Philippines charges 36 for coup bid; markets unfazed
03 Dec 2007 09:19:47 GMT Source: Reuters
(Adds hotel comment, colour) By Manny Mogato MANILA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - An iconic hotel in the Philippines that was the scene of a bizarre coup attempt last week reopened on Monday as the government formally laid charges of rebellion against a senator, a former vice-president and 34 other people. Local financial markets surged on the first trading day after elite SWAT teams stormed the Manila Peninsula Hotel on Thursday to end a seven-hour standoff triggered by the coup attempt. The Department of Justice said former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Senator Antonio Trillanes and rebel soldiers had "performed...overt acts showing their common purpose, to overthrow the present government and form a new one". The group had taken over the hotel and called on the army to mutiny and overthrow the government. Rebellion is punishable by life in prison. Fifteen people were let off, including Guingona's daughter, a newspaper columnist and local movie screen writer and some civilians caught up in the drama. Security forces have launched a manhunt for a Marine captain and three soldiers who escaped during the assault. Police detained about 100 people, about half of them journalists, on Thursday, but freed the journalists later. The Peninsula formally reopened on Monday, with the piano playing in the lobby of the opulent, luxury hotel as a stream of guests checked in. The hotel said it had spent about 5 million pesos ($115,000) on replacing marble tiles in the lobby and plastering and repainting walls to obliterate bullet marks and other signs of the assault. No one was hurt in the operation. A glass door shattered by an aroumoured personnel carrier was boarded up and decorated with a Christmas wreath. "It's great to be back, it's like a second home," said American Ramon Linan, a Northwest Airlines flight steward on a private visit who was checking in. LOST INCOME Total losses for the Peninsula are estimated at $1.2 million from lost business and the cost of the repairs. "While last Thursday's events were certainly a confusing and distressing experience for everyone, we are extremely pleased that everything is back to normal," said David Batchelor, the general manager. He said occupancy was at 51 percent and expected to hit about 70 percent by Thursday. The hotel was 90 percent booked when rogue troops walked in on Thursday. Financial markets appeared unfazed by the event. The stock market <.PSI> ended 1.35 percent up at 3,626.88 points while the peso <PHP=> surged to 42.32 against the dollar, up from a close of 42.75 on Thursday. "The coup was just a sort of a press conference with no real threat," said Astro del Castillo, director of the Association of Securities Analysts of the Philippines. "Today, government is in control, there is no clear and present danger. There are also things to cheer about, for example there is a possibility of another U.S. rate cut and oil prices are down." Peter Wallace, president of consultancy firm The Wallace Business Forum, said events like the botched coup were part of the rough-and-tumble politics of the Philippines but it could have some effect on direct investment. "It's certainly going to cause them to pause in their thinking," he said. "It's not the local guy, it's the head office back in America or London, where they really don't understand these kind of shenanigans. "Someone in London watching BBC News, seeing the front of what's supposed to be a very safe 5-star hotel just wiped off, is going to say, hey my board isn't going to allow this investment." (Reporting by Manny Mogato and Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Rosalind Russell)
