Oakwood mutiny

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Oakwood mutiny
Oakwood Premier class=notpageimage| Location of the mutiny in Metro Manila. Oakwood Premier is now known as Ascott Makati.
Date July 27, 2003 Location Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines Result Philippine government victory
Belligerents
Government of the Philippines	Magdalo Group
Commanders and leaders
Narciso Abaya[1] Hermogenes Ebdane	Gerardo Gambala Antonio Trillanes IV Nicanor Faeldon
Military support
Armed Forces of the Philippines Philippine National Police	~300 defectors from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police

On July 27, 2003, the Oakwood mutiny was staged by a group of about 300 armed defectors from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) led by Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala and Navy Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV against the Arroyo administration. The group forcibly seized and occupied Oakwood Premier in Glorietta, Makati for almost 20 hours.^[2] They expressed grievances against the government's supervision of the military, and demanded the resignation of Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, PNP Director General Hermogenes Ebdane, and AFP Chief of Intelligence Service Victor Corpus;^[3][4] They also aired their grievances against the military establishment and anomalies on the AFP.^[3] The mutiny was covered heavily by the local press, who dubbed the group as "Magdalo" in reference to their insignia, which alludes to the Magdalo faction during the Philippine Revolution, despite the group officially calling themselves "Bagong Katipuneros" (transl. New Katipuneros).^[5] The mutiny ended after the government successfully negotiated with the group.^[2] Several prominent participants of the mutiny, including Trillanes and Gambala, were later charged.^[3]

An official investigation was launched afterwards. A final report released in October of the same year identified the mutiny leaders, as well as underscoring the need for the modernization of the Philippine military.^[3] Trillanes ran and ultimately won a seat for senator in the 2007 elections under the Genuine Opposition coalition, despite being in prison.^[3] He attempted another mutiny against Arroyo in 2007, but it also failed. He was later released in 2010 following an executive order issued by Arroyo. Meanwhile, Gambala and eight other rebel officials were later given a presidential pardon in 2008 upon their admission of guilt. They were discharged from military service after pleading guilty on the military tribunal.^[3]