Posted on: Sunday, July 27, 2003
Hawai'i Filipinos concerned about rebellion
By Allison Schaefers
Advertiser Staff Writer
Members of O'ahu's large Filipino community said they were concerned about the storming of a major commercial center in Manila's financial district early yesterday by rebellious soldiers, but said the unrest probably will not directly affect nearly 175,000 Filipinos living in Hawai'i.
"This is very disturbing, but the news won't surprise most people at all," said Belinda Aquino, director of the University of Hawai'i Center for Philippine Studies. "That's not to say that people don't care. It does cause a lot of concern about how poorly the Philippines is doing in terms of economic and political stability."
As most of O'ahu's Filipino community slept yesterday morning, about 100 soldiers, armed with rifles and wearing red armbands, stormed the Glorietta complex in Manila's financial district. The incident came hours after Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the arrest of several mutinous officers believed to be plotting a coup.
Philippine National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said he hoped for negotiations and a peaceful resolution but compared the rebellion to the 1989 coup attempt against former President Corazon Aquino. During that attempt, rebellious troops also occupied the commercial center, deploying snipers on top of the Intercontinental Hotel and other high-rise buildings for several days until surrendering.
Much of the Filipino community on O'ahu seemed unaware of the political unrest in their homeland yesterday. Workers at Jesse's Coffee Shop & Restaurant and Cocina Filipina Restaurant & Bake Shop on North King Street said no one was talking about the rebellion. Customers at Elena's Home of Finest Filipino Foods in Waipahu hadn't heard the news either.
Tony Boquer, a member of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce and principal of Holy Family Academy, said he wasn't surprised the Filipino community wasn't buzzing about the latest rebellion.
"There's always an element of concern, but when you grow up in the Philippines you are trained not to shoot from the hip," Boquer said. "There are a lot of sporadic happenings in the Philippines and more so since 9-11."
It's not likely the latest unrest is significant, Boquer said. He said he won't form an opinion about the event until he has researched the situation by contacting family members in the Philippines and tuning in the Filipino Channel on cable TV.
But while the latest trouble in Manila isn't unique to a country long-plagued by political strife, its location makes it more worrisome than other rebellions, said Eddie Flores Jr., the founder of L&L Drive-Inn.
The Glorietta complex, where heavily armed men in camouflage uniforms rigged explosives at
3 a.m. yesterday, includes a mall that is comparable in size to O'ahu's Ala Moana Center, Flores said.
"We don't see soldiers storming into a big shopping center that often — this would frighten a lot of people," Flores said.
If the unrest continues, Flores said he may think twice about taking a planned trip to the Philippines in December.
"To me the Philippines is a pretty safe area, but obviously (Filipinos) are very concerned about the stability of the government," he said.
