Mutiny leaders feel betrayed

The "Magdalo" mutineers are crying foul.

Leaders of the Magdalo group that mounted the failed coup last Sunday told one of the negotiators who persuaded them to end their 22-hour siege that they considered the filing of criminal charges against them an "act of deception" and a "betrayal."

According to the mutineers, the deal was for them to face a court martial, not a criminal case.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday filed coup d’etat charges against the 321 putschists before the Makati Regional Trial Court.

No bail was recommended for the accused.

"Beyond doubt," the DOJ said in its resolution, the respondents "launched a swift attack against the government by taking control of the Ayala Center, Makati City, specifically its Oakwood Premier Hotel and the vicinity thereof, by any means of stealth, strategy, force, intimidation or threat."

By seizing Oakwood, "the mutinous soldiers showed open hostility to the government, with the aim of overthrowing it," the DOJ said.

The mutineers, thus, "deprived (President Arroyo), wholly or partially, of her powers and prerogatives, thus, diminishing the general power of the State," the DOJ said.

The charges were filed based on a complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against the mutineers before the DOJ.

The NBI submitted the sworn statements of Oakwood security guards Ernesto Alteso Jr. and Allan Rutab and house manager Michael Aloba.

The NBI also submitted the sworn statement of Maj. Gen. Efren Abu and the affidavits of arrest and custody executed by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Col. Arnulfo Ylanan and Brig Gen. Romulo Narcida to support the criminal charges against the mutineers.

"Undoubtedly, the concerted action of the soldiers caught the attention of the international community and certainly affected the political, social and economic stability of the nation," prompting the President to declare a state of rebellion, which has not yet been lifted, the DOJ said.

The rebel soldiers, enjoying media mileage from print, broadcast and online media, demanded the resignation of the President and her Cabinet, as well as the AFP and Philippine Narional Police’s (PNP) top brass. They also sought the implementation of Sen. Gregorio Honasan’s national recovery program.

"After careful evaluation of the uncontroverted evidence on record, we find and so hold that probable cause exists to warrant the indictment of the respondents (for) the crime of coup d’etat," the DOJ said.

The DOJ said the respondents, when presented for inquest at AFP headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, were informed of the complaint and informed of their right to a preliminary investigation.

Lawyer Rafael Pulido, lead counsel for all the accused, has asked for 15 days within which to submit counter-affidavits of the accused.

The DOJ said the accused have refused to execute a waiver of detention and reserved the right to assail the legality of their detention.

Hence, the DOJ ruled that the case be considered submitted for resolution on the basis of the complaint and evidence against them.

Magdiwang For Magdalo

Meanwhile, a group of lawyers going under the Katipunan majority faction moniker of Magdiwang has volunteered to defend the Magdalo group.

The Magdiwang lawyers also accused the DOJ of railroading the criminal charges against the mutineers.

Magdiwang group member Argee Guevarra said the rebel soldiers were not given the chance to appear in a preliminary investigation before the charges against them were filed in court.

Guevarra said the group of Trillanes should be considered to be "whistleblowers" rather than as mutineers. "Trillanes was saying that he was withdrawing support from the chain of command. Maybe what he really meant was that he was withdrawing support from the chain of corruption (in the military and in government)," he said.

"These are angles we are exploring right now," Guevarra said.

Under the Revised Penal Code, any person who leads or, in any manner, directs or commands others to undertake a coup d’etat will be sentenced to reclusion temporal — a jail sentence of 12 to 20 years.

Any person in government service who participates or executes directions or commands of others in undertaking a coup d’etat shall suffer the maximum period of reclusion temporal (20 years).

Those in government service who participate, or in any manner support, finance, abet, or aid the undertaking of a coup d’etat shall suffer the penalty of prison mayor — six to 12 years in prison.

Open Letter To Cimatu

In an open letter to Ambassador Roy Cimatu, who led the negotiations with the mutineers, the Magdalo group said "the junior officers agreed, for the speedy resolution of the Makati crisis, in exchange for the unmediated and unbiased attention for their demands. One of which is the custodial authority of their respective branches of service, specifically their respective representative during the negotiations."

The mutineers’ core group was transferred to the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) — after they included newly-resigned ISAFP chief Victor Corpus in the list of military leaders whose resignation they sought.

"Isn’t it ironic to detain them (the Magdalo core group) in areas controlled by one they wanted relieved? Although he had recently resigned, his influence remains. Trust begets trust," the open letter to Cimatu read.

The Magdalo group, in its letter, recalled that "the group decided to speak" to Cimatu "as the government’s representative" despite the fact that Cimatu was "once a member of the comptroller family," which they had previously denounced.

They said the decided to speak to Cimatu "primarily due to the essence of trust. If the President of the Republic sent you, then the group should believe in you."

The Magdalo group told Cimatu that "the assurance you gave made the group confident that their sacrifices would not be in vain. It was easy to bring down their arms believing that they could take your word as a guarantee for the realization of their demands and the safety of the members."

"These junior officers had started to lose faith in their seniors. They had come to the point that senior officers are no longer superior officers. They just happen to have higher ranking," the letter said.

"The thought of senior officers taking advantage of their junior officers for their personal interests still hound(s) the minds of these younger officers. You could either be the ray of light or the blanket of darkness for these officers who trusted you," the Magdalo group told Cimatu in the letter.

Junior officers see "problems in his level. Problems of compensation, benefits, logistics, career advancement, politicking, incompetent commanders absence of meritocracy, corruption, system of awards and many more," which the Magdalo group said "are quite evident, but, as... officers go up the ladder of the military hierarchy, they tend to weaken their ability to see and memory faculty."

The Magdalo group said, "this disease is curable," citing Abaya, "Maj. Gen. Esperon, Admiral Domingo, Brig. Gen. Yano," as among the senior military officers "who keep this hope alive."

Countersuit

Former assemblyman Homobono Adaza, the lawyer of the five mutiny leaders, said his clients will countersue.

Adaza said the five leaders of the foiled putsch will file criminal charges against Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. and National Security Adviser Roilo Golez for holding them "incommunicado" and preventing them from testifying yesterday before the congressional Committee of the Whole.

Adaza said the AFP has no legal justification to prevent his clients — all of whom are now held in isolation in five rooms at the ISAFP headquarters — from attending the congressional inquiry into the coup attempt.

"The proper forum where they should charge (the mutineers and their leaders) is (before) a military court. The government should honor the agreement that they entered into with these young military officers, even without the mutiny," Adaza said. "They should be returned to barracks" and take out of isolation in the ISAFP headquarters.

Adaza also disputed claims by Golez and Abaya that the isolation of the five putsch leaders was for the junior officers’ safety, saying there is no threat to the safety of Trillanes’ group.

"My clients are willing to testify in any forum," Adaza said. Pulido added that "the alleged security threats against our clients is a mere excuse to prevent them from testifying. They (the government) are trying to hide the truth. (The mutineers) have documents to prove that these officers are selling ammunition and arms."

Meanwhile, Trillanes received a visit from his parents at his ISAFP detention cell yesterday.

Trillanes’ father, mother, mother-in-law and brother were escorted to the main entrance the ISAFP compound at 2:30 p.m. Details of the family visit were not divulged to the media.

Meanwhile, intelligence sources said they had difficulty extracting vital information from the five young offices about who else was behind the Makati siege and why they supported the mutiny.

Reyes said the mutiny was backed by opposition politicians and was meant to demoralize the military and weaken the government’s foundation. — With Jose Rodel Clapano and Jaime Laude