Philippine Rebel Troops End Revolt

After two days of intensive negotiations that averted a major military assault, military authorities announced that the three-day siege of a Manila broadcast station ended today when the leader of 160 rebel soldiers and at least 25 of his men left the complex.

However, an unknown number of heavily armed rebel troops and scores of civilian supporters remained inside the two-story concrete compound as of midday today, and field commanders at the scene said their problems were not yet over.

Meanwhile, the government said today that it had blocked plans by deposed President Ferdinand E. Marcos and his wife, Imelda, to return to the Philippines by special plane from Hawaii.

Teodoro Benigno, a spokesman for President Corazon Aquino, said the plan had been blocked by the Philippine consul general in Honolulu, but he did not say how.

In Honolulu, Marcos told reporters that U.S. government officials ordered him Wednesday night not to leave Hawaii for the Philippines.

Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, the military chief of staff, told reporters that the remainder of the rebel troops will leave later today, but several of the holdouts had told reporters as recently as late Tuesday night that they would rather die than surrender. And government troops remained outside the complex in force as crowds of civilian supporters of the dissident troops appeared to be building nearby.

The group’s leader, Col. Oscar Canlas, after reaching an agreement with Ramos, had returned to the station in an effort to persuade his followers to leave, but no progress was reported this afternoon.

Punishment Not Discussed

In announcing the apparent end to a potentially explosive crisis that had virtually paralyzed the Aquino government since early Tuesday, military authorities said today that punishment was not discussed at the final negotiating session with the soldiers.

Military authorities said they have made no agreement with the soldiers, who claimed they had never rebelled. And Canlas, flanked by 10 of his men--all of them armed--along with the nation’s top military brass, told reporters at a press conference today that their apparent mutiny was not part of a plot to derail next Monday’s crucial national referendum on a proposed new constitution, as Ramos himself had alleged on Tuesday.

Asked what will happen to the soldiers who had deserted their units and taken the complex by force at 3 a.m. Tuesday, Ramos said, “We will have them brought to Ft. Bonafacio (a large Army camp that contains a military prison) for further processing. Besides, before anything, they are first entitled to a hearty breakfast.”

Ramos asserted today that President Aquino is “perfectly happy at the moment” with the outcome, but Aquino herself offered no immediate comment.

Defiance of Aquino

To many military and political analysts here, though, the resolution of the conflict appeared to be a direct act of defiance by the entire Philippine military to the civilian government of Aquino, who had ordered that the occupying troops be punished with “the full force of the law.”

Within hours of the seizure of the Channel 7 complex, in which one of the government soldiers on guard was injured, Aquino announced in a nationally televised statement that she had ordered Ramos to immediately begin court-martial proceedings “against the officers responsible for this act of rebellion.”

Aquino also warned civilians to stay clear of the complex and indicated that the military was about to retake the station by force.

For two full days, however, Ramos held back from ordering the assault. Instead, he and several of his top aides conferred dozens of times with Canlas and deployed thousands of troops around the station.

The attack appeared imminent early today. But, just after 1:30 a.m., Ramos suddenly called it off. Several hours later, Canlas and 10 of his men--all fully armed--left the facility and met for an hour with Defense Minister Rafael Ileto.

Afterward, Ileto announced at a press conference, “This series of unusual events within the military has ended.” Ileto did not refer to Canlas and his men as rebels. Rather, Ileto said, “The biggest part of the credit (for ending the crisis) should go to Col. Canlas, his officers and men.”