CenPEG » A Piece de Resistance Staged at a Hotel

The whole opus of crafting a new government and a new democratic political institution cannot be played by simply laying siege on Oakwood or Peninsula Hotel.

By the Policy Study, Publication, and Advocacy (PSPA) Program
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)

The Nov. 29 takeover of the Peninsula Hotel led by detained military rebels sharpens a continuing trend to resolve the current political crisis through extra-constitutional means. A new twist to this piece de resistance is the fact that prominent political and religious personalities lent their presence. Their act dramatized openness to merging with initiatives taken by disgruntled but defiant military elements in charting a new political configuration for the country.

Assuming that the main objective of the Makati siege is to create a political noise that would resonate throughout the country and outside, its leaders succeeded. If it was meant to trigger yet another people power revolt against the Arroyo rule, it failed. Just the same, it left a message – of a regime that is despicable, and of an increasing number of people poised to challenge it no matter the risk to their lives.

The latest report is that the 36 alleged leaders and civilian supporters of what the justice secretary describes as a coup plot have been charged in court with rebellion. Among those charged were Brig. Gen. Danilo P. Lim and cashiered Navy Lieutenant now Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. Both are detained and still facing trial for the February 2006 attempted coup and 2003 Oakwood mutiny, respectively. Along with other detained military officers, the two slipped from a Makati court to stage the takeover of the Peninsula Hotel in the financial district of Makati. Prominent civilians who have likewise been slapped with rebellion charges are former Vice President Teofisto T. Guingona, Jr., former University of the Philippines Francisco Nemenzo, Jr., Bishop Julio Labayen, and Catholic priest Robert P. Reyes. They trace their oppositionist and patriotic records to the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship, against foreign intervention, and now, against the Arroyo administration. Facing the wrath of those in power is not new to them.

The siege took place a day before Nov. 30 when multisectoral rallies marking the birth anniversary of revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio were to be held throughout the country calling for the removal of Arroyo. It also came on the heels of a series of scandals exposing a regime festering with corruption as well as high-value bombings and a sharp decline in the popularity rating of Gloria M. Arroyo signifying the growing isolation and fragility of her presidency. Calls for the resignation or removal by impeachment and extra-constitutional means of Arroyo have been mounting since her takeover of the presidency on the crest of a second civilian uprising in January 2001. Two major events became pivotal in making the ground open for a tactical convergence of disparate political forces opposed to the Arroyo regime: the fraudulent 2004 presidential race and the fiscal crisis that followed. But the groundswell of protests that peaked with the call for Arroyo’s removal was stymied by differences on the matter of succession, centering on whether to allow a mediocre vice president to replace the besieged chief executive or going full steam with a seminal proposal for a transition governing council with some groups opting for a “revolutionary government” forged by civilian figures and mutinous military leaders.

Regime after regime

Previously, the military had figured preeminently in three coups that led to the formation of new regimes: the 1972 rightist coup pulled by President Ferdinand E. Marcos together with generals including Constabulary chief Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, which established a dictatorship until 1986; the February 1986 RAM-led coup attempt against Marcos, leading to Edsa I that enshrined Corazon C. Aquino as president; and at Edsa 2 in January 2001, the climactic withdrawal of support by then Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado and AFP chief Gen. Angelo Reyes that led to the toppling of Joseph E. Estrada and his replacement by then Vice President Arroyo.

Over the past 20 years, close to a dozen other coup attempts have been mounted against an incumbent president, with the last three of these taking place under Arroyo. The only time when no coup was attempted was during the presidency of Ramos (July 1992-June 1998) who had a long military career. The early coup attempts and mutinies were basically motivated by a grab for power, with many of these plotted or supported by ambitious politicians from the ruling elite aiming to install a civilian-military junta. It is said that these coup attempts unveiled a military institution that has become highly politicized. Politicization also opened cracks within the military, however. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has evolved into a private army of sorts for presidents who, faced with political instabilities and extremely isolated from the people, court the support of generals to stay in power thus allowing corruption in the military as well as police institutions to dig in.