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Philippines The President and the Coup Plotters
Philippine politics between 1986 and 1991 was punctuated by
President Aquino's desperate struggle to survive physically and
politically a succession of coup attempts, culminating in a
large, bloody, and well-financed attempt in December 1989. This
attempt, led by renegade Colonel Gregorio Honasan, involved
upwards of 3,000 troops, including elite Scout Rangers and
marines, in a coordinated series of attacks on Camp Crame and
Camp Aquinaldo, Fort Bonifacio, Cavite Naval Base, Villamor Air
Base, and on Malacañang itself, which was dive-bombed by vintage
T-28 aircraft. Although Aquino was not hurt in this raid, the
situation appeared desperate, for not only were military
commanders around the country waiting to see which side would
triumph in Manila, but the people of Manila, who had poured into
the streets to protect Aquino in February 1986, stayed home this
time. Furthermore, Aquino found it necessary to request United
States air support to put down this uprising.
Politically this coup was a disaster for Aquino. Her vice
president openly allied himself with the coup plotters and called
for her to resign. Even Aquino's staunchest supporters saw her
need for United States air support as a devastating sign of
weakness. Most damaging of all, when the last rebels finally
surrendered, they did so in triumph and with a promise from the
government that they would be treated "humanely, justly, and
fairly."
A fact-finding commission was appointed to draw lessons from
this coup attempt. The commission bluntly advised Aquino to
exercise firmer leadership, replace inefficient officials, and
retire military officers of dubious loyalty. On December 14,
1989, the Senate granted Aquino emergency powers for six months.
One of the devastating results of this insurrection was that
just when the economy had finally seemed to turn around,
investors were frightened off, especially since much of the
combat took place in the business haven of Makati. Tourism, a
major foreign-exchange earner, came to a halt. Business leaders
estimated that the mutiny cost the economy US$1.5 billion
(see Tourism
, ch. 3).
Data as of June 1991
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