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| Sunday, 9 November 2003 |
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Two killed in Manila airport siege; army on alert MANILA, Saturday (Reuters) A Philippine SWAT team stormed the control tower at Manila airport on Saturday, killing a former aviation chief and his police bodyguard to end a dramatic early morning siege that revived fears of political instability. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo played down concerns the siege could be part of any attempt to undermine her government ahead of elections next May, but said the military had been placed on full alert as a precaution. "I assure the people and the world that our airport is safe and sound," Arroyo said in a statement. "The nature, course and magnitude of this incident show that it is not an attempt to take over the government. No unauthorised movements of troops have been detected as of this time anywhere in the country." The takeover of the tower at the country's busiest airport for about three hours sparked fears of a repeat of a mutiny by several hundred soldiers in July. It is sure to increase investor concerns about political stability and security in the country. The SWAT team used explosives to blast open the door the two men had barricaded, Superintendent Andres Caro said. Panfilo Villaruel, a former head of the Air Transport Office, and policeman Richard Gatchalian were armed with handguns, a grenade and other explosives, he said. The weapons were not shown to reporters. "We are being killed here," Villaruel shouted on live radio with shots and groans in the background. "We surrender." The bodies of Villaruel, a former pilot and air force officer, and Gatchalian were brought from the tower covered in blankets. Blood dripped onto the floor of a van and the street. One pair of feet wore brown socks. The other was bare. The two men and their driver had walked into the tower at Ninoy Aquino International Airport using a security pass for the research Villaruel was doing at the airport, general manager Edgardo Manda told reporters. They delivered a midnight snack to the five air traffic controllers before asking them to leave and sending the driver home. Negotiations and a visit by current aviation chief Nilo Jatico were rebuffed by Villaruel, officials said. "We are not terrorists," Villaruel said on live radio. "If I don't do this, there will never be any change in the way the government is run." The renegade soldiers who staged the July 27 mutiny - 290 of whom had coup charges against them dropped on Friday - also said they took radical action after their attempts to expose corruption in the military were not pursued. Arroyo vowed on Friday to put down any new plots as a row raged over an attempt by opposition politicians to impeach the nation's top judge. Supporters of ousted president Joseph Estrada planned to hold a large rally in Manila on Saturday evening. |
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