Noble Alexander Noble (1948-2024) was a
Philippine Army Colonel who graduated from the
Philippine Military Academy in 1969. Subsequently reaching the rank of colonel, he served as commander of the 23rd Infantry Battalion in
Agusan del Sur from 1980 to 1985, where he organized and trained tribal warriors against the communist
New People's Army, and was even baptized as a
datu by the
Higaonon tribe.
Role in the 1989 coup attempt During the presidency of
Corazon Aquino, Noble served as deputy commander of the
Presidential Security Group (PSG) and helped defend
Malacañang Palace during a
coup attempt in 1987 launched by the
Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) led by Colonel
Gringo Honasan. However, after leaving the unit and returning to Agusan del Sur, he switched sides and supported RAM in its
failed attempt to topple Aquino in 1989. During the preparations leading to the 1989 coup, he went around Mindanao, establishing connections and support among disgruntled military officers and separatist politicians such as former
Cagayan de Oro mayor
Reuben Canoy and organizations such as Canoy's Mindanao Independence Movement and the Mindanao Freedom Movement. The latter movement was composed of landowners who opposed Aquino's
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and was promised protection by Noble in its plans to declare Mindanao's independence upon the success of the coup. He also provided RAM with details of Aquino's security arrangements from his service in the PSG, which was put into use when RAM planes bombed Malacañang on December 2. However, Aquino was unharmed as the plans had been revised after Noble's departure. On his way to Manila to join the coup, he was apprehended at a checkpoint in
Santa Rita, Samar but escaped shortly afterwards with the help of sympathetic officers, Following the failure of the coup, Noble went into hiding in the jungles of Agusan del Sur, and amassed a following of about 500 military followers from two infantry units that had been chasing him, as well as about 300 Higaonon tribesmen whom he had trained personally. While in hiding, Noble announced his support for Mindanao's secessionist movement.
Preparations for the revolt After the 1989 coup, RAM devised a new strategy which it called the "enclave concept", in which rebellions would be staged in isolated pockets in the countryside in order to scatter and weaken government resources for a final takeover. During a
Senate hearing, the head of the
National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, General
Rodolfo Canieso, said that Noble was in charge of the plan, codenamed "Phase III", which was to divide the country by forming a junta in the
Visayas and
Mindanao. ==Events==