MANILA, Aug 4, 2009 (AFP) - Military officers who launched seven bloody coup attempts against the late Philippine president Corazon Aquino on Tuesday paid tribute to their one-time foe, praising her bravery in the face of gunfire.

Aquino's quiet resolve and unflinching courage, coupled with her steadfast belief that everything could be resolved with dialogue were among the reasons why threats against her government failed, they said.
      
"It was hard not to like Cory," said retired navy commodore Rex Robles, who as a young colonel was among a group of officers who turned against Aquino after her "people power" revolution toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
      
Robles recalled that in one of the coup attempts that he co-led with ex-colonel and now Senator Gregorio Honasan, he and his fellow officers wavered at the last minute.
      
"I asked Greg, if we manage to penetrate Malacanang (presidential palace), what do we do with her? If she extends her hand and tells us she wants to talk to us, what do we do then?," Robles said.
      
"We would surely lose, Greg said, because all of us would readily surrender to her," he said.
      
"Her aura was her armour. You couldn't possibly hurt her. She was well mannered and she was very sincere," he said. "She was brave in a very quiet way."
      
Robles, now a mining consultant and a security analyst, said he first met Aquino two months before the revolution that swept her to power.
      
"She just looked like an ordinary lady. She did not dress particularly well. She was plain looking but well groomed," Robles said.
      
Aquino died on Saturday after more than a year battling cancer. She is to be buried Wednesday.