Oakwood takeover was no coup, Biazon tells Makati court

MANILA, Philippines – Soldiers who took over the Oakwood apartment building in Makati in 2003 did not launch a coup against the government, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said yesterday.

Testifying before the Makati Regional Trial Court, the retired Armed Forces chief said compared to the 1987 and 1989 military uprisings, the 2003 Oakwood mutiny was not a coup because the soldiers did not call for President Arroyo’s removal from Malacañang nor did they try to overthrow the government.

Ernesto Francisco Jr., counsel for the eight accused military officers, said Biazon told the court he did not see explosives or bombs when he was inside Oakwood for more than two hours.

“He compared the Oakwood incident to his experience as Philippine Army commandant during the August 1987 coup, and as commanding general of the National Capital Region Defense Command during the December 1989 coup,” he said.

Francisco told The STAR that Biazon said in court he did not see any indication that the Magdalo Group wanted to unseat Mrs. Arroyo or bring down her administration.

“They called for the resignation of only three officials: Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, Philippine National Police chief Hermogenes Ebdane, and Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Victor Corpus,” he said.

Biazon told the court that he did not also see snipers inside Oakwood, he added.

Biazon’s testimony as a defense witness drew a lot of objections from the prosecution, especially on the issue of comparing the 1987 and 1989 coups to the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, Francisco said.

On the other hand, Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon said the 1987 and 1989 coups were “far too remote” to be relevant to the 2003 Oakwood mutiny.

“It’s enlightening in terms of informing us of what happened in the 1987 and 1989 coups, but that’s really as far as it goes,” he said.

“Nothing damaging in what he said. Understandably, there was no law yet at that time, the coup d’etat law was passed only in October of 1990.

“Of course there were factors in the 1987 and 1989 coups which were not present in the Oakwood incident, like there was firefighting, soldiers were killed. He is giving his opinion, but he is not being presented as an expert but because of his experience.”

It is the court that will eventually determine whether a coup took place five years ago in Makati, Fadullon said.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who as a Navy lieutenant senior grade took part in the mutiny, did not attend yesterday’s hearing.

He has already manifested that he no longer wants to participate in the proceedings.

On May 22, the defense is expected to present three more witnesses, which would include Reyes, Corpus, and former social welfare secretary Dinky Soliman.

The hearing was presided over by Judge Oscar Pimentel.