Manila Rebellion Ends; Government Denies Deal

MANILA —  Hundreds of mutinous soldiers, singing, boasting and draped with belts of ammunition, marched back to their barracks early today, abandoning the besieged financial district and ending a bloody weeklong coup attempt.

The dawn withdrawal came hours after Aquino declared a state of emergency throughout the Philippines to stem the deepening political and economic crisis. She assumed broad powers to censor radio and TV broadcasts, to take over public utilities and to speed the flow of food, fuel and other basic commodities.

Government officials, denying any deal with the insurgents, called the rebel march a “surrender.” But a rebel leader insisted that his commandos had “achieved some victories” and that their march was not a surrender. The commandos carried an arsenal of bazookas, grenade launchers and assault rifles. Others drove armored personnel carriers emblazoned with rebel insignia.

Maj. Abraham Puruggunan, the rebel commander who held the luxury Inter-Continental Hotel during the battle of the Makati financial district, insisted that the rebels were “voluntarily returning to barracks.”

“We are not surrendering,” he told reporters as national television broadcast what appeared more a march of triumph than a defeated mutiny. “I repeat, we did not surrender.”

Behind him, several rebels held their hands up in a time-out sign, a visual warning that the rebellion that plunged Aquino’s government into its worst crisis may yet resume.

Government commanders appeared surprised by the size of the large rebel force as the buoyant and chanting soldiers marched two miles to their barracks at Ft. Bonifacio, headquarters of the Philippine army and marines.

The chief government military negotiator, Brig. Gen. Arturo Enrile, said the government made no concessions to the right-wing rebels who had besieged Makati, turning the high-rise district into a free-fire zone.

“In the end, finally, reason prevailed,” Enrile said of tense night-long negotiations. He said the government agreed that the rebels “would be treated humanely, justly and fairly.”

“Since they did this, they should be man enough to suffer the consequences,” Enrile said. Asked if another coup attempt is likely, he replied, “I can only cross my fingers.”

Another negotiator said that the government would probably court-martial 20 to 30 officers who launched the coup late last Thursday but that enlisted men would be pardoned. In previous coup attempts, rank-and-file participants were let off with sentences ranging from 30 push-ups to Bible study classes.

“The siege is over,” said Malacanang Palace spokesman Adolfo Azcuna. “We are happy this is finally resolved.”

“I believe the economy and political fabric of the country is still intact,” Azcuna said. “The fundamentals are still there. The people are determined to join hands to rebuild from the damage.”

Rebels continued to hold the Mactan Air Base in Cebu province, about 325 miles south of Manila, but they are expected to follow the lead of the rebels in Manila. Cebu is the economic success story of Aquino’s administration, with the busiest port, heaviest exports and fastest-growing employment center.

Residents who had fled or been evacuated from the fighting were warned to avoid the neighborhood of towering hotels, offices and condominiums until bomb experts could comb the buildings for booby traps or forgotten ammunition and explosives.

“There may be bombs there,” a TV announcer cautioned, warning that it could take two days to clear the area.

Many buildings had shattered windows and were pocked with bullet holes, but damage appeared surprisingly slight, given the tens of thousands of rounds of machine-gun fire, grenades and 90-millimeter recoilless rifle shells that were fired during four harrowing days of urban guerrilla warfare.

“The group that held this are very highly trained,” explained Lt. Col. Edilberto Adan, who assisted in the negotiations. “They conserve their ammunition. They have good aim. They are very careful not to damage property. They are the best in the army.”

National television broadcast hours of rebel interviews and claims of victory. At one point, a television announcer referred to the mutineers as “rebels, rather I mean reformists.”

It was not clear if the broadcasts violated Aquino’s state of emergency, which specifically banned “the airing of rebellious/terrorist propaganda, comments, interviews, information and other similar and/or related materials.”

Government officials insisted that the constitutionally sanctioned state of emergency was considerably different from the martial law that Aquino’s predecessor, Ferdinand E. Marcos, imposed in 1972 as a pretext for arresting thousands of opponents and keeping himself in power.

Aquino’s late husband, Benigno S. Aquino Jr., was the first and most notable victim of Marcos’ martial law. He spent eight years in solitary confinement. In August, 1983, he was assassinated as he returned from exile in the United States.

“This is not martial law,” Labor Secretary Franklin Drilon said of the current situation. “There’s no curfew, there’s no suspension of the writ of habeas corpus (a safeguard against illegal detention). Congress will continue. We will continue to enjoy our rights. It only empowers government to check those who may not be delivering basic services.”

Officials said the government will also enforce new price controls on rice, flour and other basic commodities and arrest shop owners who have more than doubled the prices of pork and other foods since the crisis began.

The announcement Wednesday came shortly after an estimated 400 rebellious army Scout Rangers who had besieged the Makati district released more than 600 Americans, British, Swiss, West Germans, Japanese, Australians and other foreigners trapped there since Saturday in international hotels, luxury condominiums and high-rise offices.

Despite sporadic sniper fire, a cease-fire that went into effect at 6 a.m. Wednesday held through the day and into the night as a loyal senior officer met with the rebel field commander, Lt. Col. Rafael Galvez, to work out the agreement to end the siege. Galvez had insisted publicly that the rebels would not surrender until Aquino resigns.

“I told them their demands are non-negotiable as far as the government is concerned,” said Enrile, the government negotiator and commander of the Philippine Military Academy. “And they more or less did not contradict me. Not that much anyway.”

Enrile said the renegade soldiers “would like to be able to prove their point,” and that he had told them they had already proved it.

Asked if he had mentioned Aquino’s ultimatum Saturday that all rebel forces must “surrender or die,” Enrile smiled and paused, then replied: “We have not taken that up. They have not taken it up. And I have not taken it up.”

There were indications Wednesday before the agreement was announced that at least one group of rebels was willing to surrender. And four young rebels shed their rifles and fatigues and tried to slip out of the battle zone by joining foreign tourists being evacuated. The four were stopped at a police checkpoint.

The release of all foreigners defused a tense stalemate during which U.S. officials privately expressed growing unease at Aquino’s apparent inability to stop the fighting in Makati’s high-rise canyons. At least 77 people died in the attempted coup.

A senior U.S. Embassy official insisted at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon that Washington’s confidence in Aquino is unshaken. He attempted to put the best possible face on the week’s events.

“This is the sixth coup attempt,” he said, “and it’s got to tell you that the government has the ability to survive this kind of challenge.”

But Aquino’s call for U.S. help--specifically the U.S. Air Force F-4 Phantom jet fighters that pinned rebel planes on the ground last Friday, ending a string of rebel successes--continued to draw fire from Aquino’s critics.

“This shows the U.S. government has the power to install and maintain a president,” said Aquino’s former defense secretary, Juan Ponce Enrile, now a harsh critic. “They removed Marcos and installed Aquino. She is perceived as their creation.”

Even the U.S. Embassy official conceded that the cost of the crisis is likely to increase.

“The investment community is going to look at this and take a pause,” he said.