December 11, 2007
PNP says 101 arrested inside Manila Peninsula
MANILA, Philippines — For the second time in the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the country’s financial district came close to becoming a battle zone.
After a daring courtroom walkout that went unchecked by their security escorts, renegade officers on trial for the 2003 Oakwood mutiny — led by Navy lieutenant and now Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV — again sought to seize a posh Makati City hotel.
They expected civilian support and military defections for a people power uprising in a renewed call for the overthrow of the Arroyo administration.
But this time, government negotiators were not as patient, gave a shorter deadline, and –with a swift tear gas attack — forced the surrender of the rebel soldiers and a handful of allies from religious and leftist groups.
The assault team began firing warning shots at 4:45 p.m. Nine soldiers were deployed to the second floor lobby of the Manila Peninsula hotel, armed with long firearms. Others were stationed at the side entrances but carried only pistols.
At 5:02 p.m., hazy smoke which later turned out to be tear gas began permeating the hotel lobby, forcing the rebel soldiers and media people to retreat into the inner rooms.
Continuous gun fire from three armored personnel carriers went on for more than 15 minutes, presumably to destroy the front entrance of the hotel. One APC crashed into the hotel entrance at around 5:12 p.m., with the silhouettes of the assaulting team making their way toward the left wing where Trillanes had holed up.
More than 15 minutes later, police ushered the first group of media people out of the hotel, detaining some of them later for questioning.
Six hours after the hotel takeover, Trillanes declared the uprising over.
“We’re coming out! We’re coming out!” said Trillanes, 36, looking none the worse for wear after staying most of the time in the opulent Rizal suite on the second floor mezzanine of the Peninsula. He said he was ending the standoff to prevent further bloodshed, gazing at the crowd of several hundred media people.
Like a criminal
With a sleeve of his black jacket slipping off his shoulder, Trillanes was dragged into a police bus like a common criminal. The senator looked defiant, towering over his captor, police Director Geary Barias, who was pulling him by his pants as he was loaded onto bus no. 206.
Trillanes’ hands were tied at the back with what looked like a white straw.
There were no casualties during the assault.
At least 101 persons were arrested inside the hotel, Philippine National Police Director General Avelino Razon said.
Troops searched the Manila Peninsula late Thursday night for Marine Capt. Nick Faeldon, one of the 26 Magdalo soldiers. A Philippine Daily Inquirer source said the police conducted ‘a paneling’ search at the hotel for Faeldon.
Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon announced that the military would undertake further “activities” to determine how the rebellion was planned and executed.
Incident closed, not solved
“We consider the incident as solved but we are not closing the matter because there might be some activities,” said Esperon.
“We are relieved that it turned out this way. It wasn’t bloody,” Esperon told reporters shortly after dining on pork chop and rice with the military top brass at Villamor Air Base’s operations headquarters in Pasay City, where he monitored the hotel operations.
Without giving any specifics, Esperon said the public may expect troop movements into Metro Manila from military bases around Luzon.
“We want to assure you that the chain of command of the Armed Forces is intact and all the movements that are happening are authorized … but we encourage everyone that whenever you see troops, please report to us,” he said.
“We are giving no warning to soldiers. They know who to follow … nor is this the time for checking loyalties. We have done that already. So we already know if there are people who will join. And we assure you, we don’t see that anyone is going to join them,” Esperon said.
Walkout
Trillanes, 25 other charged Magdalo comrades and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim of the Army’s Special Action Forces, walked out of their coup d’etat hearing at the Makati Regional Trial Court’s Branch 148 at the 14th floor at around 10:42 a.m.
The group marched through J.P. Rizal Avenue and then turned to Makati Avenue.
“We are joining the people in calling for the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo, because the President continues to violate the Constitution and continues to plunder the treasury, disrespect the rule of law and prostitute our institutions,” Lim said during the march.
“Now is the time for the withdrawal of support. We are joining our people in the removal of an illegitimate President … Units are joining from Mindanao to northern Luzon,” said Lim, 52, who was detained in connection with a failed coup attempt in February 2006.
On reaching the Manila Peninsula, a commotion among the soldiers and reporters broke one of the glass doors on the hotel’s side entrance facing Makati Avenue.
‘She stole the presidency’
At the second-floor lobby, Lim, this time reading out from a prepared statement, declared: “She (Arroyo) stole the presidency from President Joseph Ejercito Estrada through unconstitutional and deceitful means.”
Lim then recited a list of political controversies that had hounded the Arroyo presidency — the “Hello Garci” election fraud scandal, the fertilizer scam, NorthRail project, Venable deal, the allegations that Malacañang had bribed congressmen into “killing” the latest impeachment complaint, and the spate of extrajudicial killings of journalists and activists.
“We see no other means remaining for the AFP and PNP but to exercise our constitutional mandate,” he said.
The group then proceeded to a function room on the second floor and posted at least three armed sentries each at the two marble stairways from the lobby to the second floor.
The rebel soldiers’ arrival stunned guests at the lobby, including those well into their lunch in the ritzy restaurants, but remarkably without causing any panic. They spent the time ordering sandwiches and drinks and even shared crackers to the reporters outside.
In good spirits
“Everybody was in good spirits,” said lawyer Argee Guevarra.
By 12:30 p.m., a group of civilian supporters composed of former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, “Running Priest” Fr. Robert Reyes, Bishops Antonio Tobias and Julio Labayen, former University of the Philippines president Francisco “Dodong” Nemenzo, and JV Bautista and Argee Guevarra of the leftist group Sanlakas, had arrived and held a press conference at the mezzanine.
Also around this time, police had sealed Makati Avenue to traffic and Barias, head of the National Capital Region Police Office, arrived at the hotel with an aide de camp.
Barias, the first government negotiator at the scene, was barred by the Magdalo guards.
“Do they know I’m here?” he was heard telling one of the sentries.
Barias then called up a “mistah” (military school classmate) on his cell phone and was heard saying in Filipino: “I’ve established a foothold. All of the core group (members) are here. I can cordon off the area so there won’t be any people power, etcetera.”
“Should there be an evacuation, I’ll take care of it,” he said. “All of them are accounted for and I don’t think there will be reinforcements.”
Negotiators
At around 2 p.m., two of Lim’s classmates from the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1978 arrived to serve as additional negotiators — Senior Superintendents Jaime Calungsod and Geronimo Preside, both of the Southern Police District.
This second attempt to negotiate failed, prompting Barias to give out orders at 2:15 p.m. to have the hotel cordoned off and for the guests to start leaving.
In an impromptu press briefing, Barias announced that a 3 p.m. deadline had been given for Trillanes and his men to surrender — or they will be arrested. The order came from Razon, he said.
“What we did is an obligation, we had no other choice,” Trillanes told reporters before he surrendered.
“I entered politics. The people voted for me, but what did they do. They disrespected the more than 11 million votes that I got. They did not give representation to the people who voted for me,” the senator said.
Tantamount to treason
“It’s tantamount to treason if I don’t do anything,” Trillanes said. “There is no loss here. We just did what had to be done. If there is a loser, it’s going to be the Filipino nation because … Gloria is still in power and she will be there even beyond 2010.”
But he added: “Like all evil regimes, there is an end to it.”
Trillanes was elected to the Senate in May in what many commentators saw was a protest vote against Ms Arroyo.
“I stand here today, to declare my intentions as a former soldier and now a senator of the country,” Trillanes had earlier said.
“I stood for the rights of the oppressed. We see now that this government will go to any length to hold on to power.
“You have been witnesses and victims of the kind of ruthlessness that the administration has been giving to the people,” he told reporters.
To Bicutan
Trillanes, Lim and others involved in the six-hour standoff — around 30 — were later taken to a detention center in Bicutan, Taguig City, said PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao.
“They will be processed there for investigation,” Pagdilao said.
Initially, Pagdilao said the group was liable for contempt of court for walking out of the hearing of a Makati City court, to forcible entry of the hotel to possible rebellion.
Pagdilao also said police would also look into possible conspiracy.
Contrary to claims that the action was not planned, police stopped four jeepneys filled with Tondo residents about to proceed to the hotel. The passengers said they thought they were to attend a burial but later discovered the trip was part of an opposition recruitment for the Makati event.
Recruitment
Virginia Tutay of Isla Puting Bato and a member of the People’s Movement Against Poverty identified with former President Estrada said that the people were paid P200 each while the jeepney owners got P700 each to join the Makati crowd.
Tourism Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque Jr. told reporters that all foreign guests staying at the Peninsula were safely evacuated.
The hotel management said 310 out of the 497 rooms were occupied before the drama started.
At last, after almost 6 years, the most awaited verdict of all times has been declared. Former President Jospeh Estrada has been found GULITY in beyond reasonable doubt of plunder by the Sandiganbayan and has been sentenced to reclusion perpetua (life imprisonment). But unfortunately (should I say this?) the perjury case was dismissed.
