Honasan resurfaces, denies part in mutiny

Opposition Sen. Gregorio Honasan tried to ward off the infamy of being linked to yet another military misadventure, and in a privileged speech yesterday denied having had anything to do with last Sunday’s failed coup by junior military officers.

A day after being conspicuously absent at the opening of Congress on Monday, Honasan resurfaced and delivered an emotional speech of personal privilege before the Senate, saying the accusations hurled at him now "involved the dignity and independence of the Senate."

Honasan also stressed the concerns made by the soldiers who staged the mutiny are legitimate.

In his speech, Honasan reminded his colleagues that his extra-constitutional activities were "a thing of the past," since he had been appointed as chairman of the Senate committee on peace, unification and reconciliation after being elected.

"I have a diploma... to show that I have already been rehabilitated," he added.

Honasan said he could not have instigated the rebellion since he played a key role in convincing the rebels to surrender peacefully.

Honasan claimed receiving a call from Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Secretary Michael Defensor and Deputy Director Renato Velasco, Philippine Information Agency (PIA) chief. Both officials informed Honasan they were authorized by President Arroyo to ask for his help in negotiating the peaceful surrender of the rebels in Makati City.

"I said how can I help when you are insinuating that I am behind the military actions and saying to everybody I am behind it. I told him (Velasco) that I don’t know how to communicate with the junior military officers. So, I called up Senators (Rodolfo) Biazon and (Vicente) Sotto," he said.

In a statement, Velasco said it was Honasan who called him up and offered his assistance to help out in the negotiations.

"I believe his call to me was the consequence of my earlier phone conversation with his chief political staff, Mr. Jess Fernandez, who, like Senator Honasan, is a fraternity brother of mine. I told Jess that Brod Greg (Honasan) was again implicated in the soldiers’ mutiny and we agreed that if Brod Greg is indeed not guilty, he must come out and openly explain his position," Velasco said.

Velasco said Honasan "professed no involvement in the mutiny and agreed to talk to the mutineers."

"I volunteered this service, even as already some sections of the administration have already pointed me out as the alleged mastermind of the military action," he said. "It is inconceivable then that the so-called mastermind, as I am now being portrayed, would tell his troops to halt the ongoing operation."

During the negotiations, Honasan said it became apparent that the young mutineers presented legitimate grievances and raised issues that have rang a very sympathetic chord in the people.

Honasan said the issues raised by him and his men when they rose up in arms against then President Corazon Aquino in the late 1980s still "resonate" in the latest mutiny. "Only the personnel have changed," he added.

"What I am basically is a soldier. That’s why I can understand these young people," he said. But "these are not my soldiers. They are your soldiers."

He said that during the negotiations with the rebel leaders on Sunday, they had aired grievances including insufficient logistical support to frontline troops fighting against Muslim separatist and communist insurgencies.

He backed the creation of an independent body to look into the causes of the mutiny, but said its members must not be appointed by Mrs. Arroyo but instead by the Senate so it would be more "credible."

Earlier in the day, Honasan in a radio interview slammed the government for directly linking him to the Makati mutiny.

Honasan decried what he called trumped-up charges against him. "They (government officials) are inventing charges... since they could no longer cover up for their inefficiency and corruption, which are the issues aired by the young officers," he said.

"They insist there is a mastermind, but the young officers insist that Honasan has nothing to do with this," he said. "This is an independent action."

Honasan earlier suggested that he may be prevented from giving his speech to the Senate.

"If they harass or threaten me, I will have this (speech) delivered all over the country and I will do everything within my power to have it reach the people," he said.

Before Honasan was able to deliver his privileged speech, Drilon assured the opposition senator that he cannot be arrested while attending session until after charges are formally filed and a warrant is issued.

Drilon said not even the state of rebellion declared by the President would justify a warrantless arrest of Honasan.

He said the position of the Senate on the issue has been relayed to Malacañang, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

"They have all agreed that in fact, they should now proceed with the gathering of evidence and file the appropriate charges in court if there is sufficient evidence. So I have assured Senator Honasan that this process will be followed, which is the procedure now existing in our court system," Drilon said.

Drilon earlier admitted that Honasan cannot invoke congressional immunity and can be arrested once the charges are filed.

He pointed out that the exemption applies if the lawmaker is charged with a crime punishable by less than six years imprisonment.

Honasan, however, warned the government against denigrating the Senate by having him arrested.

"Our democracy is on the line here," Honasan said. "If I will be harassed and accused, maybe I made a mistake in going back to the fold of government when I surfaced (in 1992)," he told the radio interview.

In his speech, Honasan urged the Senate to address "the vicious cycle" by some in the military in exerting extra-constitutional means to correct mistakes in the failure of the government to address legitimate grievances.

"We cannot isolate ourselves from these young officers’ legitimate grievances," Honasan said. "I support the creation of an independent body to investigate the matter."

The Heat Is On

A total of 296 officers and men led by Navy Ltsg. Antonio Trillanes IV stormed Oakwood Premier Ayala Center, a ritzy commercial complex in Makati City before dawn Sunday and wired it with explosives to demand the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo and other government and military officials.

The rebellious soldiers accused military officials of corruption, including selling arms to rebel groups, staging bombings to justify more counter-terrorism aid from Washington, and planning to declare martial law next month in a bid to retain power. The 22-hour standoff ended peacefully after negotiations.

Honasan, son of a colonel and a graduate of Philippine Military Academy Class 1971, once supported a "people power" revolt that toppled late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and catapulted Aquino to the presidency in 1986, but later led at least two coup attempts against her.

He was arrested in December 1987, nearly four months after a failed coup, and was held in a prison ship in Manila Bay. He escaped the following April with the help of his guards and was widely believed to have been a major instigator of the bloody December 1989 coup that almost toppled the Aquino government.

Honasan resurfaced for the peace signing ceremony in 1992 granting amnesty to reformed rebels. In 1995, he won a Senate seat.

Honasan’s "mistah" in the PMA and colleague in the opposition, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, said the former Army colonel could face the Senate body which will look into the grievances of the mutineers.

Lacson said accusations against Honasan linking him to the mutiny "could be included" in the investigation if the Senate is convened as a committee of the whole.

"There is a move in the Senate to convert itself to a committee of the whole to investigate the grievances. But I think masasama na din iyon (that will be included). It can be done," Lacson told ANC’s "Talkback" program Monday night.

Lacson noted the possibility citing the Senate investigation conducted on his alleged criminal activities took six to eight months in 2001.

"If there is finding, it can be referred to the (Senate) ethics committee," he said.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina earlier accused Honasan as among those behind the mutiny.

He apparently based his accusations on the admission made by Trillanes, that their group has adopted the senator’s National Recovery Program (NRP) as their "bible" in the fight against corruption in the government and the military.

Lina stressed he is not singling out Honasan as responsible for the mutiny although Trillanes had denied linking the opposition senator in their move.

Lina said the PNP is now gathering evidence against Honasan and other prominent personalities behind the Makati mutiny.

PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Director Eduardo Matillano confirmed the police is building a case against Honasan. "Right now, we have (only) circumstantial evidence against him," he said.

The military’s intelligence chief, Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus challenged Honasan to undergo a lie detector test to prove his innocence.

"My honest opinion is he was involved," Corpus told a radio interview, even as he admitted a lack of "concrete evidence" to back up intelligence reports linking Honasan to the mutiny.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also said they will look into the possible involvement of government officials in the mutiny.

NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said they would also conduct its own parallel investigation on the possible involvement of Honasan and some civilians.

"If there will be civilian components into the uprising then we will hold our own parallel investigation into the matter," Wycoco said.

He said the NBI investigators will await the results of the tactical investigation by the Armed Forces on the 296 officers and servicemen who participated in last Sunday’s mutiny.

Some senior police and military officials, however, expressed their disappointment over what they called "reluctance" of the Senate to probe Honasan.

"Instead of looking into the possible involvement of Senator Honasan into the failed military attempt, our senators are now more than happy at hitting DILG Secretary Jose Lina," one of the senior military officers said.

Lacson, meanwhile, said the Senate’s credibility as an institution is not affected by any charges and accusations against Honasan.

"One of the members of the Senate is suspected to be behind the rebellion committed by young officers. But I don’t think the Senate’s credibility is affected as an institution," he said.

Lacson, former PNP chief, said they are only "invoking the rule of law" in questioning any possible warrantless arrests against Honasan or any "other personalities" involved in the mutiny.

"If the accused is not actually caught in the act, he should be subjected to preliminary investigation and if the DOJ (Department of Justice) sees it fit to file a case against him then the court will issue the warrant of arrest against him," Lacson said. -With Ann Corvera, Jaime Laude, Manny Galvez, AFP