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For Aquino, the euphoria of People Power has long been replaced by the tribulations of running the Philippines. Even as the world seemed to be infected by the kind of popular uprising she led, Aquino was struggling with mixed results to make democracy work with a fragile economy and in a land afflicted with corruption and insurgency. At home, her halo has lost its shine, and her popularity, while sizable, has dipped substantially.
To the rest of the world, however, she has remained one of liberty's most potent symbols. And for the U.S. she represents one of the few genuine foreign policy triumphs of the decade -- the moral shift in American diplomatic thinking away from collaborating with authoritarian allies to standing with democracy. Last week, when it came to a choice between a military putsch that might have brought a vicious but strategic stability to the Philippines and a woman who headed the weak but nevertheless legitimate government of the country, Washington chose Aquino.
Bush received word of the coup before departing for Malta, and was kept posted on events while he was aboard Air Force One. Just before 11 p.m. Thursday , Bush learned of Aquino's request that U.S. fighters place an "aggressive cap" over two airfields near Manila from which the rebels had launched attacks against government positions. Meanwhile, Vice President Dan Quayle chaired a crisis-management group in the White House Situation Room to review options. At 11:30 the Quayle group recommended granting Aquino's request, and Bush approved it an hour later. In addition, 100 U.S. Marines, part of a contingent of 800 stationed at Subic Bay Naval Base, north of Manila, were deployed on the grounds of the American embassy as a defensive measure.
The scale of the uprising had surprised and panicked Aquino. Rebel troops quickly took over Villamor Air Base and blocked loyal pilots from taking off in their helicopter gunships. Fort Bonifacio fell. Minutes later, the rebels sent patrols down the runway of the neighboring international airport, effectively shutting it down. At the same time, two truckloads of insurgent marines led a convoy of cars and trucks toward TV Channels 2 and 4, about 20 minutes away in Quezon City. They entered the grounds of Channel 4, the government station, without being challenged; 45 minutes later Channel 2 was also occupied.
The mutineers' disinformation kept the government off balance. Reports trickled in that large areas of Luzon and Mindanao as well as the bustling commercial city of Cebu in the central Philippines had capitulated to the rebels. Rumors flew that Defense Secretary Fidel Ramos and armed forces Chief of Staff Renato de Villa had joined the rebellion. Ramos added to the muddle by saying nothing publicly on the matter for 212 hours. Finally he went on radio to urge: "Do not believe their propaganda. It's not true. We're fighting them. They are the enemy."
At the Malacanang Palace grounds, even Aquino's staff was shaken. Said assistant press secretary Lourdes Sytangco: "It looks as if the rebels have the upper hand."