Aussie envoy accidental captive at Oakwood

Australian Ambassador Ruth Pearce emerged from a high-rise condominium occupied by military rebels in Makati City yesterday after being caught up in the latest coup attempt overnight.

The incident prompted the Australian Foreign Ministry to upgrade its warning to travelers following the unrest.

"Australians in, or planning to travel to the Philippines should avoid the Makati district of Manila, exercise particular caution throughout Manila, monitor local media reporting of developments and follow the instructions of local security authorities," the ministry said on its website.

An embassy official said they are currently busy in ensuring the safety of other Australian nationals in the Philippines and a travel advisory has been issued warning their citizens to particularly avoid the Makati area.

Also evacuated from the Ayala Center apartments was Argentine Ambassador Mario Schuff.

Pearce appeared drawn as she and about 300 other residents, mostly expatriates, were allowed to leave the Oakwood Premier Ayala Center and other buildings nearby to board five buses to take them to safety.

The Australian embassy, for its part, announced that its ambassador is safe even after she was among those trapped when rebel soldiers seized the building early morning. Asked if she ever felt threatened, Pearce said "no."

The coup plotters occupied part of the Ayala Center shopping mall including the Oakwood Premier, home to many foreigners including Australian diplomats. Pearce was staying at Oakwood while her official residence at Forbes Park, also in Makati City, was being renovated.

The Australian envoy was later freed from the building along with a number of other expatriates, including another embassy official and his family and four Australian federal police agents. Apart from the Australian expatriates, there were French, US and Malaysian nationals among others staying in Oakwood, a popular residential area for foreign diplomats and executives.

The US embassy, for its part, issued an advisory to its citizens to remain calm and stay alert.

Pearce told Australian Prime Minister John Howard she believed it was a coincidence that the rebel soldiers had targeted a building where Australians were staying. "She believed that the involvement of the Australians was incidental," the spokesman said.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, for his part, denounced the coup plot.

"We regard it as entirely unacceptable," Downer, who was in Singapore for bilateral meetings, told journalists yesterday. "It couldn’t have come at a worse time," Downer said, in noting Mrs. Arroyo is engaged in a campaign to curb terrorism.