Scout Rangers rebuff Gringo

Sen. Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, who is being hunted by authorities for allegedly instigating the bloody siege on Malacañang, had tried to convince the Army Scout Rangers to turn against the government but was rebuffed, a top military official said yesterday.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos said battalion commanders of the elite mi-litary group called him to report on Honasan’s move.

As this developed, Honasan and another fugitive, former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, said they would only surface after the Supreme Court (SC) issues a ruling on the legality of the rebellion charges filed against them and other opposition leaders.

De los Santos told ABS-CBN television yesterday that the commanders of the Scout Rangers had "called me up and said ‘Sir, some people on the other side talked to us but we refused, we do not want to join them’."

"I commend the men of the Scout Rangers for standing by the government," he said.

The Army chief said Honasan and Lacson continued to remain a threat to security despite Sunday’s lifting of a week-old state of rebellion.

In separate interviews, the two senatorial candidates said they would not surrender to authorities despite the lifting of the controversial order in Metro Manila by President Arroyo.

Speaking from an undisclosed location, Honasan said he was in hiding on the advice of his lawyers.

"We decided on the advice of my lawyers that I should not show myself," Honasan told radio station dzBB.

He also warned authorities against harming members of his family. He claimed to have received reports that his son in Davao was being harassed by police.

"I am holding the police, the military and the government of President Arroyo responsible if anything should happen to them," the former renegade colonel said in a radio interview. "If it is me they are after, then they should not involve my family," he said.

The President lifted the other day her order imposing a state of rebellion in Metro Manila, citing as reason the restoration of peace and order in the area.

A state of rebellion was declared on May 1 following a failed takeover of Malacañang that left four people dead and hundreds wounded.

Honasan branded as propaganda recent text messages linking him to alleged plots to bomb government installations and private establishments.

"The situation is getting worse everyday. This is an offshoot of the failure of the government to discuss matters. We are in the middle of an election, and this issue cannot be solved through influence or a display of arrogance. We are all affected here," he said.

Honasan, whose lawyers belatedly asked the SC yesterday to lift the state of rebellion, said he doesn’t consider himself a fugitive.

"I believe the police and the military know what their duties are. I hope they place everything in proper perspective," he said.

In a telephone call to his campaign headquarters yesterday, Lacson said he too would surface only after the SC clarifies the rebellion charges filed against leaders of the opposition.

"I am not hiding. But I will only submit myself to the jurisdiction of a legitimate legal forum," the former PNP chief said.

Re-electionist Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who was earlier freed on bail for similar charges, said he does not blame the two men for refusing to turn themselves in.

"They are thinking people, and they have reasons to fear for their lives. I understand their predicament," Enrile said at a press conference yesterday.

He pointed out that he was treated well during his four-day detention.

"I’m lucky that those who arrested me knew me well. They gave me protection while I was inside. I don’t know if Ping and Gringo can expect the same treatment," he said.

Honasan had earlier admitted he was being hidden by active junior military and police officers who belong to the right-wing Young Officers Union (YOU).

Honasan said junior military and police officers offered to give him "assistance" shortly after the declaration of a "state of rebellion" and the subsequent arrest order for 11 opposition figures, including himself.

Meanwhile, former Ifugao Rep. Gualberto Lumauig told the military Honasan has been sighted in Cagayan Sunday in the company of Cagayan Rep. Rodolfo Aguinaldo and several heavily armed men. The group, on board three trucks, was spotted in Sta. Elena town in the boundary of Kalinga-Apayao and Cagayan provinces.

Aguinaldo, a loyal follower of Enrile, was a Philippine Military Academy graduate who had sided with Honasan during the failed coup attempts in the 1980s.

‘Give yourselves up to the courts’

Malacañang challenged Honasan and Lacson to come out of hiding and face the courts to answer rebellion charges.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao issued the challenge while confirming that the manhunt for the two men continues.

Tiglao said the Department of Justice will be filing the criminal information against the two to secure court-issued warrants for their arrest.

"The prosecutors are working on the case. As soon as the information is filed in the proper court, warrants could be issued against them," he said.

In a related development, a Quezon City regional trial court (RTC) set the arraignment of Enrile for May 10.

"Unless the senator’s lawyers file a motion, the arraignment will push through Thursday," said lawyer Sharon Abila, clerk of court of Quezon City RTC Judge Theresa Yadao.

The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office initially recommended no bail for Enrile but the senator sought the intervention of the SC to allow his temporary liberty. – Efren Danao, Christina Mendez, Marichu Villanueva, Cecille Suerte Felipe Nestor Etolle, Delon Porcalla, Jaime Laude, Sandy Araneta, Rey Arquiza