WASHINGTON -- U.S. F-4 Phantom jets flew to Philippine President Corazon Aquino's rescue Friday by pinning down rebel pilots who controlled nearly her entire air force and had attacked the presidential palace, officials said.
President Bush ordered the move in response to a request for 'air cover' from Aquino, whose government was threatened by a well-planned coup attempt.
With their air power stripped away by U.S. jets, the Philippine rebels during the night abandoned major military bases they had seized and appeared to be on the run, a senior U.S. defense official said.
'Some rebels appear to have quit and their forces no longer hold any major installations that we're aware of,' said the defense official, who spoke on condition he not be identified. 'However, fighting does continue.'
The U.S. jet fighters provided air cover for about seven hours and then stopped at dark. They planned to resume operations at daylight unless Aquino withdrew her request for U.S. military help.
The defense official said it appeared the rebels had abandoned all air bases and that the U.S. air cover may no longer be needed. Asked if the F-4 support saved Aquino's government, he replied, 'They certainly helped.'
'We're doing what's required of us and we're hopeful that the matter will be contained,' Bush told reporters when he landed in Malta early Friday for his weekend summit meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Democratic leaders in Congress applauded Bush's decision. House Speaker Thomas Foley, D-Wash., called it 'wise ... sound ... prompt.'NEWLN:------
Bush ordered the U.S. action at about 12:30 a.m. EST, an hour after receiving a request for help from Aquino, whose palace had been strafed and bombed while the few jets still controlled by her loyal government forces did nothing.
At about 1 a.m. EST, several Air Force F-4s from U.S. Clark Air Base flew 'air cover' over the Philippine air bases of Sangley and Villamor, which were under the control of rebel forces, Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said.
'Their purpose was to prevent the airspace over Manila from being used by rebel forces to attack Philippine government installations,' Williams said.
Rear Adm. Ted Sheafer of the Defense Intelligence Agency said the rebels controlled all of the country's 14 T-28 attack planes, based at Sangley, and about 20 attack helicopters at Villamor. They had already used these to twice strafe and bomb the presidential palace and government positions.
The only attack aircraft under the government's control were nine F-5 jet fighters, Sheafer said.
The American F-4 Phantom pilots flying air cover warned the Philippine rebels at these two bases over the radio to remain on the ground and not to attempt to take off again, Williams said.
None of the rebel flyers attempted to take off or challenge the American pilots, who had orders to shoot if necessary to defend government forces, officials said.
'No U.S. planes have fired any shots or intercepted any rebel aircraft,' Williams said. 'No U.S. personnel have been directly involved in any of the fighting between rebel forces and the government of the Philippines.'
The T-28s are old single-engine Air Force planes used to train fighter pilots.
None of the 114,000 U.S. citizens in the Philippines were reported injured in the fighting, but the State Department advised Americans there to remain indoors and suggested that others 'defer travel to the Philippines.'
The two U.S. bases in the Philippines -- Subic Bay Naval Base and Clark Air Base -- went on a heightend state of alert. About 15,000 American Marines, sailors, airmen and soldiers are stationed there.
The leases on both U.S. bases were coming up for renewal and before Friday's events it appeared Aquino would drive a hard bargain with U.S. negotiators to approve their renewal and a likely rent increase.
The United States also ferried by helicopter some 100 Marines from Subic Bay to the U.S. Embassy in Manila to reinforce the guards already there.
Sheafer said it was believed there were fewer than 1,000 rebels around Manila and that the ringleader of the coup was renegade army Col. Gregorio 'Gringo' Honasan, 41, who led an unsuccessful 1987 rebellion that nearly ousted Aquino. Honasan escaped last April from a prison ship.
This coup attempt was different, however, in that the rebels controlled the air.
'The thing that the Aquino government was having difficulty dealing with were the air attacks,' Sheafer said. 'Air attacks were carried out against numerous faclities several times.'
He said the attack began at about 12:45 p.m. EST Thursday against Villamor air base, the military side of the international airport in Manila, when some Philippine Marines attacked the Philippine air force headquarters. The Sangley Point Air Base was later 'taken over.'
'We had reports of two air attacks conducted against the presidential palace, both by T-28s and attack helicopters,' Sheafer said. 'We later had indications of air attacks conducted against the military headquarters at Camp Aquinaldo' and at the headquarters of the Philippine constabulary across the street.
'And it was because of that, we feel, that President Aquino asked for our support,' Sheafer said.
Williams cautioned, however, that 'this is a situation that is still developing' and said that at 9:30 a.m. EST there were still some U.S. F-4 jets in the air over Manila.
The United States also ferried by helicopter some 100 Marines from the Subic Bay Naval Base to reinforce Marine guards at the U.S. Embassy in Manila as a precaution, though no trouble was reported there.
The United States has about 15,000 troops in the Philippines -- 5,000 Navy, 800 Marines, 9,000 Air Force and 200 Army, Williams said. In addition there are 20,000 American civilian and military dependents.
Williams said Aquino had made no request for help from U.S. ground forces in her attempt to put down the coup.
Sheafer said, 'Early on we had indications they were using the (14) T-28s that are in the Philippine air force inventory. And there was some question at the outset who the F-5s (attack jets) belonged to. But as it turned out, the F-5s were in the hands of the government forces.
'The other forces being used were the attack helicopters in the Philippine air inventory.
'And the thing that the Aquino government was having difficulty dealing with were the air attacks,' Sheafer said. 'Air attacks were carried out against numerous facilities several times.'
He said the attack began at about 12:45 p.m. EST Thursday against Villamore air base, the military side of the international airport in Manila, when some Philippine marines attacked the Philippine air force headquarters.
Fighting later spread and the Sangley Point Air Base was 'taken over,' and to army headquarters at Ft. Bonofasio and the Philippine military headquarters at Camp Aquinaldo.
'We had reports of two air attacks conducted against the presidential palace, both by T-28s and attack helicopters,' Sheafer said. 'We later had indications of air attacks conducted against the military headquarters at Camp Aquinaldo' and at the headquarters of the Philippine constabulary across the street.
'And it was because of that, we feel, that President Aquino asked for our support,' Sheafer said.
Other than the 14 T-28s, all based at Sangley and all in the rebel hands, the only other attack aircraft in the Philippine air force were nine F-5s jets, based at an air base at Basa in the north, Sheafer said.
'What we didn't understand early on,' Sheafer said, is that 'in the air attacks at the palace we had helicopters coming in very low and strafing. We had apparently T-28s stacked a little bit higher dropping bombs and apparently, we've been told, firing rockets.
'And then we had F-5s not doing anything, but at a slightly greater altitude, orbiting above them. Later it turned out the F-5s were in the hands of the government.'
Sheafer said he did not know why the government's F-5s did not attack the T-28s and helicopters during the attack on the palace.
'President Aquino may have felt she did not have sufficient assets to do what she needed to do,' he said, and she requested U.S. help.
While the U.S. F-4s provided air cover, some Philippine F-5s later attacked the air base at Sangley twice 'in an attempt to destroy the T-28s on theground. I do not have an estimate of how many T-28s were destroyed on the ground,' Sheafer said.
There was an unconfirmed report that one F-5 crashed, he said.
At midday EST, the DIA official said they had an unconfirmed report that half of the Villamor air field was back in government hands, but he said there were also reports in the south that other air bases had been seized.
Sheafer said the ringleader of the coup is believed to be renegade army Col. Gregorio 'Gringo' Honasan, 41, who led an unsuccessful 1987 rebellion that killed 53 people and nearly ousted Aquino. Honasan escaped last April from a prison ship.
'We're cautiously optimistic, based on reports we have from the Philippine government, that the government forces seem to be prevailing,' Sheafer said.
