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Enlisted men and officers are also disgruntled with low wages and severe shortages of the most basic supplies. Those conditions, combined with Honasan's charismatic personality, no doubt fueled last week's coup attempt. Some of the colonel's confederates say Honasan did not plan to overthrow the popular Aquino but had only wanted to force the resignation of Ramos and improve the military's lot. But Captain Rex Robles, a close friend of Honasan's, believes the main target was the President. Said Robles: "If you bring Ramos down, then who is Cory?"
The first of the failed coup attempts was mounted in July 1986. Pro-Marcos military officers took over the Manila Hotel for two days and declared Arturo Tolentino, Marcos' vice-presidential running mate in 1986, to be President. In November Ramos announced that he had blocked a coup attempt by Enrile and his backers, including Honasan. In January pro-Marcos troops moved again, holding a radio station in suburban Manila for 61 hours before surrendering. In July four officers linked to Marcos were arrested in connection with another plot.
None of the previous coup attempts could match the ferocity or human toll of last week's rising. In a televised speech on Friday afternoon, Aquino declared, "I have ordered the Chief of Staff of the armed forces to terminate this mutiny as soon as possible. There will be no terms. I have nothing to say to these traitors . . . This morning my only son Noynoy was shot and wounded. I will not allow these people to bring back the cruelty of the past dictatorship." The President referred to the rebels, with uncharacteristic acerbity, as "monsters."
As Aquino and Ramos took stock of the situation the morning after the shooting started, they had reason for concern. During the night Honasan had led 300 of his supporters into Camp Aguinaldo after persuading guards to let them pass rather than face a fire fight. His offices occupied, General Ramos moved his operations across the street to Camp Crame, headquarters of the Philippine Constabulary. In the morning and early afternoon, small units of progovernment troops tried to enter Camp Aguinaldo, only to be met by heavy fire from rebel troops, many with Philippine flags stitched upside down on their chests as a sign of identification.
During the day about 7,000 curiosity seekers gathered outside Camp Aguinaldo in the hot sun to watch the skirmishes, while hawkers selling peanuts and cigarettes worked the crowd. Late in the afternoon, armored personnel carriers began advancing down the boulevard toward the camp, firing shells at the rebel-held buildings and sending the civilians scurrying for + cover. The crowd was rooting for the government forces, and a cheer went up when the troop carriers moved cautiously through Camp Aguinaldo's front gate. The cheering stopped when an errant shell exploded in the middle of a small crowd. The limp bodies of two civilians were hastily dragged away.