By Julie Alipala
Mindanao Bureau
First Posted 12:52:00 04/13/2008

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines–Residents here were awakened by two strong explosions before dawn Sunday, including one at the Immaculate Conception Metro Cathedral.

Supt. Jonathan Perez, officer-in-charge of the Zamboanga City Police Office, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) that first explosion occurred at the cathedral on Lapurisima Street at 4:15 a.m. and was followed ten minutes later by another explosion at the entrance to the Vienna Kaffehaus just below the office of the Department of Foreign Affairs at Veterans Avenue.

Perez said a caretaker had just opened the cathedral’s gates at around 4:10 a.m. to prepare for a 5 a.m. Mass when he saw three men getting off a motorcycle. The men, who wore dark clothes, entered the church compound but left immediately, prompting the caretaker to call the police.

It was while the police were en route to the cathedral that the explosion occurred, Perez said, adding that the explosive device had apparently been planted under an Isuzu pick-up van parked next to the cathedral’s right wing.

“The good news here is that no one was hurt [and no damage] except for the two vehicles owned by the priests — an Isuzu pick-up and an Adventure white,” Perez said.

While responding policemen were assessing the blast site, another explosion was heard nearby — at the Vienna Kaffehaus on Veterans Avenue.

The establishment’s door and a shingle were destroyed.

The coffee shop is located on the ground floor of a building that also houses the local office of the Department of Foreign Affairs on the second floor.

Zamboanga City Archbishop Romulo Valles described the bombing as an “act of the forces of darkness, an evil act and we should all join together and stand up and try everything to stop any further activities like this.”

Valles said Church communities in the city were alarmed by the explosion especially since the first target was the cathedral.

“It’s a symbolic place and it’s Sunday and there’s a lot of churchgoers, but it’s a great comfort for us to know that no one was hurt or killed except for the material and physical injury on the premises and the vehicles,” he added.

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat denounced the terror attack but declined to speculate who might have been behind the explosions.

“We don’t want to speculate as to who or what group was behind the explosions. We assure our residents that the authorities are on top of the situation doing everything to determine the cause and motive as well as perpetrators behind the attack,” he said.

By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:16:00 04/13/2008

MANILA, Philippines–Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Military Chief General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. have recommended to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the granting of pardon to nine junior officers who were convicted of coup d’etat over the short-lived Oakwood muitny in 2003.

In a statement, Teodoro said there was “sufficient reasons” to grant pardon to the nine Magdalo rebels. He said such a move would be a step towards national unity and reconciliation

And if the government could grant amnesty to communist rebels and talk peace with Muslim separatists, Teodoro said: “I believe it is equally important in achieving national peace to reach out to these convicted junior officers who have shown remorse for their illegal acts and expressed desire to return to the folds of law.”

In a phone interview with reporters, Esperon said the recommendation to pardon Captains Gerardo Gambala, Milo Maestrecampo, John Andres, Albert Baloloy, Alvin Ebreo, and Lawrence Louis Somera, First Lieutenants Cleo Donga-as, and Florentino Somera, Jr., and Second Lieutenant Kristopher Bryan Yasay was forwarded to the Palace on Sunday.

The nine officers are among the core leaders of the 300-strong Magdalo, who siezed the Oakwood luxury apartments on July 27, 2003 to protest alleged corruption in government.

Last April 8, after reversing their not guilty pleas to the charge of coup d’etat, the nine were sentenced to 12-40 years in prison by branch 148 of the Makati regional trial court.

Asked if a pardon for the former rebels would send a wrong signal to the troops, Esperon said: “Yes, but they have been in jail for almost five years, they have shown remorse.”

Esperon said it was “hard” to quantify if the five years the rebels had served in detention was enough punishment for their actions.

“But I believe they have shown remorse, they have said that military adventurism is no way to achieve reforms and changes so we have drawn lessons from that, we are learning from that,” he said.

“So we hope that that will be heard by all other officers and men, [the nine officers said] our act is not something that could be emulated,” he said.

20 freed Magdalo prove there’s life after Oakwood

By Arlyn dela Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:37:00 04/13/2008

MANILA, Philippines—A number of former rebel soldiers, their prospects and possibilities now wider and more challenging, are proving that there is life after the “Oakwood mutiny.”

Eight of 53 ex-officers pardoned and released last December from the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Custodial Center in Fort Bonifacio have moved on and are reinventing themselves as “revolutionary anti-illegal drugs agents.” They are now undergoing training at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Academy in Tagaytay City.

PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago, a former AFP chief of staff, said 20 ex-rebel officers were actually undergoing training but the first eight would see action ahead of the others.

“They are young, courageous, idealistic men who have something to prove,” Santiago told this reporter. “They say they are against corruption of any kind. It’s time to put that to better use against what could be the biggest threat to national stability and security—the multibillion-dollar illegal drugs trade.”

The new postings of the eight ex-officers (four each from the Air Force and the Army) carry the approval of President Macapagal-Arroyo. In a memo dated March 27 and signed by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Ms Arroyo ordered the “[putting to] good use [of] the talents and training” of these men who were part of the “Magdalo” group that tried to topple her administration in July 2003.

The 53 men pleaded guilty to and were subsequently convicted in April 2007 of violation of Articles of War.

Mostly first and second lieutenants, they were sentenced by a general court-martial to dismissal from the service and prison terms of seven years that was reduced to four years due to “mitigating circumstances.”

Ms Arroyo granted them executive clemency and further commuted their remaining prison terms, allowing them to spend the Christmas holidays with their families as free men.

4 reasons

Part of the former rebels’ entry process is the taking of the mandatory civil service examination.

But why take in these former mutineers as PDEA agents?

Santiago counted four reasons: Their motivation, experience, rawness and idealism.

It was Santiago who had recommended to the President the recruitment of selected Magdalo members into the PDEA, saying that their experience “suits the situation” of the agency.

“With the huge tasks of the PDEA and the multimillion-dollar resources of established illegal drugs syndicates, what we need are men who have fertile minds, who are risk-takers and definitely not kibitzers, those who will show us real action and hopefully prove to all of us that they are indeed incorruptible,” Santiago said.

During this reporter’s interview with Santiago, a Magdalo member, former 1st Lt. Lawrence San Juan, entered the room with escorts.

Upon seeing San Juan, Santiago commented: “His rebelliousness leans to the Left, and we have to see if he can help in the PDEA. There will be preliminary talks, but one thing I can assure is that all the talents and training of these former Magdalo members will be used for good and truly patriotic purposes.”

San Juan is among the 22 Magdalo members, including Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who are still being tried on coup d’etat charges. He was recently granted bail by Makati Judge Oscar Pimentel.

Nine other Magdalo members were convicted last week of the crime of coup d’etat and announced on Friday that they intended to seek executive clemency from Ms Arroyo.

1st batch

The initial eight ex-rebel officers in the PDEA will be deployed in key regions, including the National Capital Region (NCR).

They are Julius Navales and Emerson Margate, both former 1st lieutenants, and Jigger Montallana, Ryan Quisai, Jeoffrey Tacio, Joel Plaza, Archie Grande and Adrian Alvariño, all former 2nd lieutenants.

According to Santiago, most of the ex-rebel officers have received job offers as security officers of corporations and foreign mining companies operating in the Philippines.

“But they told me they want to continue serving their country, and I believe them,” Santiago said, adding:

“I believe that’s what they really want to accomplish—prove to the Filipino people that they are not just rebels without a cause. Sayang naman, di ba (It would be a shame, wouldn’t it)? I believe these former Magdalo officers will make the PDEA strong.”

Gov’t service over job offers

A telecommunications giant offered Navales a job as security supervisor in the NCR and Luzon area, as did a mining company based in Mindanao, but he decided to follow his heart.

Montallana also received offers to be a security officer for a Makati-based multinational, but after a deep reflection on what to do with his life after Oakwood, he took the path where he was certain to find fulfillment.

Their choice was the same: Government service.

Navales, who, as an Army officer, served in combat and intelligence operations in Basilan, told this reporter that it was his burning desire to continue his service to the country.

“Director Santiago is right when he said we have something to prove,” Navales said. “Personally, I feel this is my chance to redeem myself from other people’s negative impressions when we went to Oakwood in 2003.”

Asked to explain his decision to join the PDEA, Montallana said: “The corporate world actually pays more, but a man’s happiness is not in money. I’m still looking to serve through a government agency, where you can do something good for society despite a meager salary.”

Montallana was formerly assigned as deputy intelligence officer of the Air Force’s Tactical Operations Command in Mactan, Cebu.

The trade in illegal drugs is not exactly strange to him, having been once assigned to head antidrug operations in Cebu.

One raid in Balamban—where he busted a marijuana shipment worth P1.4 million and three persons were apprehended—earned him a Bronze Cross.

Yes and no

The inevitable question was asked of both Navales and Montallana: Was the Oakwood mutiny, where they denounced corruption in the military and the government, and demanded the resignation of the President and top AFP officers, a mistake?

They said it was both “a mistake and not a mistake.”

Navales put it this way: “The means were wrong but the ideals that we fought for were not. Whether others will admit it or not, what we did was a big contribution to change.

“But as far as our personal lives are concerned, it was wrong. Our families suffered, and we lost our career as soldiers.”

For Montallana, it worked both ways—good and bad:

“Because of Oakwood, little by little, some ills of society were raised and are now being addressed by the government.

“But Oakwood was a mistake from the point of view of its impact on the economy.”

Nevertheless, the two men, both graduates of the Philippine Military Academy, said they had no regrets being part of the Magdalo.

They also said that they had been trained at the PMA to make a decision, whether good or bad.

Said Montallana: “At least we made a decision, and we have suffered the consequences of our decision.

“But come to think of it, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. If I were not at Oakwood then, and I was not a member of the Magdalo, I would not have made it to the PDEA.”

Fight vs illegal drugs

Because of his early exposure to the antidrug campaign in Cebu, Montallana sees the Philippine drug problem as “very disturbing.”

“The drug abusers are getting younger and younger,” he said. “I am happy and honored to be part of the PDEA and to be trusted again by the government in its crusade for a drug-free Philippines.”

Navales said the renewed trust in him and the chance to serve in the government through the PDEA was the biggest challenge of his professional career.

“We are good officers and we will show in our work in the PDEA that our greatest motivation is service to the country,” he said.

Navales promised that he and his comrades would not take bribes: “It’s a fight against the syndicates. It would be so embarrassing if we keep shouting against corruption and then we get bought. We will do good. We will.”

Santiago expressed confidence that these words would turn into reality in the government’s antidrug campaign.

“As I have said, these men have something to prove after Oakwood. Let us give them the break and let them prove themselves worthy of their words and principles,” Santiago said.

But Puno to make recommendation

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, Thea Alberto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:52:00 04/11/2008

MANILA, Philippines — Talk of a presidential pardon for the nine junior officers convicted for a failed uprising in 2003 is premature and should go through the legal process, a Malacañang official said Friday although a presidential adviser said he would make the recommendation.

“We live in a country of laws, and any appeal for a presidential pardon for a presidential clemency is still premature to talk about because no formal written request was ever submitted to the Office of the President,” Deputy Spokesman Anthony Golez said in a text message.

But Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s adviser for political affairs, said he would help the nine junior officers seek pardon since they have “recognized they made a mistake.”

The contrasting government statements were issued after the nine officers, in a press conference earlier in the day, said they would seek the President’s pardon and denied that they had struck a deal with the administration in exchange for a reversal of their not guilty plea to guilty for which they were meted up to 40 years in prison.

Golez said he believed that the military institution “has grown to a level of maturity where utmost professionalism is exercised.”

“Military adventurism is now thing of the past. The entire AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] respects the Constitution, the rule of law, and the chain of command,” he added.

Puno said that “if there is expression of contrition on the part of these Magdalo soldiers, personally I am in favor of giving them pardon but of course that would be up to proper authorities of Department of Justice who will make the recommendations to the President,” said Puno in a press conference at Camp Crame Friday.

Magdalo is a band of rebel soldiers to which the nine officers and 21 of their peers, including then Navy Lieutenant and now Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, belonged.

“We are a compassionate society and we have a compassionate president…I think we have to recognize they can be constructive members of the society again,” said Puno, although noting that the soldiers would not get away that easy.

Puno said the soldiers, led by Army Captains Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo, have suffered for five years in prison, their military careers destroyed.

“They have after all been in detention for some quite time already, it’s not like they got off without any punishment at all…there will obviously be other sanctions,” said Puno.

Puno also dismissed speculations the soldiers had a plea-bargaining agreement before they pleaded guilty.

“They had no hand in their own conviction. They’re in no position to make any such deal. Plea bargain is different and the admission did not result to lower sentence,” said Puno.

Puno had also recommended the granting of executive clemency to former president Joseph Estrada who had been convicted of the crime of plunder. Estrada has since been released.

DAVOS, Switzerland (via PLDT) — (UPDATE) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has extended for three months Military Chief General Hermogenes Esperon Jr.’s term of service, saying she wanted to sustain the military’s momentum against communist rebels.At the same time, the President announced that the commanding general of the Philippine Army, Lieutenant General Alexander Yano, would replace Esperon at the end of his extended term on May 9.Arroyo said the extension was not due to reports of alleged fresh attempts to unseat her, which she laughed off in an interview with reporters at her chalet here late Friday evening (early Saturday morning in Manila).Arroyo said she wanted to give Esperon, who had been scheduled to retire on February 9, time to focus on the counterinsurgency campaign and did not want to “change horses” at midstream.One of Arroyo’s most loyal generals, Esperon was implicated in alleged cheating operations that won for her a fresh six-year mandate in the 2004 polls. A military fact-finding board has cleared him of wrongdoing but its full report was never made public.“There is a momentum in the campaign against the NPA [New People's Army], and we expect this to snowball in the next several months, so its very difficult to suddenly change horses when there’s a momentum that we have to sustain,” she said.Asked why Yano was chosen to replace Esperon, Arroyo said without elaborating: “For the [same] reasons why he was chosen as head of the PA [Philippine Army].”The President said she has not chosen who would replace Yano as Army chief. The Army is the biggest branch of service in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The last three chiefs of staff, including Esperon, were Army chiefs before they were appointed as AFP chief.Arroyo was emphatic when asked if Esperon, who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 56 on February 9, lobbied for an extension.“Oh no, in fact his relatives already from abroad came to Manila to celebrate his turnover, so now they have to go back and come back in three months time. No, no,” she said.In interviews with reporters this month, Esperon said the strength of the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), was reduced to around 5,000 at the end of 2007.He said sustained military offensives will reduce the communist insurgents to an “inconsequential level” ahead of the government’s 2010 deadline.The President said she was “expecting” Esperon to meet the AFP’s targets against the NPA before his extended term expires.Asked if the extension was due to reported destabilization threats, Arroyo said: “I don’t even know about those reports of destabilization. Tell me more reports. I don’t know.”The President has extended the term of three of the seven chiefs of staff that she appointed: retired generals Roy Cimatu, Benjamin Defensor, and Efren Abu.Abu’s term was extended in mid 2005 when wiretapped tapes of Arroyo’s alleged phone conversations with ex-elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano put into question the legitimacy of Arroyo’s win in the 2004 elections and set off the worst political crisis of her presidency.Esperon was among four generals mentioned in the wiretaps.The extension will make Esperon, who has headed the AFP since July 2006, the longest-serving military chief under Arroyo.

MANILA, Philippines — As Walt Kelly’s cartoon character Pogo once said, “We have met the enemy, and they are us.” This, in a nutshell, is the problem facing the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Bravery, dedication, all the martial virtues are present, often to an extraordinary degree, in the officers and men of the AFP. The problem is that the AFP is also riddled with the corrupt, the greedy, the abusive and the stupid. And as for arms, for the protection of the state and our soldiers’ lives, the AFP never has enough, and what it has is both antiquated and poorly maintained.Aside from the experience in waging war gained by our troops during the bloody fights in Mindanao in the 1970s, in many respects the AFP remains bogged down in the past. Its armaments more often than not belong in World War II movies; its leadership structure is top-heavy; its tactics and methods rooted in the age of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, with its over-optimistic faith in a citizen army, instead of a purely professional force.And yet, from its grossly corrupt and bloated form achieved under martial law, the Armed Forces has gone a long way to redeem its institutional reputation. Rebels and putschists may have tarnished its image, but on the whole, our soldiers have adapted well to a republican regime grounded in civilian supremacy over the military. Our soldiers have proven themselves ours: they are the soldiers of the people and not of a clique that considers itself superior to the whole.Still the root cause of inefficiency and lack of morale remains: low salaries, insufficient benefits and antique weaponry.It was hoped that under President Fidel V. Ramos, an ex-general, the military would be given its due. What Ramos did, instead, was pay off old debts by filling the civilian bureaucracy with ex-military appointees. And then, during a time of relative plenty, he allowed billions to be earmarked for the modernization of the AFP — and then promptly ordered that the funds be diverted to “prestige” projects, such as the Centennial Expo, that have yielded nothing but scandal.Are we advocating guns before butter? No, but a nation that considers it necessary to maintain a standing army must give its soldiers the arms with which to justify their existence. In real terms, we do not have a real AFP, we have a glorified Philippine Constabulary. This is a situation that cannot be allowed to fester because it will result in what everyone fears: resentment and restlessness among the ranks. Our soldiers deserve better than what they’re getting. And they can serve better if they get what they deserve.We offer up this reflection because this is the time our soldiers get to go home, and enjoy, for once, peace and quiet away from operations in the field.By now the meager bonuses of the troops will have been spent, and many of our fighting men and women can only look forward to a new year saddled with debts, and without their fair share of benefits. Meanwhile, their officers play the political game, and party up in luxury.What comes nextAfter the fireworks, the drinking, the parties and toasts — what’s next? We are at a new beginning, approaching a new year, but we are the same people.We are not seers; it is not for us to predict what will be. But we can see what we will not be if we do not change certain things.There will be no hope for this country if its best minds continue to be sent abroad. If its young are reared by distant relatives, and grow rootless and wild in the process. If its population continues to grow unabated. If its millions continue to be deprived of decent homes, land on which to live and the just fruits of their labor. If their leaders continue to rob, steal and cheat to an extent that in the public imagination has already surpassed the larcenous record of Ferdinand Marcos. If its forests continue to be denuded, its rivers filled with filth, its air poisoned and its agriculture is kept backward by fighting land reform. 

Eye Bare
God knows what’s wrong with RP sports

By Recah Trinidad
Philippine Daily Inquirer

(Celebration: A few selfless entrepreneurs gather again in a cool, tree-lined farm lot in Barangay Pangao, Lipa City tomorrow for what they have been doing for over half a decade now. They celebrate the birth of Christ by handing out bagfuls of gifts and a little cash to poor farm children in the area. Civic leader Nandy Charvet of Mandaluyong City sent in dental care items and beach balls as early as November, trader Lucio Yan of Dowell Philippines gave cash, Mang Ramon Rivera delivered boxes of fruits, sportsman Bambi Rivilla, with Barts Mayo, brought rice and sardines, the Philippine Basketball League contributed snack items. Dr. Ruel Reyes of ATR World’s Best Wines and Spirits, distributor of Torres brandy, motors from nearby San Pablo with separate bags of goodies for over 50 families. There will be pieces of ham, stuffed toys, and other items courtesy of Gerry Mayor, Mar Maralit and Rene Monte, main coordinator. As in the past, giver and recipient end up equally satisfied.) * * *Jesus, the carpenter’s son, loves athletes and poor game fans so much he recently thought of checking what’s wrong with Philippine sports.For example, the Redeemer wanted to zero in on self-styled RP sports leaders who, fresh from another people-funded junket, were frantically trying to beat one another in stating what went wrong in the last Southeast Asian Games.Well, Christ was obviously taken aback upon seeing that RP sports, based on its showing in the Thailand Games where it tumbled down close to the garbage bin, needed more than just an instant repair job.* * *The disease was so grave it would require a major surgery, nothing short of multi-organ transplant, if RP sports is to function effectively, heroically.But there lies the bigger woe.Based on the conflicting prognostications subsequent excuses of these sports leaders, they honestly had the slightest clue that the biggest problem was none other than themselves.No kidding. They were the malfunctioning organs that needed instant replacement. They had long surpassed the level of their uselessness, thereby causing wide-spread illness that had resulted in many failed sports missions abroad.* * *Of course, these officials have succeeded in staying put, through thick and thin, while RP sports itself, not to mention countless Pinoy fans, reels with repeated defeats and humiliations.For example, one leader saw the lack of funding as the biggest obstacle.Another official humbly admitted the debacle in Thailand was a learning experience, while a third one claimed the athletes did well.They’ve got to know what’s intrinsically wrong first, before they could agree on a proper solution.Right? Well, nothing really wrong with the RP athletes, many of them were capable of winning as shown by some Filipino competitors, mainly in swimming.* * *The problem was that many athletes also often ended up at the wrong place and the wrong place.Why? Because many among those who called the shots for Team Philippines had a very vague idea and limited know-how on how to do it right and win.In fact, there were even those who would stage a walkout and shame the whole nation, in order to save face.The sanest solution, needless to say, is for these sick sports officials to make a supreme sacrifice.They’ve got to step down, now!This, they didn’t have to be told by Christ Himself!Unfortunately, God knows this form of selfless sacrifice is next to impossible in dear old yabang Philippines.

Because of destabilization fearsBy Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 06:31pm (Mla time) 12/11/2007

MANILA, Philippines — The budget department turned down a request P100 million in pork barrel funds made by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV more than a month before he led the failed November 29 uprising because of suspicions he would use it to destabilize government, a senior Palace official said Tuesday.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol said Trillanes’ request for the release of the money from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), ostensibly for infrastructure projects and to help indigent patients, on October 15. It was endorsed by Senate President Manuel Villar on November 12. Apostol said Trillanes “asked the funds allegedly for certain projects, but we have doubts if it would be used for projects because he has a different agenda; it’s [the money} intended to finance his own agenda."

The Department of Budget and Management, said Apostol, deliberately sat on Trillanes' request because "there was no sense in releasing the funds to him" because of the senator’s supposed lack of respect for government

Apostol theorized that "had the funds [been] released, he [Trillanes] could use those to topple the government. ““While Trillanes is staging coup d’etat, he was also trying to take advantage of this government by requesting the release of funds form the DBM,” Apostol told reporters. “You could see this fellow thinks he could toy around with this government.” He also speculated that the refusal to release the funds to Trillanes may have prodded him to stage the failed uprising, during which the senator and his followers occupied by the Manila Peninsula hotel in Makati City and sought the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.“I think that is what precipitated [the hotel occupation], perhaps his move to stage a rebellion, because the DBM refused to release the funds,” Apostol said. 

Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus said at a press conference the prosecutors will cite security considerations when they ask the courts to transfer Trillanes, Army Brigadier General Danilo Lim and the others accused of the non-bailable crime of rebellion to the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City from the Custodial Center in Camp Crame.

 “We have studied the matter carefully and weighed the factors regarding the safety and security of the accused, and decided that the best way to secure them while they are awaiting the trial of their rebellion case is to house them in Muntinlupa,” Corpus said.Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco said the motion will be filed Wednesday.

Velasco however clarified that former vice president Teofisto Guingona, Bishop Julio Labayen and former University of the Philippines president Francisco “Dodong” Nemenzo, who have all been released on recognizance, will not be brought to Muntinlupa should the courts approve the transfer.

The release of the three, who are all elderly, was approved by the prosecuting panel during inquest proceedings last week and Velasco, who headed the panel, said this was unlikely to be overturned by the Department of Justice.

 Velasco said they will also request that future hearings be conducted at the penitentiary to ensure the prosecutors’ peace of mind.

“This would also entail a lot of savings on the part of the government because we lessen expenses for escorts, and the prosecutors will also have peace of mind that no one would walk out again,” Velasco said.

Colonel Pedro Herera-Davila, head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Judge Advocate General’s Office posed no objections to the transfer of Trillanes and his co-accused to the national penitentiary.

“When the prisoners managed to escape from military control after the failed power grab, it was civilian authorities who rearrested them, and whoever arrests them first, the AFP is prepared to grant full cooperation,” Davila told a press conference at Camp Crame.

Velasco also pointed out the human rights of the accused would not be violated if hearings are conducted at the penitentiary.

“There will be no violation of rights because the presumption of innocence is still there,” he said.

Aside from Trillanes, those accused for violating Article 134 of the Revised Penal Code, or rebellion, are Guingona, Lim, Labayen, Fr. Robert Reyes, Captain Gary Alejano, Captain Segundino Orfiano Jr., Lieutenant Senior Grades Manuel Cabochan and James Layug, Lieutenant Junior Grade Arturo Pascua Jr., 1st Lieutenants Eugene Peralta, Billy Pasua and Jonel Sangalan;

 Lieutenant Andy Torrato, Ensigns Armand Pontejos, lawyers J.V. Bautista and Yassir Gonzales, Corporal Clecarde Dahan, Privates First Class Juanito Jilbury, Emmanuel Tirador and German Linde; Antonio Trillanes III, Myrna Buendia, Dominador Rull Jr., Romeo Solis, Roel Gadon, Rommel Loreto, Julian Advincula, Francisco Bosi; Leodor Dela Cruz, Sonny Madarang, Elizabeth Siguion-Reyna, Francisco Penaflor, and several John and Jane Does. 

 December 04, 2007 02:49:00Leila Salaverria Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice Monday filed rebellion charges against Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona and 34 other military officers, Church officials and civilians in connection with the takeover of the Peninsula Manila hotel last week.Also named in the charge sheet filed in the Makati Regional Trial Court were Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, Bishop Emeritus Julio Labayen, Fr. Robert Reyes, former University of the Philippines president Francisco Nemenzo, artist Elizabeth Orteza Siguion-Reyna and Antonio Trillanes III, a brother of the senator.No bail was recommended for the accused although Guingona, 79, was hospitalized due to an unspecified ailment and Labayen, 81, was freed upon the intercession of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Angel Lagdameo.Fourteen others were released pending further investigation.Police said they were hunting at least four other officers who escaped after taking over the hotel on Thursday, including Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, who had been implicated in past coup attempts. The government has put up a P1-million reward for Faeldon’s capture.Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez issued a hold-departure order on 50 persons named in an earlier police complaint in connection with the seven-hour Peninsula standoff. They included those named in the charge sheet and those temporarily released.In a resolution, a DOJ panel led by Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco dismissed claims that the hotel takeover was a spontaneous act following the walkout by Trillanes and Lim from a Makati court hearing.“The civilian respondents’ act in waiting for the group of Trillanes in Manila Peninsula hotel and eventually joining them while disregarding police advice, evading police blockade … only shows their concerted effort and intention to coalesce with them toward the attainment of a common objective,” it said.“Thus, their participation cannot be viewed as merely spontaneous and isolated, on the contrary, (it) reveal(s) a conspiracy and mutual intention to overthrow the government,” the panel said.

Elements of rebellion

The DOJ panel also said the elements of rebellion were present when the group took up arms against the government, led a public uprising and announced that they were ousting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to form a new government.The panel noted that the statement read by Lim, former commander of a Scout Ranger Regiment, after he arrived at the Peninsula called for a change in leadership and for the military and the police to withdraw their support from Ms Arroyo.It said that Guingona, in apparent “anticipation of their victory,” raised a toast and said “This is like EDSA.”“The foregoing bears the earmark of public uprising and taking up arms against the government,” the panel said.“Walking out of the court in the midst of the trial and having themselves surrounded by armed men in public does not only display respondents’ contumacious act of disrespect to the court but also shows their open hostility against the government,” the panel said.A copy of Lim’s statement was found in the hotel. High-powered firearms, ammunition and explosives were recovered at the Peninsula’s second floor, the panel said.

Escape plan

Video footage also showed some of the respondents marching to the hotel while calling on people to withdraw support from the government.Authorities also seized a handwritten note showing Trillanes’ escape plan from the Makati court. The notes contain the number of teams and their members, their pre-designated positions, the timeframe, the distribution of firearms, the route they were going to take and the rules of engagement in case of a confrontation.“This ‘escape plan’ clearly shows premeditated planning by the respondents. This was hatched not only by the military respondents headed by Lim and Trillanes but also in coordination with the civilian respondents,” the panel said.

Threat remains

Gonzalez said that although the 36 accused, plus John and Jane Does, were charged with rebellion, some of them could be later found to be accomplices or accessories.Gonzalez said the threat from the supporters or followers of those behind the siege of the Peninsula remained.“We don’t know if there are sleepers in their ranks. We need more intelligence on the part of the armed forces, the police, most especially the armed forces because these people are under them,” he said.Gonzalez said that Trillanes could not be considered as someone who had been discarded because he had followers, including some military officers.But he also said Trillanes had probably begun to “hallucinate” considering that had the revolt succeeded, Trillanes and Lim would have led the transition government, based on documents recovered from the hotel.Gonzalez said that some of those named in the police complaint were Senate employees who were just told to go to the hotel and were prevented from leaving during the siege.Those ordered released were El Cid Fajardo, Herman Tiu Laurel, Leonido Toledo Jr., Evangeline Mendoza, Jose Albert, Eduardo Castro, Ferdinand Sandoval, Julio Ancheta, Stella Guingona, Maamor Lanto, Romeo Dacles, Ryan Custodio, Edgardo Tulalay and Ray Linaac.Gonzalez said authorities were checking a “money trail” to determine the identities of those who had bankrolled the hotel takeover. He also said the possible “complicity” of the Makati City government in the hotel siege was being checked.“No adventurism of this nature will happen if there are no people behind who will be funding them,” he told reporters.Gonzalez linked the money men to the people reportedly recruited from Metro Manila communities for P200 each and who were to be transported outside the Peninsula Manila to support the soldiers and civilians who had holed up inside.“We want to know who were the funders or who were the conduits of the funders to them. Unfortunately, these people now are hiding. We cannot get anybody from Parola or from Payatas anymore,” he said.

Weapons

Gonzalez said that based on witness’ accounts, the guns appeared to have been hidden in the Makati City Hall bathrooms because the people involved in the incident were seen going to and from the bathroom and the courtroom prior to the walkout.“If it is true there were weapons that were smuggled inside the building, with Mayor (Jejomar) Binay even having reported to the police he has death threats, how could these firearms have been smuggled inside?” he said.Gonzalez also wondered how the firearms were brought to the Peninsula.“Was there a connivance with the security of Manila Peninsula? Why is that when Trillanes arrived at the Manila Peninsula, all the cameras were already in place?” he asked.As for the reported investigation of the participation of the media, he said journalists would only be held responsible if they were shown to have connived with those who had participated in the takeover.

Charged with rebellion

Former Vice President Teofisto T. Guingona Jr.
Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV
Brig. Gen. Danilo P. Lim
Bishop Julio Labayen
Rev. Father Robert P. Reyes
Capt. Gary C. Alejano
Capt. Segundino P. Orfiano Jr.
LTSG Manuel DG Cabochan
LTSG James A. Layug
LTJG Arturo Pascua Jr.
LT Eugene G. Peralta
LT Andy G. Torrato
1LT Billy S. Pascua
1LT Jonnel P. Sangalang
ENS Armand G. Pontejos
J.V. Bautista
Arjee C. Guevarra
Francisco Nemenzo
Julius J. Mesa
Cezari Yassir T. Gonzales
CPL Clecarte D. Dahan
PFC Juanito Jilbury
PFC Emmanuel C. Tirador
PFC German M. Linde
Antonio F. Trillanes III
Myrna H. Buendia
Dominador E. Rull Jr.
Romeo C. Solis
Roel J. Gadon
Rommel R. Loreto
Julian L. Advincula
Francisco N. Bosi
Leodor G. Dela Cruz
Sonny B. Madarang
Elizabeth O. Siguion-Reyna
Francisco C. Peñaflor, and
John and Jane Does

Ordered released for further investigation
 

El Cid C. Fajardo
Herman T. Laurel
Leonido Toledo Jr.
Evangeline B. Mendoza
Jose A. Albert
Eduardo R. Castro
Ferdinand P. Sandoval
Julio Y. Ancheta
Stella D. Guingona
Maamor D. Lanto
Romeo S. Dacles
Ryan Z. Custodio
Edgardo Tulaylay, and
Ray A. Linaac