Following marathon negotiations, some 300 rebel troops agreed to abandon the building in the Makati financial district they had wired with explosives just before midnight Sunday and return to their barracks to face justice.

Business in Makati, which hosts the country's top corporations and the stock market, was back to normal Monday but analysts warned the military uprising could impact on investor confidence.

Ramon Cardenas, a cabinet minister during Estrada's presidency, was arrested in a raid on his home in a plush village near the Makati residential and commercial building where the mutineers had holed up.

Estrada was toppled in a military-led uprising that installed President Gloria Arroyo in 2001.

The authorities are also preparing rebellion charges against another Estrada ally, opposition Senator Gregorio Honasan.

Police said they seized military uniforms and other materials from the home of Cardenas, who was scheduled to appear before prosecutors for preliminary investigation later Monday.

Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye said government would investigate the mutineers' claims of corruption in the military brass, but warned that public officials found to have helped the soldiers would be prosecuted.

"She is very determined to get at the root of the matter," Bunye said in a statement. "Let the axe fall where it may. There will be no holy cows in this investigation."

Bunye said it was the "height of disloyalty" for politicians to "exploit the grievances of soldiers by turning them into mutineers."

Interior Secretary Jose Lina said Senator Honasan's "involvement is as clear as day.

"We are just gathering more evidence, and we will file (rebellion) charges against Senator Honasan."

Honasan, a former army colonel who led seven bloody coup attempts in the 1980s, had heatedly denied the accusation. He was however present during negotiations that led to the rebels' surrender.

While the soldiers have some legitimate grievances relating to corruption in the military, Lina said it appeared there was a "civilian component" that helped carry out the uprising.

Lina said initial investigations revealed the rebels' plan was to encourage civilians to gather at the building where they were holed up in hopes of causing a larger uprising to force President Gloria Arroyo's resignation.

"These 296 soldiers did not act by themselves alone," Lina said. "There is a political angle here because they were demanding the resignation of President Gloria Arroyo. What can be more political than that?"

Estrada, who is now detained on corruption charges, maintains he was illegally unseated by Arroyo.

The mutineers, in full uniform and still carrying their assault rifles, crates of explosives and rucksacks, left Makati on trucks for a nearby army base.

Arroyo hailed the outcome of the Southeast Asian nation's eighth military uprising in 17 years as a "triumph for democracy."

One of the mutiny's leaders, Lieutenant Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes, said Monday he was not happy with the outcome and that he was leaving his fate to his superiors.

"I doubt if true reforms can be implemented," he said. "These people will not change, despite what has happened."

Asked if he would remain with the service if cleared, he said: "I'm not sure right now. I do not want to be part of an organization which refuses to reform."

WAR.WIRE