Filipino Troops Capture Leader of Attempted Coup

Dozens of soldiers raided a house today and captured Gregorio Honasan, the colonel called “Gringo” who led a coup attempt against President Corazon Aquino in August that cost 53 lives.

Aquino, who had accused Honasan of trying to kill her and her family during the attack on the presidential palace, said she was “really overjoyed” at his capture.

Honasan’s effort was the most serious of several major plots to unseat the government since Aquino took office Feb. 25, 1986, and Ferdinand E. Marcos fled the country after 20 years as president.

Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, military chief of staff, said four other rebel officers and two civilians were arrested with Honasan about 7:30 p.m. in the Valle Verde district of suburban Pasig and were undergoing “tactical interrogation.”

Hide-Out Surrounded

Teodoro Benigno, spokesman for Aquino, said four or five truckloads of soldiers surrounded the house and Honasan surrendered without a fight.

A private radio station, DZMM, quoted a witness at a nearby house as saying Honasan saluted his captors and shook hands with them.

Government television said the home was owned by a former secretary of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, whom Aquino fired as defense minister Nov. 23, 1986, after an alleged coup plot by his followers. Honasan was Enrile’s chief of security before the dismissal.

During the long search for the 41-year-old colonel, Honasan audaciously granted media interviews, including one from a secret hide-out with Diane Sawyer that appeared on CBS-TV’s “60 Minutes.”

Rebel Group ‘Neutralized’

Ramos said the arrest “effectively neutralized” the rebel group that attempted the coup Aug. 28. At least 53 people were killed and hundreds wounded, including Aquino’s only son, Benigno III.

Honasan escaped by helicopter from Camp Aguinaldo, headquarters of the armed forces, shortly before loyal soldiers recaptured the garrison.