The siege staged by Senator Antonio Trillanes and his companions at the Manila Peninsula in Makati City Thursday was just the tip of the iceberg; “God is warning the Philippines ,” Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra said yesterday.

“For me, more than a destabilization act, it was a frightening prick to the conscience of people in the government, in the church, and in the private sectors of our society, who, because of dishonesty, hypocrisy and greed, have been contributing to the miserable plight of our country,” Navarra said.

“I am afraid ills and havocs greater and graver than that provoked by Trillanes are to come upon our nation, because God always allows painful and dreadful purifications to fall upon wicked rulers and subjects alike, if only to jolt them from their wrongdoings,” he added.

As a man of faith, Navarra said his reading transcends the common perception of what transpired at the Manila Peninsula .

Meanwhile, the military and police in the Visayas yesterday went on automatic alert for suspects wanted for helping stage the dramatic but short-lived rebellion against the government at the Manila Peninsula hotel Thursday.

Government troops who stormed the Peninsula to end the six-hour siege arrested Trillanes, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, former vice president Teofisto Guingona and 47 others.

Captain Gary Alejano who is from Sipalay City , Negros Occidental, was among the 47 arrested, Police Director Geary Barias of the National Capital Region told the DAILY STAR.

Lt. Gen. Victor Ibrado, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command in the Visayas, and Senior Supt. Rosendo Franco, Neg. Occ. police director, said they have gone on automatic alert for suspects in the Peninsula siege who got away in case they enter their areas.

Among those wanted is Marine Captain Nicanor Faeldon, two other rebel officers and a soldier, Barias said.

Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon said the government, by ending the standoff, immediately has shown its decisiveness in enforcing the law and that is good for business.

“It assures the business community that the government is on top of the situation,” Marañon said.

Police chief Avelino Razon said documents found in the debris of the Peninsula Hotel, which SWAT teams stormed in a hail of gunfire and tear gas to end the stand-off, indicated "four groups" took part in the mutiny.

He declined to give details but said at least three renegade officers seen taking over the hotel had managed to get away despite the security cordon around the hotel and a subsequent overnight curfew in Manila .

"One left a wig at the hotel premises," Razon said.

Meanwhile officials said up to 20 other people who were not part of the hotel siege were under investigation, including politicians and businessmen said to have financed the rebellion.

"Some of them are businessmen but I do not want to be hasty by naming names," National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales was quoted as saying in the local press.

"We are investigating the possible involvement of certain politicians," said armed forces chief of staff General Hermogenes Esperon, who also declined to name them.

Aides said Arroyo would pursue her normal schedule, including a previously scheduled 10-day European swing through Europe .

Arroyo has faced repeated coup attempts since taking power in 2001, and many of the people involved in Thursday's mutiny had come directly from a court hearing on their involvement in a 2003 coup attempt.

Razon said some were the "usual suspects" from previous attempts to bring down the government in the Philippines , where the military, big business and the Catholic church all hold powerful sway over national political life.

The armed forces can make or break a president, and the leaders of Thursday's uprising.

Trillanes, Lim, Guingona and 47 others arrested face possible rebellion charges for taking over the hotel and calling for an uprising as they demanded the resignation of President Arroyo, Razon said.*CPG/AFP

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Rep. Monico Puentevella said yesterday that Trillanes, who is facing charges for leading the July 2003 rebellion, has gotten himself into a deeper hole for staging the siege.

The move was a stupid one because it came at a time when the economy is doing well inspite of problems like the impeachment and alleged corruption in government, he said.

The people will not support anything that will destroy the economy now, Puentevalla said. He said he has received many “angry” text messages saying they regretted having voted for the senator.

Puentevella said this is a wake up call for the military because it was caught flat-footed. He believes some were in collusion with Trillanes and that they should also be placed under Court Martial. The military should also know how to treat media, he said.

Rep. Ignacio Arroyo Jr. (Neg. Occ., 5 th district) said Trillanes can be removed from the senate through expulsion initiated by a complaint before the Senate Ethics Committee.*CGS

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