A spectacular show of strength by the elite forces of the Philippine military ended a seven-hour attempted coup d’état staged in the lobby of one of Manila’s top hotels yesterday.

About 30 heavily armed rebels, led by a senior Philippine politician, stormed and occupied the Peninsula Hotel around lunchtime, demanding the resignation of the nation’s increasingly reviled President, Gloria Arroyo.

Some Filipinos have become so unfazed by coup attempts that diners continued eating their lunch and guests at a wedding party slipped out of the hotel to continue their festivities at another hotel across the street.

The siege was abruptly broken in the evening when an armoured personnel carrier battered down the front doors of the hotel. Waves of Swat (special weapons and tactics) police officers poured into the marbled lobby, and, with the whole drama unfolding before dozens of television cameras, fired teargas into the building.

Despite its ferocity and weight of forces, the Swat raid did not immediately end the coup. Before the authorities could reach the renegades, their leaders, Senator Antonio Trillanes and Brigadier-General Danilo Lim, surrounded themselves with journalists and managed to hold an impromptu press conference. “Dissent without action is consent,” said Mr Trillanes, who went on to criticise what he sees as the fatal corruption of the Arroyo administration. He later surrendered peacefully to the Manila police, the coup attempt ending without injuries.

Despite the condemnation of President Arroyo’s Government by many Filipinos, yesterday’s coup leaders did not win mass support. The initial storming of the Peninsula by the rebels terrified foreign guests, who described stampedes down the plush corridors as they made for the exits. Manila residents said that the event would be viewed by the outside world as a “black mark” against the country.

The siege was particularly inconvenient for Maria-Stella Magtayo, who was already in a bridal gown in readiness for her afternoon wedding when the plotters burst into the lobby. Unimpressed by the sight of renegade soldiers toting rifles, Ms Magtayo said: “I’m going through with this. Rock‘n’roll!” Her groom, Rian Montano, was furious with the rebels for disrupting their big day. “I have prepared for this wedding for a year. Of all the days, they had to choose this one,” he said.

It was the fourteenth coup attempt in Manila since Ferdinand Marcos was deposed in 1986. Yesterday’s siege was itself the direct result of a failed coup four years ago by Mr Trillanes and General Lim. The two men were in court yesterday to face an inquiry into the mutiny they led in 2003.

The pair stormed out of the hearing and marched from the courts to the Peninsula. Along the way, they were joined by a band of supporters that included a small platoon of army dissidents and a retired bishop.

During his chaotic press conference, Mr Trillanes described his actions as “a moral obligation”. Repeating his calls for President Arroyo to step down, Mr Trillanes said that he was ready to face fresh charges, and even death: “We have been witness and victims of the kind of ruthlessness this administration is giving to the people. Now, like soldiers, we are going to face this.”

President Arroyo said in a televised address: “The wrong ways of some do not speak well for the nation or the armed forces and the police.”

— Read Leo Lewis’s Urban Dirt blog timesonline.co.uk/urbandirt

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