Court-martial for coup plotters to start next month

Military officers implicated in the failed Feb. 24 coup will be tried before a court-martial starting next month, after Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon reviews the results of their pre-trial investigation.

In an interview during the "Game of the Generals" shooting competition at Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig, Esperon said that results of the pre-trial investigation conducted by the Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAGO) still have to be reviewed by the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA), who serves as legal adviser to the AFP chief.

" I want to expedite the review, but I don’t want to sacrifice thoroughness in the interest of fairness and justice... within November we will be seeing court-martial if the review would result to that," he said.

Esperon said as a matter of policy, the results of the pre-trial investigation should be subject to review by the SJA, which would make another recommendation for the final approval of the chief of staff.

"Not all may be charged before the court martial... there would be one or two that may not be included," he said.

Esperon has the authority to convene a court-martial to try military officers and men charged with violations of the Articles of War.

Headed by Col. Al Perreras, the preliminary investigation was conducted on 38 Scout Ranger and Marine officers for alleged violation of Articles of War 65 (willful disobedience of superior officer), 67 (attempting to begin or create mutiny), 96 (conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman) and 97 (conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline).

The 38 military officers facing charges of violations of the Articles of War are led by Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, sacked commander of the Scout Rangers; Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, former Marine commandant; and Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, former commander of the 3rd Marine Battalion based in Marawi City.

The 25 Scout Ranger officers are detained at a maximum security facility at the headquarters of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division in Tanay, Rizal, while six of the Marine officers were transferred from a Navy stockade to the Philippine Marine Corps detention center, both at the Bonifacio Naval Station in Taguig.

Nearly a month ago, Miranda, Lim and Querubin, and 50 civilians were charged with rebellion before the Department of Justice.

However, Esperon said it would still be legal to charge the three officers before a military court, based on their experience with the July 27, 2003 failed Oakwood mutiny.

"It has been decided by the Supreme Court that the matter of civilian offenses notwithstanding, we can still go on with our court- martial as in the case of the Oakwood participants, they are now undergoing trial with the RTC Makati and they are now being tried by the general court-martial of the general headquarters," he said.

Meanwhile, retired Armed Forces chief Efren Abu took the witness stand at the hearing of junior military officers implicated in the failed July 2003 Oakwood mutiny as the prosecution’s last witness.

Lawyers of the renegade Magdalo Group said Abu told the Makati City regional trial court that the takeover of the Oakwood Premiere Hotel in Makati and the incidents before and after the siege were non-violent.

Abu, who was AFP chief when the mutiny took place, underwent cross-examination after being recalled by Judge Oscar Pimentel.

Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon said that one of the elements of the crime of coup d’ etat is violence, but there are other elements like acts of intimidation, stealth, and strategy that are directed against duly constituted authorities for the purpose of diminishing state power.

"There are other means, violence is just one of them," he said. "They occupied the establishment through intimidation, stealth, strategy. We had other witnesses who also said that there was no violence, no shooting, no deaths. This goes to show that we’re not fabricating evidence."

Fadullon said the Magdalo soldiers’ intention was to draw attention to themselves, attack the President, and seize power by asking her to step down.

"Abu just confirmed what actually happened," he said.

Yesterday’s hearing marks the end of presentation of the prosecution’s evidence and witnesses.

The court gave the prosecution 30 days to make a formal offer of evidence, and the defense another 30 days to comment on the same.

After the court rules on which pieces of evidence are admissible, the defense will take its turn to present proof that the mutineers did not stage a coup. — James Mananghaya, Michael Punongbayan