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November 9, 2003
Airport Siege Raises Philippine Political Heat Reuters Foundations AlertNet
MANILA, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Police swiftly ended a problem when they stormed Manila airport's control tower this weekend, but the timing of the brief siege during a brewing constitutional crisis and rumours of military unrest meant the damage was already done.
From an optimistic point of view, the killing of two men who took over the control tower of the Philippines' main airport in the early hours of Saturday morning showed the government is willing and able to take a firm hand against threats to security.
But even if the case was an isolated incident over grievances about corruption, as seems likely, it has raised the political temperature ahead of elections in May and worsened an image problem that is frightening away foreign investment. High-profile security breaches are another warning sign for investors already declining to put money into an economy with about $25 billion in foreign debt, a chronic deficit and entrenched corruption in the bureaucracy and political system.
"It's another example of how things can go wrong so quickly here -- at an airport where one would expect there to be much tighter security," said a foreign analyst, who asked not to be identified. "It's quite alarming, I think."
In the few hours before he and his companion were shot dead by police, former aviation chief Panfilo Villaruel embarrassed the government by showing up lax security and complaining about high-level graft.
The same complaints were made by soldiers who staged an aborted coup in July and the inevitable conspiracy theories that Villaruel was acting with military backing have started swirling. The Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper quoted unnamed military officials on Sunday as saying Villaruel may have been waiting for an armed forces unit that failed to show up or was acting with the support of some politicians. Most analysts saw the siege as the act of a desperate man.
"We've been through about five other coups and I've never seen a two-man coup," Max Soliven, a political commentator and publisher of the rival Star newspaper, told Reuters.
"All the newspapers are saying he was a patriot. I think he was nuts."
Others said the main damage from the siege was to the government's security credentials, which have been brought into question by several incidents this year, including the escape from a Manila jail of one of Asia's most wanted terror suspects. The ease with which Villaruel and friend casually entered the control tower and later on took over control of the supposedly restricted and secured area is again a black eye to the government," the Today newspaper said in an editorial. Still, in a sign of the prevailing tension, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo moved quickly to reassure people there was no sign of a military rebellion related to the siege.
Fears that disgruntled soldiers could stage another attempt to grab power have been heightened by a row over the impeachment of the nation's top judge that could come to a head this week.
"With the political climate here as it is at the moment, who's manipulating who and for what reason is anyone's guess," said the foreign analyst.
The House of Representatives reconvenes on Monday after a two-week break and opposition lawmakers are expected to attempt sending articles of impeachment against chief justice Hilario Davide to a Senate trial. The Supreme Court could rule that the impeachment is unconstitutional, raising the chances of a clash between the two institutions that may hurt Arroyo's chances of winning a second term in May.
"It would further harden the feelings on both sides of the divide," House Speaker Jose de Venecia told television on Sunday.
Arroyo's attempts to seek a compromise appear to be having little success, and many see the impeachment as an attempt by political rivals to undermine her election chances. The impeachment of Davide has won strong support from backers of Joseph Estrada, Arroyo's predecessor who was ousted in a popular revolt in 2001 and is being detained on charges of economic plunder. The prospect of an impasse between the judiciary and legislature raises further worries about military intervention.
"If they see a weakness in the leadership of the president, then they'll rush in to fill in the vacuum," said Soliven. "Right now, there is weakness but it's not that bad."
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