"Remain calm and alert," the US embassy in Manila said in a notice to Americans in the Philippines. "Remain in your residence and avoid going out and public gatherings."

The notice, a copy of which was provided to AFP in Washington by the State Department, said that the mutiny led by a "small group of dissident military officers," had been non-violent and that throughout the crisis the government had said it was in control of the situation.

The message was released shortly after Philippines President Gloria Arroyo said the nearly 300 rebel soldiers had agreed to return to their barracks and face military justice.

The soldiers had seized a high-rise service apartment and shopping complex early Sunday after Arroyo announced that she had foiled a coup plot.

They had demanded that she and Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes resign, accusing them of corruption as well as of sponsoring terrorism.

US ambassador to the Philippines, Francis Ricciardone, said before Arroyo's announcement that he expected the rebellion to be resolved peacefully, after which about 50 of the rebels surrendered.

On Saturday, the State Department warned of "immediate negative consequences" to US-Philippines relations if a military coup had taken place.

Under US law, Washington must halt all non-humanitarian assistance to countries in which a freely elected government is toppled by non-democratic means.

WAR.WIRE