In a statement harshly condemning the ringleaders of a failed mutiny July 27, she promised "hard evidence" would be presented to expose their crimes.

"The armed forces of the Philippines must act to remove the virus of adventurism, dictatorship and totalitarianism that is creeping into the ranks," Arroyo said, calling on Filipinos to band against those behind the mutiny and other similar destabilization attempts.

The masterminds of the 20-hour failed mutiny in Manila's Makati financial district remain at large, although 300 soldiers who participated in the aborted incident have surrendered. They have been charged with rebellion in civilian courts and half of them face possible court-martial as well.

Arroyo accused the junior officers who led the mutiny of "brazenly lying through their teeth" to various investigative bodies with insistences that their rebellion was a "spontaneous" protest against alleged corruption and government misdeeds.

"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 d'etat have no respect whatsoever for the intelligence of the Filipino people," she said.

The failed military uprising had demanded the resignation of Arroyo and other top officials, accusing them of selling munitions to terrorists and engaging in terror attacks.

The government says their mutiny was part of a wider plot to oust and possibly assassinate Arroyo and replace her with a 15-member junta.

Carolina Hernandez, a member of a presidential commission probing the rebellion, said that after four days of testimony by security officials and the detained plotters, the motivations behind the mutiny remain unclear.

"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."

In a surprise move on Friday, the junior officers declared they would no longer answer questions before the independent commission so as not to prejudice their defense in court proceedings against them.

"The administration obviously wants to have a road show to fortify its sagging credibility," the mutinous officers said in a statement.

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 the side of the junior officers.

Reynaldo Wycoco, the chief of the National Bureau of Investigation, said his agency had proof the uprising was well-planned, citing evidence and testimony that some of the junior officers had purchased armbands and uniforms and that some of the alleged conspirators had met for a "blood compact" on June 4 to show their dedication to their cause.

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 alleged involvement in the rebellion.

Honasan has not appeared in public since July 29, when he appeared on the Senate floor to proclaim his innocence in the uprising.

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