Prosecutors filed rebellion charges yesterday against 37 dissident military officers and their supporters -- including a former vice president -- for a failed attempt to trigger an anti-government uprising while seizing a five-star hotel.
The seven-hour standoff was led by 14 officers who walked out of their trial on Thursday on earlier insurrection charges and immediately commandeered the Peninsula Hotel in Manila. They surrendered after government forces drove an armored carrier through the front entrance and fired tear gas and warning shots.
State prosecutors formally charged the suspects, led by Senator Antonio Trillanes, with rebellion after evaluating evidence, including seized weapons and plans allegedly indicating a wider plot to launch a "people power" revolt, a Justice Department resolution said.
Apart from Trillanes, a former navy lieutenant charged with a similar failed power grab in 2003, the former vice president and an opposition activist, Teofisto Guingona, and a retired Roman Catholic bishop were among those who are facing trial.
Guingona, the frail 79-year-old politician who had fallen out with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo years ago, was hospitalized due to an unspecified ailment following his arrest after last week's raid.
Retired Bishop Julio Labayen, an outspoken critic of Arroyo, also was released into custody of a fellow bishop.
Police said they were still hunting for at least four officers who escaped after taking over the hotel, including marine Captain Nicanor Faeldon, who has been implicated in past coup attempts.
The government has put up a 1 million peso (US$23,250) reward for information leading to Faeldon's capture.
Arroyo survived three previous coup attempts and three opposition impeachment bids over alleged corruption and human rights abuses during her seven tumultuous years in power.
Before embarking on an eight-day visit to Europe on Saturday, Arroyo called the rebel soldiers desperate "lone wolves" who are blind to the people's wishes, and said government institutions and civil society are strong and stable. Arroyo planned to visit Spain, France and Britain.
During the hotel takeover, US-trained Brigadier General Danilo Lim -- suspected of involvement in another failed coup plot last year -- issued a statement urging Arroyo to resign and asking the armed forces to withdraw support for her.
But their disaffection failed to create a flashpoint for people to flood the streets against Arroyo.
Analysts spoke of a "people power" fatigue, and the fact the events were remarkably similar to four years ago, when the same officers tried the same tactic at another upscale hotel a few blocks away from the Peninsula -- only to give up after a day.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including