Magdalo officer admits NPA ties

Repentant Magdalo leader 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan confirmed yesterday his former group’s links with the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in a plot to topple the Arroyo administration.

Considered one of the military’s top anti-terrorism experts, San Juan also said little did he know that his participation in a failed mutiny in 2003 would later lead him to deal with his sworn enemy, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the NPA.

"I did not expect that the goals I was pursuing would lead to talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army," San Juan said in Filipino when he faced the media yesterday at the Army headquarters at Fort Bonifacio to declare that he is submitting himself to the chain of command.

He also said that before his arrest in Padre Garcia, Batangas in late February, he met with top NPA leaders of the Melito Glor Command under Tirso "Ka Bart" Alcantara in behalf of the Magdalo group.

In a prepared statement he had written, San Juan also declared he is breaking his ties with the Magdalo and Makabayang Kawal Pilipino and again swore allegiance to the Constitution and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

It was not clear what made him change his mind, but San Juan said that "after much soul-searching and prayers" he realized he had made a mistake and damaged the 117,000-strong AFP, his family and the nation.

"I am ready to face the punishment for my actions in accordance with legal processes. I would rather willingly admit my mistakes than stand by the wrongs I have committed," he told reporters.

San Juan is facing separate charges of rebellion.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters that San Juan was overcome with remorse when he learned that the failed coup plot involved elements of the 37-year-old Maoist insurgency.

"When he realized that he was sleeping with the enemy, this became his turning point," Bacarro said. "He told us he is willing to cooperate. There will be no concessions. The cases filed against him will not be dropped. He will still be subject to restrictions imposed on his fellow conspirators."

San Juan was jailed for his role in the failed Oakwood mutiny in July 2003. He escaped from military prison last January but was recaptured after the government foiled a second anti-Arroyo plot in February.

The military a week ago arrested eight alleged military and civilian co-conspirators of San Juan at a rented home in Quezon City used as a safehouse by the Magdalo group.

There has been speculation in the press that information provided by San Juan helped the authorities foil what the military described as a fresh plot to seize control of the legislature and take Mrs. Arroyo’s allies hostage on July 24.

The plot, like the others allegedly involving San Juan, planned to replace Mrs. Arroyo with a civilian-military junta.

Agitation within military ranks has been spurred by allegations that Mrs. Arroyo stole the May 2004 presidential election. She denies the charge and survived an impeachment attempt last year.

Self-centered, arrogant

On April 27, while being held at an Army detention cell, San Juan wrote a letter to Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon apologizing for his actions.

Esperon and San Juan developed a father-son relationship when they were both assigned in Basilan. Several senior officials said this was the main reason why San Juan had a change of heart.

Bacarro read the letter of San Juan, who wrote that he was "deeply embarrassed and guilty of what I did."

"I was blinded by my self-centeredness, arrogance, and ego… My solitude gave me time to communicate with God and reflect," San Juan wrote.

Bacarro said San Juan’s turnaround would not affect the cases he is facing before military and civilian courts, but added that the Army will leave it up to the courts to decide whether San Juan could turn state witness.

San Juan’s fellow escapees — Army Capt. Nathaniel Rabonza and 1Lts. Sonny Sarmiento and Patricio Bumidang Jr. — were arrested in Quezon City last July 7 along with three junior officers who went AWOL (absent without official leave), namely Army 2Lts. Aldrin Baldonado and Angelbert Gay and Navy LtJg. Kiram Sadava.

They were arrested along with lawyer Jose Christopher Belmonte and Michael Yangson. Belmonte posted bail on an illegal possession of firearms and explosives charge and was released last Wednesday.

In his pronouncement yesterday, San Juan said he is holding himself accountable for the actions of other junior officers who escaped with him.

"That is why I am accepting the moral responsibility to help rectify my mistakes without any intention of asking for a favor or anything in return," San Juan said in Filipino.

Esperon, who is set to take over as AFP chief when Gen. Generoso Senga retires on July 21, said the government will not soften its prosecution of the Magdalo rebels even if some of its leaders have renounced their ties with the group and cooperated with authorities.

Esperon also said Mrs. Arroyo welcomed the development, including San Juan’s expression of support for the AFP and the administration.

He said while San Juan’s actions could mitigate the charges filed against him, these would still have to be carefully considered by authorities and would have to go through the military justice system.

"As far as I am concerned, the statements they are giving now doesn’t change what they have committed so we will have to continue letting the military justice system take its due course," Esperon said. "There should be no letup in the investigation of those involved in destabilization moves."

Saying he will "simply have to enforce military laws," Esperon assured that authorities will not compromise with Magdalo leaders even as San Juan gave no indication that he would seek a plea bargain.

Esperon said their past working relations may have convinced San Juan to return to the fold of the law, but he is taking San Juan’s actions "with some caution but I never doubted that he will ultimately see the right path."

Meeting with the enemy

Military and police authorities claimed that what was discussed during Magdalo-NPA meeting in Padre Garcia town in Batangas was Oplan Hackle, a joint rightist-communist plot to bring down the Arroyo administration by all means.

San Juan said that while he initially did not know the top NPA personalities he met with, he was later surprised to find out that Alcantara was one of the NPA commanders at the meeting.

In mid-2003, San Juan and his Light Reaction Company (LRC) team were discreetly flown to Quezon province with a special mission to capture NPA leader Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal during a communist plenum in the province.

Also present in that plenum were other top NPA commanders in Luzon, including Alcantara.

The discreet operation to capture Rosal was given to San Juan after his US-trained LRC team successfully rescued Gracia Burnham from her Abu Sayyaf captors in the jungles of Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte a year earlier.

Burnham’s husband, Martin, was killed when he was caught in the crossfire at the height of the rescue operation.

The mission to capture Rosal, however, was a failure after a civilian asset who also served as a guide for San Juan and his team, got lost in the Sierra Madre mountains.

San Juan, who was defiant after he was arrested last February, said yesterday that he was "not forced, dictated upon, threatened and promised a reward" for his turnaround.

"I know that some will doubt my actions, while some will be enlightened. I would like everyone to know that my statement was borne out of the belief that this is the right thing to do and I did this without hesitation," he said.

However, San Juan did not name the financiers of the failed Feb. 24 coup plot as expected. Bacarro said doing so would affect the rebellion case filed against him before a Makati City court.

San Juan said he joined the Oakwood mutiny and escaped from detention last Jan. 17 thinking that it was the solution to the military’s many problems.

When pressed during a brief interview with reporters, San Juan admitted that one of those he met with was Alcantara, a member of the CPP’s central committee.

Security officials claimed that hours before San Juan and Belmonte were arrested last Feb. 21, they met with Alcantara, Prudencio Calubid and Adilberto Silva.

Officials also said the Magdalo group, after allying with the left, renamed themselves the Makabayang Kawal Pilipino.

Speaking through his wife, Evelyn San Juan, and lawyer, Roel Pulido, shortly after his arrest, San Juan denied that he had dealings with the leftists.

While on the run, San Juan gave a television interview where he criticized the government. He remained defiant when he was arrested.

Before he boarded a helicopter that would bring him to Fort Bonifacio early morning of Feb. 21, San Juan said he was a "reflection" of the many problems besetting the country.

House Deputy Speaker for Mindanao Gerry Salapuddin and Eastern Samar Rep. Marcelino Libanan commended San Juan for his decision to repent and shed light on the failed conspiracy and urged the government to make him a state witness, as well as provide security and protection for his family.

Opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., however, said he suspects San Juan was offered leniency for turning his back on the Magdalo group.

Politicians listed

Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Director Jesus Verzosa said investigators found the names of at least 10 politicians in a list of possible financiers of the Magdalo group in its bid to overthrow the government on July 24.

He said the names were found in laptops seized during a raid of the Magdalo safehouse in Quezon City.

"(We have) 10 names, mostly politicians but some are (mere) codenames. We are still investigating their specific participation in the activities of the Magdalo soldiers," Verzosa said in an ambush interview. He refused to disclose the names.

Asked if the list was similar to that of former ambassador Roy Señeres, Verzosa said "some of them jived." He did not elaborate.

Señeres claimed to have encouraged erstwhile Scout Rangers chief Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim to withdraw support from Mrs. Arroyo. He also named former executive secretary Oscar Orbos, former defense secretary Renato de Villa, ABC-5 television network chairman Antonio Cojuangco, construction mogul Felipe Cruz Jr. and businessman Iñigo Zobel as part of the July 24 coup plot.

All five denied Señeres’ allegations.

Verzosa refused to say whether the names of these five men were also found in the seized laptops.

"We are investigating the continuing rebellion that started as early as last year and on Feb. 24, the plan to hold hostage (Mrs.) Arroyo and members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives," he said.

Verzosa said they are in the process of analyzing the documents, laptops and other evidence seized from the Magdalo safehouse.

He said the CIDG, the Army and AFP will hold a case conference over the weekend to discuss the interpretation of evidence.

"After we finalize the investigation we will summon these personalities to help shed light on the matter," Verzosa said.

New tactic

Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor, meanwhile, said anti-government forces seem to have employed a new tactic to weaken the Arroyo administration: demolition jobs against Cabinet members and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

He said this information came from captured Magdalo officers.

Defensor believes that targeting individual members of Mrs. Arroyo’s Cabinet, after the bishops, was a desperate act on the part of the opposition.

He said anti-Arroyo forces tried to destroy the AFP "by implicating its members in the cheating controversy. Now they are hitting the Church leaders for their statements that were unfavorable to them."

Defensor appealed to anti-government groups not to resort to demolishing institutions just to topple the administration.

"This is unfair to those who get implicated. For example, I don’t think it is fair for the bishops to be accused of accepting bribes just to come up with a stand that is favorable to the government," he said.

In a pastoral statement issued last Monday, the CBCP said it was "not inclined at the present moment to favor the impeachment process as a means of establishing the truth."

Defensor said he and Mrs. Arroyo were at Malacañang last Sunday and neither had dinner with nor hosted a victory party for the bishops, no bishops came as guests, and that he was not aware of any envelopes passed on to bishops containing P15,000 to P30,000.

He said he met with the bishops only to discuss mining and other concerns of the Church involving poverty alleviation.

"We don’t know where these reports are coming from. But they are utterly malicious and destructive," Defensor said. — With Paolo Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Aurea Calica, Christina Mendez, AFP, AP