Word: aquinos
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Enlisted men and officers are also disgruntled with low wages and severe shortages of the most basic supplies. Those conditions, combined with Honasan's charismatic personality, no doubt fueled last week's coup attempt. Some of the colonel's confederates say Honasan did not plan to overthrow the popular Aquino but had only wanted to force the resignation of Ramos and improve the military's lot. But Captain Rex Robles, a close friend of Honasan's, believes the main target was the President. Said Robles: "If you bring Ramos down, then who is Cory...
None of the previous coup attempts could match the ferocity or human toll of last week's rising. In a televised speech on Friday afternoon, Aquino declared, "I have ordered the Chief of Staff of the armed forces to terminate this mutiny as soon as possible. There will be no terms. I have nothing to say to these traitors . . . This morning my only son Noynoy was shot and wounded. I will not allow these people to bring back the cruelty of the past dictatorship." The President referred to the rebels, with uncharacteristic acerbity, as "monsters...
...Aquino and Ramos took stock of the situation the morning after the shooting started, they had reason for concern. During the night Honasan had led 300 of his supporters into Camp Aguinaldo after persuading guards to let them pass rather than face a fire fight. His offices occupied, General Ramos moved his operations across the street to Camp Crame, headquarters of the Philippine Constabulary. In the morning and early afternoon, small units of progovernment troops tried to enter Camp Aguinaldo, only to be met by heavy fire from rebel troops, many with Philippine flags stitched upside down on their chests...
Progovernment forces also prevailed after a day of sporadic fighting at the government communications installation in Quezon City and several private television stations nearby. Fighting raged for nearly six hours as rebels tried to climb over a 10-ft.-high wall and into the Channel 4 complex, but Aquino's men withstood the siege. At 7:30 a.m. the rebels broke off their attack, and hundreds of civilians converged on the facility, cheering and waving Philippine flags. By late in the week most other pockets of resistance were yielding to government pressure. Honasan's followers at Camp Olivas, 35 miles...
...Aquino will undoubtedly face strong pressure to deal harshly with the mutineers, if only to discourage other plotters. In the past the President has treated rebellious soldiers leniently. After the Manila Hotel coup, for instance, the participants received a ridiculously mild punishment: 30 push- ups. But this time Aquino's credibility is on the line. Says a sympathetic Filipino scholar: "Everybody is waiting for the President finally to put her foot down...