The government has alleged that several hundred troops seized the Makati financial district on July 27 as part of a larger, well-financed plot by opposition figures to assassinate Arroyo and replace her with a 15-member junta.

But after four days of testimonies by top security officials and the detained junior officers who surrendered after the 22-hour siege, the picture is incomplete, said Carolina Hernandez, a member of the commission formed by Arroyo to study the cause of the rebellion.

"We're looking for the other missing pieces of the puzzle. Some of the pieces, especially the grievances of the soldiers had already been testified to, so those pieces are there," said Hernandez, a political science professor.

"But the others are not yet there, and depending how quickly we get the other pieces, then the the task of the commission can be shorter or longer."

Arroyo for her part has rejected the contention of the junior officers that the siege was a spontaneous action to protest alleged corruption in the military.

"For anyone to say that the (July 27) incident was a spontaneous mutiny is like saying that the bombing of the World Trade Center was an accident. No way. The conspirators in the coup detat have no respect whatsoever for the intelligence of the Filipino people," she said in a statement.

The government has asked prosecutors to indict opposition Senator Gregorio Honasan, who led several failed coup attempts in the 1980s, as well as a mistress and a former aide of detained former Philippines president Joseph Estrada, for rebellion.

Honasan has gone in hiding after denying any role.

The junior officers accused of leading the rebellion told the commission on Friday they no longer wished to testify in public so as not to prejudice their defense in court proceedings against them.

More than 300 soldiers have been charged with rebellion in civilian courts, and half of them face possible court-martial as well.

Homobono Adaza, lawyer for five of the rebel officers, said his clients would submit written depositions to the commission instead.

Hernandez said the decision should simplify the work of the commission, noting it has already "exhaustively" listened to their side.

WAR.WIRE