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CNN Live Saturday

Armed Men Storm Mall in Manila

Aired July 26, 2003 - 16:09   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: We have more now on that tense standoff in the Philippines, where armed men wearing camouflage uniforms have taken over a mall in Manila. CNN's Maria Ressa is on the line there from Manila with the latest on the situation. Maria, do we believe that President Arroyo is in control of things right now?
MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It seems uncertain right now, Andrea. I'm actually at the site. This is the prime shopping center in the financial district of the capital. There are about 20 to 30 armed men here. One of the men we spoke with did say that they're members of the Philippine armed forces. They claim to have a force of about 2,000 people, again, impossible to verify at this point.

They have barricaded the area, preventing other cars and vehicles from entering, and that they've pushed back the pedestrians, telling them that they've rigged explosives. One man said it was plastic C-4 explosives, to stay away, that they will, in his words, "blow it up later on." And that's the direct, literal translation, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

They also claim -- one man claimed that this -- they're doing this because of corruption in the Philippines. It does seem like their leaders are now trying to begin negotiations with the Philippine armed forces.

This comes in the wake of Saturday's announcement by the Philippine armed forces chief as well as Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that they have discovered a plot within the military to destabilize the government. In effect, President Arroyo earlier this evening said that she has ordered arrests of about 20 officers, mid-level officers in the armed forces, as well as about 50 enlisted men. She has ordered they be arrested and court martialed -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: We know that the Philippines has had troubles with Abu Sayyaf, with MILF (ph), with any number of alleged terrorist groups, Muslim extremists. This seems to have come out of the blue. Where did this germinate?

RESSA: This is actually connected exactly to what you're saying. In effect, all week we've had rumors of a coup brewing, enough to actually affect the peso's -- the value of the peso on Wednesday this week.

The mid-ranking officers say that they want more since they are fighting a war in the southern Philippines, and that they themselves feel that they're constantly at the front lines. They put their lives at risk. Yet at the same time, their pay is very low. Some officers get as much as $74 a month.

And also, once they go into combat, there's absolutely no insurance for them. There's a list of grievances. President Arroyo did meet with the mid-ranking officers to deal with these grievances. She did say on Friday that she felt that she has addressed them and that the avenues for dealing with them have been set. However, on Saturday, she did also announce that they did discover that about 70 officers and enlisted men have walked out -- essentially deserted their posts, carrying with them their weapons. If these are the same men, they are threatening to now detonate explosives at the prime commercial center in the Philippine capital.

KOPPEL: OK. I'm sure we'll be checking back with you later. Maria Ressa in Manila, thanks so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired July 26, 2003 - 16:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: We have more now on that tense standoff in the Philippines, where armed men wearing camouflage uniforms have taken over a mall in Manila. CNN's Maria Ressa is on the line there from Manila with the latest on the situation. Maria, do we believe that President Arroyo is in control of things right now?
MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It seems uncertain right now, Andrea. I'm actually at the site. This is the prime shopping center in the financial district of the capital. There are about 20 to 30 armed men here. One of the men we spoke with did say that they're members of the Philippine armed forces. They claim to have a force of about 2,000 people, again, impossible to verify at this point.

They have barricaded the area, preventing other cars and vehicles from entering, and that they've pushed back the pedestrians, telling them that they've rigged explosives. One man said it was plastic C-4 explosives, to stay away, that they will, in his words, "blow it up later on." And that's the direct, literal translation, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

They also claim -- one man claimed that this -- they're doing this because of corruption in the Philippines. It does seem like their leaders are now trying to begin negotiations with the Philippine armed forces.

This comes in the wake of Saturday's announcement by the Philippine armed forces chief as well as Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that they have discovered a plot within the military to destabilize the government. In effect, President Arroyo earlier this evening said that she has ordered arrests of about 20 officers, mid-level officers in the armed forces, as well as about 50 enlisted men. She has ordered they be arrested and court martialed -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: We know that the Philippines has had troubles with Abu Sayyaf, with MILF (ph), with any number of alleged terrorist groups, Muslim extremists. This seems to have come out of the blue. Where did this germinate?

RESSA: This is actually connected exactly to what you're saying. In effect, all week we've had rumors of a coup brewing, enough to actually affect the peso's -- the value of the peso on Wednesday this week.

The mid-ranking officers say that they want more since they are fighting a war in the southern Philippines, and that they themselves feel that they're constantly at the front lines. They put their lives at risk. Yet at the same time, their pay is very low. Some officers get as much as $74 a month.

And also, once they go into combat, there's absolutely no insurance for them. There's a list of grievances. President Arroyo did meet with the mid-ranking officers to deal with these grievances. She did say on Friday that she felt that she has addressed them and that the avenues for dealing with them have been set. However, on Saturday, she did also announce that they did discover that about 70 officers and enlisted men have walked out -- essentially deserted their posts, carrying with them their weapons. If these are the same men, they are threatening to now detonate explosives at the prime commercial center in the Philippine capital.

KOPPEL: OK. I'm sure we'll be checking back with you later. Maria Ressa in Manila, thanks so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com