Booby traps transform Ayala Center into war zone

Snipers perched on rooftops and wires from booby traps snaked around buildings as darkness and an eery silence descended on the usually bustling financial nerve-center of the Philippines Sunday.

Groups of heavily-armed rebel soldiers wearing camouflage uniforms and sporting red armbands were earlier seen rigging explosives around the Ayala Center in the Makati district just a few blocks from the Stock Exchange.

The center contains a major five-star hotel, two large department stores and the Oakwood towers, a luxury condominium that is home to many foreigners.

As night fell, the silhouettes of rebel snipers on the upper floor ledges could be seen against the brightly lit glass facade, watching for any attempts to storm their stronghold.

Exhausted government troops wearing white armbands rested on the pavement outside the Oakwood as the stand-off moved into the evening.

Wires to the explosives were strewn around the shopping mall. One of the rebel soldiers told passing journalists: "If you step on that (wire), it will explode."

Despite the danger, reporters flocked to the area, often stumbling over each other in the rush to get interviews with the plotters while avoiding tripping over the explosive wires.

The rebels insisted the residents of Oakwood were not being held hostage and around six hours after the siege began people from the complex emerged to board five buses out of the area.

Frightened expatriates, some clutching children, filed out escorted by the soldiers without speaking to reporters.

One frightened woman kept repeating: "Get me on the bus, get me on the bus."

Venezuelan national David Mendez said the rebel soldiers "were very kind, they did not harm us."

Thousands of Filipinos usually flock to the mall every Sunday, to shop, watch movies and eat at the hundreds of restaurants and food stalls.

But the bustle was replaced by silence as the military used armored vehicles and trucks to cordon off roads leading to the Ayala Center.

Despite the cordon, many pedestrians could still be seen walking down Ayala Avenue, fronting the occupied shopping mall. Curious onlookers also gathered in small groups, watching the rebels across the now empty plaza.

The cordon of pro-government troops slowly tightened around the Oakwood towers as a deadline for the plotters to surrender approached. Additional loyal soldiers were deployed in the mall, steadily surrounding the enclave.

Government negotiator Major General Emmanuel Teodosio, dressed in civilian clothes, met the mutineers briefly and told them "not to close their minds" to resolving the issue peacefully.

"Once you close your minds, things will be bad for both of us."

The rebels tried to defend their coup, saying people were suffering. Teodosio replied, "definitely there are people suffering because times are hard but things are not going to get better for them if you are going to cause trouble."

Several retired military officers arrived at the scene to try to persuade the officers to give up.

Eventually about 50 of the 200 rebel troops surrendered but the leadership remained holed up in the plush facilities of Oakwood.

Across town at the Ortigas financial center, about 100 people lit candles in support of the government at a Catholic shrine built after the 1986 People Power revolt that toppled the 20-year rule of strongman Ferdinand Marcos. – AFP