November 29, 2007, Inquirer, Trillanes, Lim arrested; Makati standoff ends,

November 29, 2007, Inquirer, Trillanes, Lim arrested; Makati standoff ends, 

Last updated 6:33 pm (Manila time) 

MANILA, Philippines -- Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Brigadier General Danilo Lim, have been arrested.

Former vice president Teofisto Guinogona joined the two inside the Philippine National Police bus.

The arrests on Lim and Trillanes were effected shortly after they declared that they were leaving the hotel where they held a six-hour siege to demand the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Trillanes and his group decided to end the standoff after government troops threw teargas at the hotel lobby and an armored personnel carrier rammed the entrance.

 

NO PASSAGE. A crowd control unit blocks off the Manila Peninsula Hotel where Sen Antonio Trillanes IV, Army Brig Gen Danilo Lim and other soldiers accused of plotting to topple the government are holed out after walking out of a court hearing in Makati City Thursday morning. INQUIRER.NET/CATHY MIRANDA

"We're going out for the sake of the safety of everybody, for your sake because we cannot live with our conscience if some of you get hurt or get killed in the crossfire," said Trillanes, addressing the media.

"If there's a loser here it's the Filipino nation because she's [Arroyo] still there," he added, noting that he was ready to face the consequences of his action.

Brigadier General Danilo Lim, who was with Trillanes, said this was not the end, calling the incident an “unfinished business.”

In a press conference, Trillanes tried to justify his action, saying: “I stand before you today to fulfill my role as a former soldier and now as a senator of this country. I am standing for the rights of the oppressed.”



SEALED OFF. Military police and heavily armed troops deploy along Makati Avenue outside the Manila Paninsula hotel where Sen Antonio Trillanes IV, Army Brig Gen Danilo Lim and other soldiers accused of plotting to topple the government are holed out after walking out of a court hearing in Makati City Thursday morning. INQUIRER.NET/JESSE DELIMA


On his group’s decision to leave the hotel, Trillanes blamed the administration’s “ruthlessness.”

“You have been witnesses to the kind of ruthlessness this administration has been giving to the people,” said Trillanes.

When asked what he was going to do after this, Trillanes said, “Like soldiers, we’re going to face this.”

As the teargas filled the lobby, members of the rebel group herded journalists to the meeting room where civil society groups and Arroyo critics had gathered.

Reporters and the renegade soldiers made makeshift facemasks of the hotel tablecloths to protect themselves from the teargas.

The hotel corridors were a mess, with lamps and tables overturned during the commotion.


SUPPORT. Anti-government personality Jose 'Linggoy' Alcuaz is interviewed by reporters as he arrives at the Manila Peninsula hotel where Sen Antonio Trillanes IV, Army Brig Gen Danilo Lim and other soldiers accused of plotting to topple the government are holed out after walking out of a court hearing in Makati City Thursday morning. INQUIRER.NET/JESSE DELIMA

Police Director Geary Barias of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) led the assault.

Earlier, police failed to serve the arrest warrant against Trillanes issued by Judge Oscar Pimentel of the Makati regional trial court.

Pimentel has found Trillanes guilty of contempt of court.

Trillanes had said that he would stay at the Manila Peninsula for “as long as necessary” after claiming that “nothing will happen” after the 3 p.m. deadline for their departure lapsed.

“What we did was not only our duty but our moral obligation,” said Trillanes said in justifying his latest act of defiance, adding, “It is our duty as religious individuals to do what is right.”

“Dumaan tayo sa tamang pamamaraan [We passed through the right processes]. Elected pero wala ring nangyari [We were elected but nothing happens]. They voted for me so that I can speak up for their rights and our advocacies,” said Trillanes, referring to his election as senator last May.



THIS WAY. Traffic aides direct military vehicles in the direction of the Manila Peninsula hotel where Sen Antonio Trillanes IV, Army Brig Gen Danilo Lim and other soldiers accused of plotting to topple the government are holed out after walking out of a court hearing in Makati City Thursday morning. INQUIRER.NET/JESSE DELIMA

He has been barred from participating in the Senate sessions because of the criminal cases that had been filed against him.

Earlier in the day, Barias left the Manila Peninsula without talking to Trillanes despite setting the 3 p.m. deadline.

A rebel soldier in uniform said Barias was “causing too much trouble.”

Barias had ordered all guests to vacate the premises supposedly pending the results of negotiations between the government and Trillanes.

“I am asking all guests of the hotel to leave so that we can do our jobs,” Barias said in a live interview earlier in the day.


Soldiers prepare to assault the Manila Peninsula in Makati moments before Sen. Antonio Trillanes and his followers surrendered on Thursday. AP 


Mariano Garchitorena, head of the Public Relations office of the Manila Peninsula, described the situation at the hotel as “calm” and said that if the order of the authorities was to vacate, they would follow it “like good citizens.”

Garchitorena said they had around 400 guests but that he didn't know how many had left before the pro-Trillanes forces blocked the exits.

Trillanes and other officers accused of leading the July 2003 rebellion walked out of their trial Thursday and marched through the streets of Makati calling for the ouster of Arroyo.

The soldiers, numbering around 30, were accompanied by armed guards as they broke down a door of the hotel, overwhelmed security guards and read out a statement against Arroyo with a full list of their demands.

Heavily-armed government troops quickly surrounded the hotel in Manila's Makati financial district -- the same location of a failed 2003 coup against Arroyo allegedly led by many of the same soldiers.



A member of the police Special Action Force disembarks from an Armored Personnel Carrier as government forces start assault in Makati. AP 


The renegades urged Arroyo to resign and called on the military, a central power in this vast Southeast Asian island nation with the power to make and break its leaders, to turn against her.

People were going in and out of the Peninsula Hotel freely but a guest said he had been stopped by men with machine guns from going up to the second floor, where Brigadier General Danilo Lim, a co-accused, and others were said to be planning their next move.

The surprise events appeared to have been well orchestrated.

A detailed website immediately appeared on the Internet, announcing Lim and Trillanes as the leaders of the uprising. The site called on the Filipino people to mass in the financial district.

All the soldiers were sporting red armbands with what appeared to be the letter "I" emblazoned in the middle of a white sun.

The walkout began shortly after the trial resumed after a brief recess. Lim, who himself is detained and facing coup d’etat charges following an alleged failed coup attempt in February 2006, was pulled away by several soldiers from the witness stand.

Trillanes and Lim said they were calling on the Filipinos to withdraw support from the government because the President has corrupted its institutions.

“We are joining the people… because the President continues to violate the Constitution of the Philippines repeatedly,” Lim told DZMM’s Teleradyo program, adding they were “calling for the removal of an illegitimate President.”

Trillanes, Lim and the other accused soldiers were joined by civilians, including a group of militant farmers and opposition figures led by former vice president Teofisto Guingona.

It was not clear if the prisoners’ guards had joined the protest, but they marched along with the accused.

Reports culled by INQUIRER.net reporters and staff said police have barricaded the streets leading to Ayala Avenue and that two military trucks had crossed Paseo de Roxas.

Four Army trucks and anti-riot police have barricaded the hotel, according to reports.

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño said Trillanes and Lim spoke rightly.

“This government does not deserve the support of the armed forces and the people. We express solidarity with their cause and likewise call on President Arroyo to heed the people's clamor,” he said.

Leah Navarro, a convenor of the civil society group, Black and White Movement, said she was shocked when radio reports said that her group was part of the protest march although she added that they would assess the situation.

“I am shocked. I have nothing to do with it. In fact I am in Southwoods, Alabang in a golf tournament playing golf since 8 a.m. and which will be finished at 3 p.m.,” Navarro told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview.

But Navarro also said that former social welfare secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman will be going to Makati “to see what’s going on.”

“We have to assess the situation. Our main concern is that those marching are safe. We don’t want violence here. We know that this thing is spontaneous,” Navarro said.

There have been at least seven coup attempts in the Philippines since 1986 as the armed forces have maintained a central role in the nation's political life since the ouster of dictator Ferdinand Marcos that year.

But Arroyo has been under particular pressure since a tape recording emerged of her allegedly conniving with an election commission official to help orchestrate her 2004 re-election.

She admitted it was a mistake to have called the official while the vote count had not yet been finished, but denied any wrongdoing.

Since then she has fought off impeachment attempts -- while being regularly accused of having improperly won the election -- as well as actual and alleged coups.

Thursday's dramatic events came just a month after Arroyo gave her predecessor and nemesis, popular ex-film star Joseph Estrada, a presidential pardon on charges of corruption.

The government said the pardon was granted after the 70-year-old Estrada agreed not to pursue any elective office.

He has always insisted his 2001 ouster from the presidential palace was a coup organized by the military, the powerful Catholic Church and the country's political elites.

With reports from Julie M. Aurelio, Inquirer; Thea Alberto, Maila Ager, Jessie Delima, Cathy Miranda, Veronica Uy, Alex Villafania, Joel Guinto, INQUIRER.net; Agence France-Presse; Reuters; Originally posted at 11:16am 

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakin...icle_id=103771


Related Video


Government troops enter The Pen
http://www.gmanews.tv/largevideo/lat...-enter-The-Pen


Shots fired as gov't troops start assault at hotel
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14860/Shots-fired-as-gov't-troops-start-assault-at-hotel


Gov't forces mass up at Ayala; rebels stop Barias group
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14857/Gov't-forces-mass-up-at-Ayala-rebels-stop-Barias-group


Trillanes's press conference in Makati
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14854/Trillanes's-press-conference-in-Makati

......................................................................

Arroyo orders curfew in Metro Manila, Central and Southern Luzon

11/29/2007 | 07:09 PM 

In the heels of the Makati City crisis, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered a curfew from 12 midnight on Thursday until 5 a.m. Friday. 

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said President Arroyo ordered the imposition of the curfew which will cover Metro Manila, Central Luzon and the Calabarzon region. 

Puno said National Police chief Avelino Razon Jr will be announcing the details of the curfew, adding that checkpoints will be set up in relation to this directive. - GMANews.TV 

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/70740/Ar...Southern-Luzon

The siege of Manila Peninsula Hotel by troops

part 1 of 3 sets


The Silence of the Camps 

By Randy David
Inquirer
Last updated 03:12am (Mla time) 12/01/2007

[center]
The Manila Peninsula Hotel[/center]

MANILA, Philippines -- Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, a former Navy lieutenant senior grade, are two of the smartest officers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. They are highly regarded by their men and by their contemporaries in the officer corps. Few senior officers in the Philippine military today can match their popularity among the soldiers. It is significant that they have also led repeated coup attempts against the government of the day. They are not novices in the art of military mutiny.







Knowing this, one is hard-pressed to understand why they would venture into something like Thursday’s standoff at the Manila Peninsula Hotel, with hardly any arms to defend themselves, only to surrender without a fight to the police forces sent to arrest them. It just doesn’t make sense. The two detained officers, together with their fellow officers and security detail, strolled out of the courtroom during a break in the hearing of the 2003 Oakwood mutiny. They had no fear of being re-arrested. Only a handful of civilian supporters accompanied them in their unhurried walk to the five-star hotel in which they were to make their statement. If this was going to be a coup, it was rather unusual if not suicidal. They came virtually without arms.







While they called on the Filipino people to join them in their bid to oust President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, they didn’t sound like they were desperately waiting for people power to pick up the cause they were espousing. If they were banking on popular mobilization, then they were one day too early. They should have stretched their stay at the Peninsula till the following day, Bonifacio Day, when huge rallies were expected. In fact, this possibility was what worried the government forces. So why did Trillanes and Lim give up so quickly?




We can only speculate that their action was meant to spark a mutiny that they thought was waiting to happen. But because we did not see troops marching in the streets or moving in trucks and choosing sides, we are now led to think that the Magdalo officers badly miscalculated. In fact, the spokesmen of the Arroyo government lost no time in assuring the public that the military chain of command remained intact and that the rebels were totally isolated.

The siege of Manila Peninsula Hotel by troops

Part 2 of 3 sets





We can only speculate that their action was meant to spark a mutiny that they thought was waiting to happen. But because we did not see troops marching in the streets or moving in trucks and choosing sides, we are now led to think that the Magdalo officers badly miscalculated. In fact, the spokesmen of the Arroyo government lost no time in assuring the public that the military chain of command remained intact and that the rebels were totally isolated.







But, if indeed they were alone in this doomed and foolish adventure, how do we explain the fact that, at the height of the standoff, no military commander, apart from the chief of staff, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., came out or was presented to reiterate support for the Arroyo government? Why did the government rely exclusively on police forces to deal with what was openly declared as a bid to remove the existing government? Was Ms Arroyo afraid that, if compelled to declare their loyalty, a good number of the nation’s soldiers might actually side with Lim and Trillanes?







In short, what did the silence of the camps during this six-hour siege signify? I doubt if General Esperon or Ms Arroyo knows. Perhaps if they know anything at all about the state of mind of the soldiers in the camps today, it might be something that is likely to give them sleepless nights in the next few weeks or months. Could this be the real reason for the sudden imposition of a midnight curfew -- that they are seriously spooked by the possibility of troop movements quietly taking place in the coming days?





For it is hard to believe that the soldiers barricaded in their barracks would not care less about what was going on in Makati City last Thursday. If they saw what the rest of the nation saw, and they remained silent, I would consider that a meaningful silence. In a time like ours, when images from live media pack more power than the most stirring statements, what might the silence of citizens and soldiers possibly indicate? Are their senses stunned and their will paralyzed? Or are their souls shaken and courage awakened in their hearts? Who knows?





Photos and videos courtesy of Philippine Defense Forces Forum
http://pdff.sytes.net/
and the Phil Daily Inquirer


You may view the complete set of photos in Mybesthomes.net :

http://www.mybesthomes.net/forum/ind...1.msg18248#new

http://www.mybesthomes.net

and at Jibrael Blog :

http://jibrael.blogspot.com/

The siege of Manila Peninsula Hotel by troops

part 3 of 3 sets


IMG]http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb244/jibrael865/Luzon/magdalo/magdalo6.jpg[/img









Who would know what it means for a soldier or a citizen to see a young senator of the republic, filled with idealism, being shackled and handled like a sack of potatoes by his captors as he is led to a waiting police bus? Who would know what it means for any viewer to see an 81-year-old prince of the Catholic Church, hobbled by age, his left hand tied to the right hand of another priest, being led to a waiting police bus after having just said a prayer of hope? Who would know what it means for someone to see a whole line of media people, their hands bound in plastic restraints proudly held up above their heads, being led to a waiting police bus for “processing” as suspects? Such were among the most memorable images from Thursday’s episode.







I only know that one would need to be blind and insensitive to view these snapshots as achievements of the rule of law. You take one look at General Lim and Senator Trillanes side by side General Esperon and Colonel Bacarro -- and you can tell at once who among these soldiers have their ideals intact. You take one look at Bishop Julio Labayen and former Vice President Tito Guingona side by side Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye -- and you know at once who the liars are.







There is a mutiny in the making not just in the camps but in the hearts of the rest of us. We were beginning to forget what social anger is all about, and what it means to take responsibility for the nation our heroes bequeathed to us. Thursday set us on a new path. We are starting to see what General Lim meant when he said: “Dissent without action is consent.”

* * *

Comments to public.lives@gmail.com

http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquirer...icle_id=104169


VIDEOS of the Makati standoff :

Some videos from Makati:Marines surround the Pen:
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1544116

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1544221


The assault, then the ringleader himself, Navy officer and senator-elect Antonio Trillanes babbling incoherently before giving up...... again!!

http://www.reuters.com/resources/fla...&videoId=71701


GMA News TV Video of Makati standoff :


Magdalo soldiers walk-out of Makati court.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14842/Tr...f-Makati-court


Guards joined Trillanes walkout isntead of stopping him.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14866/Gu...f-stopping-him


Trillanes - Lim at Manila Peninsula, Arroyo returns to Malacanang.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14839/Tr...-to-Malacanang


Trillanes and allies barge into Manila Peninsula Hotel.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14843/Tr...eninsula-Hotel


PNP won't let soldiers into Manila Peninsula
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14844/PNP-won


Arroyo returns to Palace amid tight security.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14845/Ar...tight-security


Trillanes allies in close door meeting before presscon.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14846/Tr...fore-press-con


Soldiers from Camp Aguinaldo arrives in Makati.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14847/So...-now-in-Makati


Tanks and troops sent immediately to Makati after Trillanes walkout.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14876/Ta...llanes-walkout


Armed Forces in red alert.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14853/Ar...s-on-red-alert


Trillanes press conference in Makati.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14854/Trillanes


Gov't forces mass up at Ayala.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14857/Gov


Updates at Peninsula Hotel
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14873/GMA


Government troops enter the Manila Peninsula Hotel.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14861/Go...-enter-The-Pen


Trillanes-Guingona in bus enroute to Bicutan.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14862/Tr...ute-to-Bicutan


Recap of Manila Pen takeover.

http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14863/Re...a-Pen-takeover


Auhtorities round up individuals involved in Pen takeover.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14864/Au...n-Pen-takeover


Key figures taken out of Peninsula Hotel.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14870/Ke...ninsula-Manila


Reports from jail bus.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14869/GMA


AFP-PNP still monitoring NLEX.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14890/Sa...onitoring-NLEX


Trillanes group transferred to Camp Crame.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14892/Tr...-to-Camp-Crame


AFP unit from Fort Magsaysay arrives in Camp Aguinaldo.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14903/AF...Camp-Aguinaldo


http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14915/Mi...ally-in-Manila

Hotel guests return to Peninsula Hotel to complete checkout.
http://www.gmanews.tv/video/14919/Gu...plete-checkout

3D WALKTHROUGH. Visit the new Interactive section of the Makati Standoff site at 

http://www.inquirer.net/specialrepor...tandoff/vr.php 
for 3D walkthroughs showing government troops and armored personnel carriers after the successful assault on the forces of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. The Makati standoff ended after government troops lobbed tear gas into The Peninsula Manila lobby and an armored personnel carrier rammed the hotel's main entrance.

Photos and videos courtesy of Philippine Defense Forces Forum
http://pdff.sytes.net/
and the Phil Daily Inquirer

Photos and videos courtesy of Philippine Defense Forces Forum
http://pdff.sytes.net/
and the Phil Daily Inquirer


You may view the complete set of photos in Mybesthomes.net :

http://www.mybesthomes.net/forum/ind...1.msg18248#new

http://www.mybesthomes.net

and at Jibrael Blog :

http://jibrael.blogspot.com/