Yesterday, two men attempted a coup on the Philippine government. President Arroyo has been under fire for years now because of alleged corruption in her government. Of course, I don't know enough information to form my own opinion. But, it does seem that many Filipinos don't trust her or the government. Anyway, yesterday morning I got a call from Dwayne advising me to stay inside because something was going.
Four years ago, a man named Senator Trillanes attempted a coup. He and his supporters from the Philippine military laid siege to a hotel called The Oakwood. This hotel has been renamed and is the place where we currently reside. This was a tidbit of information they forgot to include in our expat counseling sessions. Anyway, he took over the hotel for a day and thankfully no one was hurt. He ended up surrendering and being arrested. Yesterday, Trillanes was on trial for this coup attempt when he and Brigadier General Lim (a witness at this trial) walked out of court with defected soldiers. They marched down Makati Avenue and barged into the Peninsula Hotel. They were calling for President Arroyo to step down as president. This, of course, did not happen. The Philippine military that did not defect eventually charged into the hotel with a tank and tear gas. Again, Trillanes and his sympathizers were arrested after a standoff that lasted around 6 to 7 hours.
The first picture is the exterior of the Peninsula Hotel and the second is the lobby. At least, this is what it used to look like before this mess happened. Here are a couple of pictures of the hotel during the standoff.
The next picture is of Trillanes. He's the guy in black.
And the last two pictures are of the Philippine military getting ready to take the rebels down.
The crazy thing is that most Filipinos were not at all alarmed by these events. They just went about business as usual because they are used to coup attempts. They happen almost yearly and especially around the holidays. Today is a national holiday, Bonifacio Day.
So, in the two months we've been here the following things have occurred: a bombing at Glorietta Mall which is attached to our building, a bombing at the House of Representatives building, an earthquake, a fire in a restaurant in our building, a couple of typhoons, and now a coup attempt. So far we haven't really been scared of anything. Well, the tanks rolling down the street yesterday was a little unsettling. But, for the most part, I still feel pretty safe. Just thought I would share what's going on in our neck of the woods.
Four years ago, a man named Senator Trillanes attempted a coup. He and his supporters from the Philippine military laid siege to a hotel called The Oakwood. This hotel has been renamed and is the place where we currently reside. This was a tidbit of information they forgot to include in our expat counseling sessions. Anyway, he took over the hotel for a day and thankfully no one was hurt. He ended up surrendering and being arrested. Yesterday, Trillanes was on trial for this coup attempt when he and Brigadier General Lim (a witness at this trial) walked out of court with defected soldiers. They marched down Makati Avenue and barged into the Peninsula Hotel. They were calling for President Arroyo to step down as president. This, of course, did not happen. The Philippine military that did not defect eventually charged into the hotel with a tank and tear gas. Again, Trillanes and his sympathizers were arrested after a standoff that lasted around 6 to 7 hours.
The first picture is the exterior of the Peninsula Hotel and the second is the lobby. At least, this is what it used to look like before this mess happened. Here are a couple of pictures of the hotel during the standoff.The next picture is of Trillanes. He's the guy in black.
And the last two pictures are of the Philippine military getting ready to take the rebels down.The crazy thing is that most Filipinos were not at all alarmed by these events. They just went about business as usual because they are used to coup attempts. They happen almost yearly and especially around the holidays. Today is a national holiday, Bonifacio Day.So, in the two months we've been here the following things have occurred: a bombing at Glorietta Mall which is attached to our building, a bombing at the House of Representatives building, an earthquake, a fire in a restaurant in our building, a couple of typhoons, and now a coup attempt. So far we haven't really been scared of anything. Well, the tanks rolling down the street yesterday was a little unsettling. But, for the most part, I still feel pretty safe. Just thought I would share what's going on in our neck of the woods.
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