the 1980s, when the government put down seven bloody coup attempts following the downfall of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship.

The Philippine Inquirer newspaper reported Friday that a group of army and marine captains had been meeting over the past two weeks to air complaints, including low pay, inadequate housing and corruption.

"I support any legitimate grievances of the young officers of the armed forces and I urge them to resolve these responsibly through the chain of command," Arroyo said in a statement.

The Inquirer said Arroyo last weekend met a number of senior officers who had been approached by the restive junior officers.

Arroyo ordered armed forces chief General Narciso Abaya to "institutionalize a grievance mechanism for these matters, of which I want to be informed."

"We must strengthen a culture of disciplined transparency in the armed forces. This is the most effective way we can insulate the uniform from politics, avoid factionalism and promote professionalism," she added.

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