A leader of a failed military mutiny against Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has escaped from detention as new coup rumors spread across the country.
A Philippine official says Marine Captain Nicanor Faeldon disappeared after his trial hearing at a Manila court Wednesday.
Speculation has been increasing in recent weeks that a new military uprising is being planned against President Arroyo.
A Philippine intelligence officer told the Associated Press that the government is trying to establish whether Captain Faeldon can be linked to any of the rumors.
Captain Faeldon was among six ringleaders of a rightist military faction that mutinied against Mrs. Arroyo in 2003. They accused the military leadership of corruption, and Mrs. Arroyo of abetting it, and sought to establish a junta.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.