Rebels Will Be Punished, But They Do Have a Point

The Philippines president yesterday vowed the ringleaders of the dramatic siege of Manila would face justice, even as she conceded they had highlighted genuine problems facing the country. In her annual address to the nation, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo promised a series of inquiries, including one into the grievances that prompted the siege in which a Manila apartment and shopping complex was seized by about 300 soldiers and wired with explosives. She promised that politicians would not escape unpunished, saying the mutineers “will be met with the full force of the law, including their political components”. But while vowing to investigate and punish those involved in the “deplorable” rebellion, she acknowledged some public sympathy for their complaints, saying “they signal an underlying problem that we must address”. None of the soldiers have been jailed although five rebel leaders, including Lieutenant Antonio Trillanes, were being held at their military camp for questioning. The other mutineers were confined to barracks. Full Story