Philippines: Military Coup averted as Rebels surrender to troops

Rebels surrender after troops storm Manila hotel

Last Updated: Thursday, November 29, 2007 | 7:41 AM ET

CBC News

Renegade Philippine soldiers who occupied a luxury hotel in Manila Thursday surrendered and were arrested shortly after heavily armed troops wearing gas masks stormed the lobby.

Government soldiers prepare for an assault at the Peninsula hotel in Manila on Thursday after several military officers stormed out of their coup trial and took over the facility.Government soldiers prepare for an assault at the Peninsula hotel in Manila on Thursday after several military officers stormed out of their coup trial and took over the facility.

The rebel soldiers, who stand accused of a failed mutiny in 2003, occupied the Peninsula hotel earlier in the day after breaking out of court where they were on trial.

"We are going off for the sake of the safety of everybody," Senator Antonio Trillanes said during a chaotic news conference from within the hotel shortly before he and about three dozen of his comrades were brought out in small groups with their hands bound.

"We cannot live with our conscience if some of you got hurt or killed in the crossfire," he said.

"Like soldiers we are going to face this."

Less than an hour earlier, live television footage showed dozens of troops following an armoured vehicle into the lobby of the hotel amid the sound of automatic gunfire and sight of tear gas.

The soldiers occupying the hotel had called on their fellow troops to withdraw their support for Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has been mired in corruption scandals in recent months.

"It's tantamount to treason if we don't do something," Trillanes said. "It's a moral obligation.

The BBC reported all guests from the hotel were removed before the raid, but many journalists blatantly defied a government order to leave the facility.

There is no word yet on any casualties. A Catholic priest inside the hotel with the rebels said they did not fire their weapons.

The bizarre incident is not the first crisis involving Arroyo and dissident military forces

In 2006, Arroyo declared a state of national emergency, saying the country faced a "clear threat" from treasonous forces.

In 2003, Arroyo ordered the military to arrest nearly 300 soldiers suspected of planning a coup against the government. The soldiers, which included 70 army and navy officers, surrendered after taking over a shopping complex and rigging it with explosives.