(5 of 6)
Firing continued sporadically until two vintage World War II fighter- bombers suddenly appeared in the sky overhead and dived toward the three- story headquarters building where Honasan and his supporters were holed up. In three runs the planes dropped at least ten bombs, returning to strafe the area. Swirls of thick black smoke rose from the largely demolished structure. When she heard of the bombing, the wife of one mutinous officer inside the camp grew hysterical. "My husband is ready to die," she said. "That's how committed they are. They are ready to die for their cause."
Honasan evidently did not share that view: he escaped from the sprawling campgrounds by helicopter. He is believed to be hiding in Manila with twelve staunch RAM members, and may take to urban terrorism. Honasan, said Robles last week, "would rather reduce the country to rubble now and see it rise again than watch its current slow death."
Shortly after Honasan's flight, some 350 of his followers surrendered to government troops. That night Ramos said that five rebels had been killed and two wounded at Camp Aguinaldo, while the loyalist side had lost four, with 24 wounded. He also said that "mopping-up operations" were under way and called on Honasan to surrender.
Progovernment forces also prevailed after a day of sporadic fighting at the government communications installation in Quezon City and several private television stations nearby. Fighting raged for nearly six hours as rebels tried to climb over a 10-ft.-high wall and into the Channel 4 complex, but Aquino's men withstood the siege. At 7:30 a.m. the rebels broke off their attack, and hundreds of civilians converged on the facility, cheering and waving Philippine flags. By late in the week most other pockets of resistance were yielding to government pressure. Honasan's followers at Camp Olivas, 35 miles north of Manila, surrendered. At Villamor Air Base, rebels gave up control of air force headquarters.
In Cebu, 350 miles southeast of Manila, troops commanded by Brigadier General Edgardo Abenina flew the Philippine flag upside down at their garrisons as a sign of sympathy for the rebels. Civilian authorities were placed under house arrest. But after Ramos relieved Abenina of his command, the brigadier general peacefully submitted.
Aquino will undoubtedly face strong pressure to deal harshly with the mutineers, if only to discourage other plotters. In the past the President has treated rebellious soldiers leniently. After the Manila Hotel coup, for instance, the participants received a ridiculously mild punishment: 30 push- ups. But this time Aquino's credibility is on the line. Says a sympathetic Filipino scholar: "Everybody is waiting for the President finally to put her foot down."