The crisis surrounding President Gloria Arroyo deepened yesterday as opposition figures rallied to a call for support from a Marine colonel linked to a coup plot against her but the Marine "standoff" appeared to have been settled late last night.

Opposition figures had quickly heeded Col. Ariel Querubin's appeal and showed up outside the Marine headquarters in Forth Bonifacio two days after Arroyo declared a state of emergency to forestall what she called an imminent attempt to overthrow her.

Querubin told journalists inside the Marine compound that he was protesting the resignation earlier in the day of the man in charge of the Philippines Marines, Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda.

Brig. Gen. Nelson Aliaga, the freshly sworn-in replacement for Miranda, as of press time last night said the situation was under control and the Marines were following the chain of command.

He said the misunderstanding that stemmed from a complaint of Querubin had been settled, but did not elaborate.

Rep. Ignacio Arroyo (Neg. Occ., 5th district) said the Marine officers involved were already scheduled to be arrested, we have full trust and confidence in the military and the police that they will do their jobs and follow the chain of command.

Presidential Adviser for Western Visayas Rafael Coscolluela said the live media coverage last night at Forth Bonifacio was proof that democracy isn't dead after all as alleged so many critics.

"Frankly, I am a little surprised that the media is doing all this coverage. The upside is people will know that the administration is not hiding anything," he said.

There is a disgruntled officer identified to be part of a supposed plot who has chosen to go public rather than follow the chain command, Coscolluela said.

"What is sad is many civilians have chosen to ride on this and make it bigger than it should be. This is an internal matter that I think will be resolved very quickly by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense," he added.

Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella said "let us pray this all comes to an end so this country can move forward. The situation has come to a point where we are making a mountain out of a molehill and the biggest victim is our economy and the smallest people who suffer the most all in the name of power grabbing."

Felipe Levy Gelle, Bayan Negros secretary general, said his group would hold a vigil at the Bacolod public plaza in solidarity with the people at Forth Bonifacio.

Among the opposition figures seen outside the Marine camp at Forth Bonifacio last night were Arroyo's former vice president Teofisto Guingona and Rep. Imee Marcos, daughter of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Former President Corazon Aquino also said she was going to Forth Bonifacio.

Inside the compound were Senators Rodolfo Biazon and Ramon Magsaysay.

"I'll wait for all the people to protect us," Querubin told journalists, saying he feared "aggression" from unspecified forces.

"There are 400 Marine officers, and a majority support us," Querubin said.

Querubin and two other senior officers were relieved of their posts on Friday over what the government called a coup plot by "military adventurists" in alliance with communists and members of the opposition.

Inside the Marine compound, confusion reigned as another officer, a battalion commander also angered by Miranda's sacking, lined up a platoon backed by three armored vehicles.

"We are demonstrating our anger over the sacking of our commander," shouted the lieutenant-colonel, who asked not to be named.

"Marines, don't shoot at fellow Marines," he told his men.

Ricardo Saludo, a senior Arroyo adviser, insisted that Querubin would be "taken into custody" and said there were "no unauthorized movements" of troops.*CPG/AFP

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