Washington applauds GMA for handling of mutiny

The United States firmly endorsed President Arroyo yesterday and applauded her handling of a failed military uprising over the weekend.

Around 300 rebel soldiers booby-trapped Makati City’s financial district and briefly held foreigners and diplomats in a 22-hour standoff with the government, demanding Mrs. Arroyo’s resignation.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States was "pleased" that the crisis ended peacefully.

"We support President Arroyo’s handling of the crisis, which demonstrated that the government of the Philippines is committed to the rule of law and the democratic process," he said.

"No one should be under any doubt that we support the legitimate civilian government of President Arroyo. We expect that the persons responsible for creating the crisis will be held accountable," he added.

State Department officials had made clear while the uprising was underway that any successful coup would have had "immediate negative consequences" for US-Philippine relations.

Meanwhile, US business leaders said the failed mutiny may, in a way, have strengthened Mrs. Arroyo’s hand in battling corruption within the government and the military.

The demands of the renegade soldiers included the sacking of senior police and military officers allegedly involved in corruption, kidnapping and other crimes.

They cautioned, though, that she has to be careful in treating the military brass given the support she received from them during EDSA people power 2, which enabled her to assume the presidency.

Christopher Fedderson, who handles Philippine affairs in the US-ASEAN Business Council, said a 20-member council delegation representing a dozen US companies will still visit Manila as scheduled in mid-September.

A smaller delegation representing US financial service companies will also proceed as scheduled for the Asian Finance Ministers meeting in Manila next week.

On the other hand, diplomatic sources said the mutiny was less of a problem than the escape of convicted terrorist Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi on July 14.

The sources added that Ambassador Cofer Black, coordinator for counter-terrorism at the State Department, summoned Philippine Ambassador Albert del Rosario to his office on July 18 to express disappointment over Al-Ghozi’s escape.

They stressed that the escape itself is not enough to derail US President George W. Bush’s scheduled visit to the Philippines in October but if bombings or violence erupt, it could be directly attributed to Al-Ghozi and "all bets are off."

Boucher told reporters on Friday he was not aware of any change to President Bush’s plan to visit the Philippines as a result of Al-Ghozi’s escape. He said the US will continue to cooperate with the Philippines in the fight against terrorism and terrorists, including those who might have escaped from jail. — AFP, Jose Katigbak (STAR Washington bureau)