Even during a mutiny, it’s all in a day’s work for Aussie envoy

When the group of young junior officers marched into the Oakwood Premier at the Ayala Center in Makati City early last Sunday, practically the entire populace had already been roused from sleep and were watching the events unfold on their television sets.

While most of the local viewers were focused on the movements of the rebel soldiers, the international media included in its reports that one dignitary was being held hostage inside Oakwood.

Australian Ambassador Ruth Pearce was sleeping at the time the troops entered the luxury apartments and was promptly roused by her police attaché as soon as he found out about what was going on.

The police attaché, who was assigned at the Australian Embassy located at the RCBC Plaza in Makati City, was informed by his colleagues from the Philippine National Police that something was happening at the Oakwood and he subsequently proceeded to the area to personally take a look.

It was around 2:45 a.m. when the security attaché called up Pearce in her room and told her that something "dramatic" was happening inside the Oakwood and around its perimeter.

"And he was sufficiently concerned for me at a quarter to three and told me that I must stay inside my room and in no circumstances to answer the door because the Oakwood had been occupied by 60 armed soldiers," Pearce said.

Pearce’s close-in security provided by the PNP was also disarmed when the soldiers entered the hotel.

The ambassador admitted she was "pretty shocked" by what she had just heard and was filled with concern because some visitors were staying with her.

Her 21-year-old goddaughter Kim, who was scheduled to leave that day for Australia, and the girl’s mother were inside the room with her when word broke out about the siege.

The anxiety was increased further when Pearce looked out her window on the 23rd floor and saw the shadowy figures of soldiers running around in front of the car park and the garden area across the building, laying down wires that were attached to explosives.

These explosives, the soldiers eventually said, were set up as part of their defense against whatever threat there may be against them.

"I could hear shouting, a lot of shouting downstairs on the sixth floor, but I was on the 23rd floor so I didn’t know what was going on," Pearce recalled.

Pearce also realized that the elevators were not moving but she knew that there was a lot of movement downstairs and was anxiously expecting the inevitable knock on the door by a soldier.

"But none of that happened, no one came anywhere near the room. I don’t think any of the occupants of the Oakwood were approached by the rebels. They just stayed downstairs at the sixth floor," she said.

There was not one moment of peace for Pearce during the entire ordeal as she had to keep a certain degree of composure as an ambassador.

While she was worrying about the possible actions of the soldiers downstairs, Pearce also had to contend with the hundreds of phone calls from her family, friends, colleagues from the embassy and from Australia as word went around about her being held hostage.

She had to repeatedly explain what was happening and at the same time contemplate what to advise the Australians already in the Philippines as well as those who were about to visit.

Although the soldiers assured the Oakwood tenants — mostly expatriates — that they would not be harmed and were actually free to go, Pearce felt that she was indeed a hostage in the sense that everyone else in the hotel was being kept inside.

According to her colleagues who were dealing with the security people of the building, the tenants were not allowed to leave their rooms.

Her anxiety worsened when she was told that the soldiers were asking for the VIP (very important persons) guest list of the Oakwood.

"I was a bit concerned that maybe being an ambassador might attract attention. But that never happened to my knowledge," Pearce said.

She was also very concerned about local and international media broadcasting her name and face all over the television screens, which made her think that she was probably of particular interest to the rebel soldiers.

"But they didn’t show any particular interest," Pearce said jokingly.

Pearce had been staying temporarily at the Oakwood for three months when the incident happened as the Australian ambassador’s residence was undergoing a major renovation.

At around 8 a.m., or five hours after she found out about the siege, the ambassador was finally informed by her security attaché that an agreement had been reached between the hotel security and the rebel soldiers allowing the occupants of Oakwood to leave.

It was only during this time when she realized that neither she nor any of the other foreign tenants of Oakwood were the concern of the mutineers.

"That’s when I felt certain or relatively certain that I was not going to be treated any differently," Pearce said.

At around 9:15 a.m. the security manager of the Oakwood went up to her room and escorted her group down to the sixth floor where the soldiers were holed up, and down to Ayala Avenue where buses were lined up waiting to transport them to another hotel.

"I was never approached by any of the soldiers. They were quite friendly when we walked through. They were smiling at everybody, made no approach, didn’t say anything, there wasn’t any shouting, but there were lots of guns and I noticed wirings and boxes on the sixth floor and when we left we were told to go straight to the buses."

Since June last year when she started her appointment to the Philippines after a stint in Moscow, Pearce has had her fair share of concerns about security.

The Australian embassy, which was previously situated inside the Salustiana Dee Ty Tower along Paseo de Roxas in Makati City, was forced to close down temporarily and then transfer to a different location due to a "specific and credible security threat."

The embassy is now located at the new RCBC Tower also in Makati City with a beefed up security support from the government.

Although she admits that security is an issue for the Philippines, Pearce stressed that this is also true in other governments all over the world.

She noted that President Arroyo and Australian Prime Minister John Howard discussed security issues when Howard visited mid-July.

"So it’s not just the Philippines, we do have some concerns, as your government does, about the security situation and we’re trying to help each other improve it. If it were a big risk I wouldn’t be here. You know we would have basically closed shop but we’re not and we try to function as normally as possible," Pearce said.

She explained that perception is the biggest problem of the Philippines in terms of tourist and investor confidence as people tend to magnify the reported criminal incidents in isolated areas of the country.

During the spate of bombing incidents in Mindanao for instance, Pearce pointed out that it is not Mindanao that people think of but the Philippines in general.

"So I guess that’s an issue that we have to deal with. But you know Australians come here as tourists, Australian businessmen come here, our Prime Minister comes here, so you conduct normal relationships within those parameters," Pearce added.

Regarding the travel advisories issued by the embassy on the Philippines for the Australian nationals, Pearce reiterated that the focus of these are primarily on sensitive areas such as Mindanao.

"We don’t tell Australians not to come to the Philippines. We tell them to come but be extremely careful in certain areas. We tell them not to go to Mindanao. So that’s the way we manage the security issue, as constructively as possible."

Pearce also said that the business confidence is basically still completely dependent on the private sector.

The government can give all sorts of advice about the overall environment in the country "but it’s really up to the private sector to decide how they will engage in a particular country."

The Australian government expressed its appreciation for Manila’s handling of the mutiny, which ended without bloodshed.

"I think it would have been a very difficult problem for the Philippines if the incident had involved bloodshed. The image around the world I think would been a really serious setback for the Philippines. So it is an excellent outcome for the government."

"It’s turned out well and we just have to hope that these security issues are dealt with. The unexpected happens and we have to be continuously alert. I’m obviously having to be aware of security and safety in a way that would have been unimaginable several years ago anywhere in the world."