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Siege of the Manila Hotel
The siege of the Manila Hotel (Filipino: Pagkubkob sa Manila Hotel) was an occupation of the Manila Hotel, a luxury hotel in the Philippine capital Manila, led by former vice-presidential candidate Arturo Tolentino and other military and civilian supporters of deposed President Ferdinand Marcos as part of a coup attempt to overthrow his successor, Corazon Aquino and restore him to power, on 6–8 July 1986. The coup failed to gain extensive support, and ended on 8 July with the departure of most participants and the surrender of others.
The coup occurred barely five months after Aquino was installed in office following the People Power Revolution in February, and was the first of nine attempts to topple Aquino's government. It was followed by the God Save the Queen Plot in November later that year.
After Marcos' overthrow and exile to Hawaii in February 1986, his supporters regularly held rallies demanding his restoration as president every Sunday at Manila's Luneta Park, which was next to the Manila Hotel, a luxury hotel that was a prominent gathering place for politicians, expatriates and other leading members of Philippine society. The rallies were often attended by prominent personalities associated with Marcos who had stayed behind in the Philippines, including Arturo Tolentino, Marcos' running mate in the 1986 snap presidential election on 7 February, whose disputed outcome precipitated the People Power Revolution on 22–25 February that ousted Marcos and installed his electoral rival, Corazon Aquino.
The coup was launched whilst the Aquino government was grappling with several issues such as student unrest in Metro Manila, agrarian reform, rising tensions with the Armed Forces of the Philippines regarding negotiations with the CPP-NPA to end the communist insurgency and the supposed presence of left-wing officials in Aquino's cabinet, the drafting of a new constitution, and preparations for Aquino's state visit to the United States.
A few days before the coup, Tolentino reportedly booked four adjoining rooms at the Manila Hotel's 14th floor under a woman's name, while other loyalists booked rooms under false names and used codes to communicate with each other. They also brought ample stocks of food and water for a prolonged stay.
The coup was also known beforehand to several military officers, including those affiliated with the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), which helped lead the People Power Revolution. It later emerged that Marcos loyalist officer Colonel Rolando Abadilla contacted RAM leader Gringo Honasan a month before the coup, asking for their support. However, RAM adopted a wait-and-see approach, although in an apparent sign of rapprochement, senior RAM official Rodolfo Aguinaldo was also seen inside the hotel during the coup. On the morning of the coup, prominent Marcos loyalists at the InterContinental Manila invited American journalist Jack Anderson to their regular Sunday rally at the Luneta, promising a "scoop".
During the regular Marcos loyalist rally at the Luneta's Quirino Grandstand on 6 July 1986, some 100 armed soldiers and civilians entered the Manila Hotel and set up camp in the lobby, with Brigadier General Jose Maria Zumel, a former superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy and officer in Marcos' Presidential Security Command, informing the hotel's head of catering of their takeover. Likewise, a former assistant manager of the hotel who was related to a Marcos official proclaimed himself the hotel's new general manager, while an officer working for Marcos' exiled AFP Chief of Staff Fabian Ver declared himself the hotel's security chief. The total number of occupiers was later estimated to be about 490 military personnel and 5,000 civilians. Many of the soldiers arrived on military trucks and jeeps from camps in Metro Manila and Central Luzon and were armed with machine guns and wireless radios. Many were also members of the Guardians Brotherhood, a mutual-aid society within the AFP that was seen as close to Honasan.
An hour later, at the hotel's driveway, Tolentino announced that Marcos had authorized him to temporarily take over the government. He then took his oath as Acting President in front of a former Supreme Court justice, and designated a five-person cabinet composed of Rafael Recto as Minister of Justice, Manuel Collantes as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Alba as Minister of Budget, Isidro Rodriguez Jr. as Minister of Local Government, and Juan Ponce Enrile as Minister of National Defense and concurrent Prime Minister. Tolentino also ordered Nicanor Yñiguez, the speaker of Marcos' dissolved rubber-stamp parliament, the Regular Batasang Pambansa, to convene the body and call for local elections.
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Siege of the Manila Hotel
The siege of the Manila Hotel (Filipino: Pagkubkob sa Manila Hotel) was an occupation of the Manila Hotel, a luxury hotel in the Philippine capital Manila, led by former vice-presidential candidate Arturo Tolentino and other military and civilian supporters of deposed President Ferdinand Marcos as part of a coup attempt to overthrow his successor, Corazon Aquino and restore him to power, on 6–8 July 1986. The coup failed to gain extensive support, and ended on 8 July with the departure of most participants and the surrender of others.
The coup occurred barely five months after Aquino was installed in office following the People Power Revolution in February, and was the first of nine attempts to topple Aquino's government. It was followed by the God Save the Queen Plot in November later that year.
After Marcos' overthrow and exile to Hawaii in February 1986, his supporters regularly held rallies demanding his restoration as president every Sunday at Manila's Luneta Park, which was next to the Manila Hotel, a luxury hotel that was a prominent gathering place for politicians, expatriates and other leading members of Philippine society. The rallies were often attended by prominent personalities associated with Marcos who had stayed behind in the Philippines, including Arturo Tolentino, Marcos' running mate in the 1986 snap presidential election on 7 February, whose disputed outcome precipitated the People Power Revolution on 22–25 February that ousted Marcos and installed his electoral rival, Corazon Aquino.
The coup was launched whilst the Aquino government was grappling with several issues such as student unrest in Metro Manila, agrarian reform, rising tensions with the Armed Forces of the Philippines regarding negotiations with the CPP-NPA to end the communist insurgency and the supposed presence of left-wing officials in Aquino's cabinet, the drafting of a new constitution, and preparations for Aquino's state visit to the United States.
A few days before the coup, Tolentino reportedly booked four adjoining rooms at the Manila Hotel's 14th floor under a woman's name, while other loyalists booked rooms under false names and used codes to communicate with each other. They also brought ample stocks of food and water for a prolonged stay.
The coup was also known beforehand to several military officers, including those affiliated with the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), which helped lead the People Power Revolution. It later emerged that Marcos loyalist officer Colonel Rolando Abadilla contacted RAM leader Gringo Honasan a month before the coup, asking for their support. However, RAM adopted a wait-and-see approach, although in an apparent sign of rapprochement, senior RAM official Rodolfo Aguinaldo was also seen inside the hotel during the coup. On the morning of the coup, prominent Marcos loyalists at the InterContinental Manila invited American journalist Jack Anderson to their regular Sunday rally at the Luneta, promising a "scoop".
During the regular Marcos loyalist rally at the Luneta's Quirino Grandstand on 6 July 1986, some 100 armed soldiers and civilians entered the Manila Hotel and set up camp in the lobby, with Brigadier General Jose Maria Zumel, a former superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy and officer in Marcos' Presidential Security Command, informing the hotel's head of catering of their takeover. Likewise, a former assistant manager of the hotel who was related to a Marcos official proclaimed himself the hotel's new general manager, while an officer working for Marcos' exiled AFP Chief of Staff Fabian Ver declared himself the hotel's security chief. The total number of occupiers was later estimated to be about 490 military personnel and 5,000 civilians. Many of the soldiers arrived on military trucks and jeeps from camps in Metro Manila and Central Luzon and were armed with machine guns and wireless radios. Many were also members of the Guardians Brotherhood, a mutual-aid society within the AFP that was seen as close to Honasan.
An hour later, at the hotel's driveway, Tolentino announced that Marcos had authorized him to temporarily take over the government. He then took his oath as Acting President in front of a former Supreme Court justice, and designated a five-person cabinet composed of Rafael Recto as Minister of Justice, Manuel Collantes as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Alba as Minister of Budget, Isidro Rodriguez Jr. as Minister of Local Government, and Juan Ponce Enrile as Minister of National Defense and concurrent Prime Minister. Tolentino also ordered Nicanor Yñiguez, the speaker of Marcos' dissolved rubber-stamp parliament, the Regular Batasang Pambansa, to convene the body and call for local elections.