Manila, July 27: The Philippines Vice President Teofisto Guingona described the concerns of soldiers allegedly staging a coup today as "legitimate" and called for the standoff to end without bloodshed. President Gloria Arroyo has ordered the 200-odd soldiers occupying the Ayala Centre complex in a bid to force the government to step down to surrender by 5:00 pm (1430 hrs ist) or face military assault.
The rebels have accused the government of breeding corruption and sponsoring terrorism.
"While we need to listen to the legitimate grievances of the soldiers who have dared to stand up for what they believe in, the greater and immediate challenge is to defuse this explosive state and resolve the crisis peacefully without bloodshed," Guingona said in a statement.
"The call of the hour is to be calm and deliberate. Any misstep can further inflame what already is a very tense and explosive situation," said Guingona, who quit his cabinet post as foreign secretary last year due to policy differences with arroyo.
The spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic nation meanwhile labelled the rebel soldiers "enemies of the peace".
Cardinal Jaime Sin said the band of soldiers, who have rigged explosives around the centre, were "enemies of our peace (who) are sowing lies and using terrorist means to take power."
These soldiers are "immoral," he said in a statement. "God will not bless those who sow violence and spread lies."
Bureau Report