Idealistic Philippine rebellion leaders claim moral victory

by P. Parameswaran MANILA, July 28, (AFP) -- Disgruntled rebel Philippine troops claimed a moral victory Monday despite being forced to return dejected to barracks after their failed military uprising in central Manila. The young, battle-tested and idealistic military officers and enlisted men reluctantly agreed to end their 22-hour siege and be court-martialed after the authorities agreed to consider demands for a probe into allegations of military and government corruption. "We were ready to die but gave up for the sake of our comrades in the military and the interest of the people and country," said 31-year-old navy officer Antonio Trillanes, the self-styled leader of the group. "We have already planted the seeds, we will just have to bite the bullet and roll with the punches. Hopefully, we have inspired others -- that is our significant contribution to the country," said Trillanes. He and his 300-odd men ended their occupation of a key apartment and shopping complex in the Makati financial centre after intense negotiations with government, opposition and military officials. In the end, sources close to the negotiations said, the key figures of the mutiny -- whose average age was 27 years -- were largely influenced by colleagues from their alma matter, the Philippine Military Academy, where they belonged to a class renowned for its brilliance and idealism. Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Narciso Abaya said at a late night press conference on Sunday that he would create a special panel to study the complaints raised by the young officers against President Gloria Arroyo's administration and the military. But Trillanes, who had spoken to Arroyo about his grievances before the revolt, sounded dejected in a local television interview after he gave up with his men. "This country has no moral resolve to reform," he said. "These reforms will not come in my lifetime," he said, defeat in his voice. Trillanes had documented irregularities in the Philippine military in a controversial thesis he submitted for a masters degrees at the University of the Philippines last year. Hailing from elite military units, the mutineers identified themselves as "the Magdalo group," a name similar to one used by a band of Filipino revolutionaries who fought Spanish colonial rule in the 19th century. They had accused the military leadership of selling arms to rebels from the country's biggest separatist Muslim group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the communist guerilla force the New People's Army and the notorious Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group. The mutineers, who colleages say also hold a sterling combat record, said they had come across recovered ammunition from captured rebel camps with markings "DND (Department of National Defence) Arsenal." "These bullets are same ones that are killing our fellow soldiers in the field," complained Captain Gerardo Gambala, another leader of the siege as he wore a red armed band emblazoned with the symbol of the 19th century revolt against Spain on his left sleeve. The mutineers also accused Defence Secretary Angelo Reyes and a military intelligence chief of "masterminding" bombings against civilian targets in the southern Philippines in a bid to declare the MILF as a terrorist group and eventually get more US funding for Arroyo's anti-terror campaign. They also accused the military leadership of planning bombings in Manila in a bid to extend Arroyo's stay in power through martial law. "They will do this through bombings in Metro Manila which they will blame on other groups," said Gambala, citing the recent escape from the police headquarters of self-confessed Indonesian terrorist Fathur Rahman al-Ghozi as "essential to this operation." National Security Adviser Roilo Golez defended the Arroyo administration, which he said had shown "political will" in implementing landmark reforms to weed out graft and boost efficiency.