Mutineers Surrender After Storming Manila Army HQ

Mutinous troops stormed the headquarters of the Philippine Army early today in a bid to free jailed comrades but surrendered hours later after an assault by loyal forces, a senior officer said.

Brig. Gen. Ramon Montano said one rebel was killed and a navy captain injured in the fighting at Fort Bonifacio in suburban Manila. Montano told reporters it was unclear if the captain was a rebel. He said one hostage was injured during the assault on the mutineers.

The mutineers’ attack was aimed at freeing comrades jailed in connection with a January coup attempt, he said.

Reporters were kept away from the headquarters building on the sprawling compound in suburban Makati.

About 50 prisoners from the abortive takeover, including mutineers and some of the prisoners they had freed, were made to sit under a tree at the back of the command center and were guarded by loyalist troops.

After the surrender, about 150 loyal troops, most of them elite Scout Rangers, shouted, “It’s over!”

Before the group surrendered, reporters heard intermittent bursts of gunfire throughout the morning as negotiations were under way. Col. Emiliano Templo, chief of staff of the capital regional command, said roadblocks were thrown up around Manila to prevent reinforcements from arriving.

‘We Won’t Leave Here!’

One soldier told reporters he heard the mutineers shout, “Dead or alive, we won’t leave here!” The soldier, who refused to give his name, said the mutineers were wearing black arm bands with the word “Revolt.”

Armed forces chief Gen. Fidel V. Ramos identified the mutiny leader as Technical Sgt. Ernesto Librado, a former member of President Ferdinand E. Marcos’ security force who deserted after the former president was ousted in February, 1986.

Col. Honesto Isleta, the chief military spokesman, said most of the 102 enlisted men held at Camp Bonifacio after a Jan. 27 coup attempt had refused to join the mutineers. The 102 were part of an abortive takeover of media and military facilities which the government said was intended as a first step toward restoring Marcos to power. Marcos now lives in exile in Hawaii.

Military officials said the mutineers stormed into the camp about 4 a.m. in a hail of gunfire, raided the stockade and the armory and then took up positions in the post’s headquarters building. It was not immediately clear how many hostages they had taken.

Two tanks were deployed on the grounds of the presidential Malacanang Palace, and two more were stationed at the main gate near President Corazon Aquino’s office. A spokesman said that Aquino was in her residence near the palace.

Also before dawn, men aboard two vehicles hurled a grenade and shot at the headquarters of the Philippine Constabulary in Cabanatuan City, 55 miles north of Manila. One soldier was wounded in the grenade attack, which destroyed the camp’s guard house and damaged the officers’ quarters. But the military said it was uncertain whether the attackers were Communist rebels or mutineers.

‘Overpowered the Guards’

Templo said of the Manila mutineers: “They were on a civilian flatbed truck and they rammed the gate. They easily overpowered the guards at the gate and were able to get inside and went to where they are now, the headquarters building.”

Last Monday, Brig. Gen. Alexander Aguirre, commander of the Manila region, said the military had learned of a new military plot by a previously unknown group, Tiwarik, which means upside-down.

He said the plotters apparently planned to seize the International School in Manila and hold American and other foreign students hostage to reinforce their demands. The school was closed this week for the Easter holidays.