Philippine President Gives Rebels Until 5 PM Local Time to Surrender, Deadline Passes

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said she is giving the rebel soldiers who have occupied a building in Manila until 5 PM local time to surrender. The soldiers seized the building early today. Ms. Arroyo condemned the rebel soldiers for attempting to orchestrate a coup, but the soldiers denied this claim and did not accept the surrender ultimatum. The government has given the rebel soldiers more time to end the uprising. About two hundred soldiers and junior officers are holed up in an apartment and shopping center near Manila's business district. However, it is reported that explosives have been planted in that building. President Arroyo has ordered government forces to use reasonable force if necessary. The soldiers have accused the government of corruption. The rebel soldiers briefly took several hostages, including the Australian ambassador, but they were released. The Philippines' main ally, the United States, has expressed its full support for Ms. Arroyo and warned that 'if the coup plotters succeed, negative consequences await the relations between the two countries.' Since the establishment of democracy in the Philippines in 1986, the country has witnessed several coups.