January 1987 Philippine coup attempt

January 1987 Philippine coup attempt
Date January 27–29, 1987 Location Villamor Airbase, Camp Aguinaldo, Camp Crame Result Philippine government victory Coup averted Surrender of coup participants Deposed President Ferdinand Marcos' return to the Philippines aborted
Belligerents
Philippines	Guardians Brotherhood, Inc
Commanders and leaders
Renato De Villa Rodolfo Biazon	Ferdinand Marcos Oscar Canlas Rodolfo Calzado
Military support
Armed Forces of the Philippines	Marcos loyalists from the AFP
Casualties and losses
1 rebel soldier dead; 60 wounded

On January 27, 1987, a

The coup was the third attempt to overthrow Aquino and was the first incident to produce a fatality. It was later surpassed by a subsequent coup attempt in August that year.

Background

At the time of the coup, the Aquino government was grappling with several political crises such as the aftermath of the

In the early morning of January 27, 1987, about 400 rebel soldiers arrived in Manila from the military garrison in San Fernando, Pampanga, and branched out to seize their targets, namely the PAF headquarters in Villamor Air Base, the Sangley Point Air Station and the GMA-7 television station, in a bid to overthrow Aquino and restore Marcos to the presidency.^[4] Government officials later claimed that they had also planned to forestall the constitutional plebiscite due on February 2. However, the rebels subsequently denied aiming to overthrow Aquino's government, saying that they were fighting against a communist takeover and protesting the presence of leftist officials in her cabinet.^[3][5]

A reinforcement unit from Central Luzon consisting of 111 personnel^[3] led by Colonel Reynaldo Cabauatan was prevented from linking up with the main rebel force after they were intercepted by government forces at the Balintawak Toll Plaza of the North Diversion Road.^[2]

Occupation of GMA-7

An advanced party of dissidents from the PAF arrived at the GMA Network Center at 1:30 am and herded 43 staff and visitors into the Talent Room. The main body of soldiers, led by Air Force intelligence officer Colonel Oscar Canlas,^[3] arrived at 5 am. In total, their strength was estimated to be at around 200 personnel, and were later augmented by about 100 civilian supporters of Marcos who had gathered outside, among them actors Elizabeth Oropesa, Alona Alegre, Annie Ferrer and Amay Bisaya.^[6][2] Although government forces managed to cordon off the area, clashes broke out between the civilian Marcos loyalists and counterdemonstrators who showed up.^[7]

At the same time, other nearby television stations, namely government-run

At Sangley Air Base, about 55 soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Rodolfo Calzado entered the facility, blocked the runway, and briefly held hostage the commanding general and his deputy before surrendering.[3]

Another group of about 100 soldiers tried to launch an attack at AFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, but were arrested. Several dozen rebels were reported to have barricaded themselves in a residential subdivision after a similar attack on Philippine Constabulary headquarters at Camp Crame failed.^[3] A civilian-military demonstration in support of the coup was broken up at Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio and its participants were arrested.^[2]

Marcos' attempted return

Despite Marcos' denials of involvement,

As a precaution, the Aquino government ordered additional soldiers and helicopter gunships to Marcos' home province of Ilocos Norte during the coup, and deployed tanks to block the runway of Laoag International Airport.^[3]

Negotiations and end of the coup

By noon, it had become apparent that the only stronghold of the rebels was the GMA Network Center. However, plans by the government to storm the complex were prevented by the increasing presence of civilian supporters of the rebels who, despite the military blockade, simply went over the barriers and entered the premises.

Attempts were made to use Canlas' former classmates in the Philippine Military Academy,^[4] as well as his wife and sons, who were cadets in the PMA, to contact him over the phone and on radio to persuade him to surrender, to no avail. However, Canlas subsequently became the subject of public ridicule when, after Canlas' wife went on the radio calling on him to surrender, another woman called the station, insisting that he was Canlas' real wife.^[5][7] Although the rebels released 37 station employees in the evening, the standoff continued into the next day, with the rebels allowing some 20 journalists inside the compound to see the situation and as protection against an attack.^[3]

At 3 am on January 28, Canlas met personally with Ramos at a van parked outside the compound. During conversations recovered live on radio, Ramos sternly ordered Canlas to surrender, who responded that they were "willing to pay the price of our behavior," insisting that they were demonstrating against growing communist influence and not plotting to overthrow Aquino.^[3] After the failure of the negotiations, Canlas issued an open letter explaining their actions and calling for the overthrow of Aquino and the restoration of Marcos.^[2] After several hours, tear gas was fired at the complex and government soldiers were placed on standby to move in when RAM officers led by Honasan stepped in to mediate, warning Ramos that a violent assault would fatally undermine the AFP.^[7] During this time, Ramos, who had set up camp at a house next to the complex, and other officials were considering digging a tunnel under the station for elite forces to use in an assault.^[2]

Following another round of lengthy negotiations, the rebels finally agreed to surrender, and at 9:00 a.m., on January 29, the civilian rebel supporters left the complex and were brought to the Northern Police District headquarters at Camp Karingal for processing, followed by Canlas and his troops at 4 pm. They were escorted by PMA Superintendent Brigadier General Rodolfo Biazon and detained in Fort Bonifacio.^[2]

The rebels boarded nine buses at the GMA-7 compound after waving goodbye from the station rooftop to remaining followers outside. Before entering the buses, the troops, cheering and raising clenched fists, emptied their ammunition clips from their weapons. On their way to Fort Bonifacio, they were escorted by 10 police motorcycles and four police cars and surrendered their firearms upon arrival.^[8] Before arriving at the fort, Canlas and 12 other officers were allowed to make a press conference at the Ministry of National Defense in Camp Aguinaldo, during which they insisted that they had not launched a rebellion and denied responsibility for the other attacks that occurred.^[10]

Aftermath

Political and military repercussions

The insistence of government officials and the coup participants to avoid the word "surrender" in discussing their withdrawal from GMA-7, as well as Ramos' insistence that the rebels were "misguided elements" of the AFP, were seen as part of a face-saving way out of the coup, which highlighted the splits in the armed forces.^[10]

The constitutional plebiscite went ahead as planned on February 2, 1987, with 76% of voters approving the new Constitution, which came into effect that day.^[11] Its ratification was seen as a popular rebuke to the coup plotters.^[2]

Casualties and damage

The only fatality recorded during the coup was Private Daniel Hubag, who was killed while fighting for the rebel side at Villamor Air Base on January 27. Sixteen rebels were also injured in the assault on Villamor, while 35 people, mostly civilians, were injured during the three-day standoff at GMA-7.^[2] In total, nearly 60 people were injured during the coup.^[8]

Officials at GMA said the rebels left the building in disarray, with 'waste material and leftover food' strewn all over the floor and electronic equipment from the studios, personal valuables, and cash from the offices also missing. The channel was unable to broadcast for the three days of the coup, leading to losses of about P3 million. Its canteen was ransacked, losing P45,000. The government said they would compensate the station for damages incurred.^[2][8]

Prosecution of coup participants

Three hours after Canlas' surrender, Aquino announced that charges of rebellion would be placed on more than 100 civilian participants in the coup, most of which were later dropped.^[6] Canlas himself was detained until 1992, but was briefly released in 1989 to attend the graduation of his son Oscar Jr., at the PMA.^[5] In April 1987 another group of military dissidents attacked Fort Bonifacio in an attempt to release him and other detainees and overthrow Aquino.^[12] In May 1988, 106 military personnel were convicted for their participation in the coup,^[13] while in 1989, a court martial sentenced 14 military personnel to 6–12 years in prison for their role in the attack on Villamor Air Base.^[14]

On January 30, 1987, Ramos ordered the arrest of pro-Marcos officers Brigadier General Jose Maria Zumel, Colonel Rolando Abadilla and Colonel Reynaldo Cabauatan for alleged involvement in the coup.^[2] Abadilla, who was later accused as the mastermind of the coup, was arrested in July 1987, but was allowed to successfully run for vice governor of Ilocos Norte from prison in local elections held in January 1988. He was subsequently acquitted of the charges against him by a court martial in December 1988.^[13]

In 1991, colonel Calzado was captured without resistance in Paco Park, Manila by the Philippine Air Force for leading the attack on Sangley Point, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.^[15]

On August 28, 1992, Canlas and 15 other rebels who took part in the takeover of GMA were temporarily released from detention and placed in the custody of their respective service commanders on orders from Ramos, who was by then Aquino's successor as president.^[16][17][18]

See also

• Coup attempts against Corazon Aquino

References

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to January 1987 Philippine coup attempt.

• The Davide Fact-Finding Commission (1990). The Final Report of the Fact-Finding Commission (pursuant to R.A. No. 6832). Makati: Bookmark Inc. p. 118.
  ISBN 971-569-003-3
  .