Querubin, 11 other Marines relieved

Twelve Marine officers suspected of involvement in the supposed failed coup last Feb. 24 will be facing summary dismissal proceedings.

The Marine officers were relieved of their posts and sent to face the Navy Efficiency and Separation Board (ESB) on orders of Navy chief Vice Adm. Mateo Mayuga.

Marine commandant Brig. Gen. Nelson Allaga did not name the 12 officers, except for Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, former commander of the 1st Marine Brigade based in Marawi City.

Allaga said Querubin and the 11 Marine officers would be placed under the custody of the Navy.

"I received an order for the referral of the case of Col. Ariel Querubin and 11 others to the Navy Efficiency and Separation Board for their alleged involvement in the destabilization attempts in February," he told a press conference at Fort Bonifacio yesterday.

Allaga hinted that former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda is not among 12 officers who are to face the summary hearing board.

"The Marine Corps welcomes this investigation to clear the air once and for all so that those who are at fault should be punished and those who have no involvement will be cleared," he said.

Allaga, along with Lt. Col. Jonathan Martir, played a key role in stopping Querubin and his men from allegedly breaking from the chain of command last Feb. 26.

During the standoff at Marine headquarters at Fort Bonifacio, Allaga and Martir prevailed upon Querubin’s group following assurances that the event would be treated as an internal matter and would be resolved internally by the Marine brass.

The Navy ESB proceedings are distinct from the pre-trial investigation for the General Court Martial of 15 Marine officers,

along with 25 Army officers as recommended by an investigation body and approved by Gen. Generoso Senga before he retired as Armed Forces chief last July 21.

Querubin was relieved as commander of the 1st Marine Brigade on Feb. 28, two days after he led a standoff at their headquarters to protest Miranda’s sudden relief, and four days after the supposed failed coup.

Allaga said while there are no physical restrictions, Querubin and the relieved Marine officers should make themselves available when the ESB calls them.

"We assure everybody of a swift process consistent with due process," he said.

The summary dismissal proceedings before the ESB will "proceed in tandem" with the pre-trial investigation for court martial, which will be handled by the Judge Advocate General’s Office at Camp Aguinaldo, he added.

In a phone interview, Navy spokesman Commander Giovanni Bacordo said Mayuga and Allaga had the power to exclude officers from ESB proceedings, but not from court martial.

"It’s the prerogative of the (Navy chief) and the Marine commandant on who will face the separation board," he said.

Allaga denied that the Lopez report has sparked renewed restiveness within the ranks.

"Okay, we are doing okay, and this will not hamper our movement," he said. "We are solid and intact as an organization."

Allaga also played down the reported resignation of Lt. Cols. Custodio Parcon and Armando Bañez as deputy Marine chief for operations and plans, respectively.

"There is no such thing as resigning from a position, you are given a job and you perform your job, probably you can ask to be relieved from a position," he said.

While he refused to confirm that the two resigned officers were Parcon and Bañez, Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan said the two officers resigned out of "delicadeza," since they were set to be investigated over the supposed failed coup.

An ad hoc investigation committee chaired by Rear Adm. Rufino Lopez has recommended that 40 officers — 25 from the Army and 15 from the Marines — be made to face court martial and summary dismissal proceedings.

Of the 40, Lopez only identified Miranda, Querubin, and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, former Army Scout Ranger brigade commander.

Lim and Querubin allegedly planned to lead soldiers in a mass withdrawal of support from President Arroyo last Feb. 24, the 20th anniversary of the 1986 People Power revolt, supposedly with the backing of Miranda.

But Miranda earlier denied there was such a plan, and expressed his readiness to face the charges that would be filed against him.

Lawyer denies part in coup

Meanwhile, a lawyer of the renegade Magdalo soldiers denied yesterday allegations that he was part of a plot to overthrow the government.

Lawyer Robert Rafael Pulido went to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) yesterday morning to personally deny any participation in the supposed coup attempt last Feb. 24.

"Yes, I am a propagandist, but only in the regard of the interest of my clients, to air the voices of my clients," he told reporters after meeting with CIDG legal officer Virgilio Pablico.

Pulido was summoned by CIDG chief Director Jesus Verzosa to shed light on the statement of 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan that he arranged

meetings with the media shortly after San Juan and other Magdalo soldiers escaped from detention in January 2006.

CIDG investigators wanted to determine the extent of Pulido’s alleged assistance to the Magdalo soldiers accused of plotting to overthrow the government.

San Juan was arrested at a checkpoint in Padre Garcia, Batangas by police and military agents.

Pulido vowed to submit his affidavit on Wednesday, which would detail all his activities and solicitations made on behalf of the Magdalo soldiers.

One of the solicitations made by Pulido was with Saludo sa Kawal Pilipino (SKP) founded by ousted President Joseph Estrada.

Estrada’s son-in law Manuel "Beaver" Lopez, SKP president, has also been summoned by the CIDG to explain the donations made to SKP.

Pulido also vowed to explain his statement to the court that another lawyer for the Magdalo, Christopher Mark Belmonte was sick when the court ordered his presence in one of the hearings. However, police found out that Belmonte has been well and even participated in the meetings with Magdalo soldiers.

Belmonte was arrested along with the six Magdalo soldiers in a raid in a subdivision near the Batasan complex last July 7, weeks before President Arroyo’s State-of-the-Nation address yesterday.

Pulido admitted that he indeed met with fugitive former senator Gregorio Honasan before a warrant was issued against Honasan.

Honasan and several other retired military officers are now the subject of warrants of arrest for their alleged participation in the failed Oakwood military mutiny on July 27, 2003.

Other personalities summoned by the CIDG were Lopez and former ambassador Reynaldo Parungao. Both officially denied any part in the coup. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe