Never plot a conspiracy with a blabbermouth

Only in the Philippines? Sanamagan. Not only has former Ambassador Roy Señeres been bragging all over the place that he "encouraged" Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim to withdraw support from La Presidenta in a move to trigger last February’s aborted "coup," but he’s naming everybody supposed to be part of the plot.

In short, innocent or guilty, those individuals identified by the blowhard Señeres are just as good as screwed, blued and tattooed, as they used to say in the colorful, hard-bitten America of old.

Since Señeres is only 59, one can’t accuse him of senility, nor is hubris descriptive of what he’s doing (it’s too grand a term for this bozo). But I’m amazed, for one, at his kind of logic. Unless he was misquoted in the newspaper which banner-headlined his story, Señeres declared "there’s nothing illegal, nothing immoral in what they (General Lim and his Scout Rangers) did. You can’t do anything wrong if you’re fighting evil."

If anything, would-be National Savior Señeres (by his own proclamation) sounds eerily like Osama bin Laden. Don’t you think it’s similar to the logic of the Islamic terrorist and suicide-bomber? The jihadi believes that Allah has commanded him to slay the evil ones – including Crusaders (Christians) and Zionists (Jews). Did God, therefore, enjoin, Señeres and Danny Lim to overthrow the evil Gloria? It’s terrifying.

It’s an interesting law education Mr. S must have had. Old-fashioned legal scholars might have a different opinion. It’s obviously illegal for an officer, or a soldier, sworn to defend the Constitution, to plot the toppling from office of a President and Commander-in-Chief. (In some countries, this is a one-way ticket to the firing squad). As for morality, let’s leave that to the theologians. The trouble is that in this land, a "coup" or mutiny is treated like a party game. If you lose, you get punished by being told to do 30 push-ups, or slapped in the brig for a while, then – like Danny Lim, a former 1989 Putschist was – reinstated to the service and even promoted to commanding general of the elite Scout Rangers.

When all is said and done, a sense of honor binds the soldier to be loyal to the nation’s Commander-in-Chief. If he decided to overthrow his Commander and the government, then he becomes a rebel. (There are no if’s or but’s about that).

When a military unit goes into battle, the orders of the commanding officer must be followed without question – otherwise that unit breaks up and becomes ineffective. (For Chrissakes, in the last mutiny plot, is it true that the Philippine Marines "took a vote"? If they did that on the field of combat, the entire brigade would have been clobbered by the enemy before anybody could crank out a press release).

Believe me, I’ve covered a few wars, and coups (including the GESTAPU in Indonesia). In every encounter, the truism was borne out, "he who hesitates is lost." There used to be an old expression about those who survived on the battlefield – it was the descriptive phrase, "the quick and the dead." If you weren’t quick, you ended up dead.

* * *

A historian, I think it was Spain’s great Salvador de Madariaga, once wrote that "after all, treason is a matter of the calendar." This means that you start out being a rebel or a revolutionary, therefore, if captured, subject to execution – either by musketry, by the gallows, or as in the French Revolutionary days by the Guillotine. However, if your rebellion, mutiny, or revolution succeeds, then, instead of being a traitor, you, the rebel becomes a hero. That’s what de Madariaga meant about "the calendar."

Alas for the plotters and mutineers, the February 24 coup didn’t succeed. It not only fizzled – it never got off the ground. The mutineers, if they’re exposed to be mutineers, will now have to face the consequence.

The problem is that in this land, there is often too much crime without punishment. This is why people so blithely plot "coups," issue press releases in advance about them – then expect to say, "Who me?" Or, "I was justified because I’m fighting to oust a bogus president who ‘cheated’" or something sanctimonious like that.

As a member of the "holier-than-thou" media, even this writer is appalled at the utter lack of a feeling of responsibility exhibited by such self-anointed messiahs.

Let me put it quite plainly: would you like to be led, as a nation, by people like that? What if they, once in the seat of power, cast an eye down on you and decided you are "evil"?

* * *

Señeres has been "daring" the other backers of Brig. Gen. Danny Lim to come out publicly and be "proud" of what they did. Salamabit. He’s been ticking off very prominent names in the hour of his own "confession" (boasting, really) – perhaps so they got hung along with him.

My oh my: He’s alleged that former Executive Secretary and ex-Pangasinan Governor Oscar Orbos, former Executive Secretary (of La Gloria, mind you) Renato de Villa (also the teka-teka leader of the assault on Camp Cawa-Cawa in Zambo); ABC-5 Chairman (and former PLDT chief) Antonio "Tonyboy" Cojuangco, construction tycoon Philip F. F. Cruz Jr., and the son of the late EZ, wealthy Iñigo Zobel. Zounds! Sounds like some of them came from the "Most Invited" list of the Philippine Tatler.

Oca Orbos was quick to deny any participation. I guess groans, moans and cries of denial and protest will come from many of the rest. Poor Tonyboy may have to explain how come the video of Lim announcing "withdrawal of support" from GMA was shot in his TV station, or with his company’s cameras. Did Tony know about it at all?

Sus, how did it get into the hands of rival ABS-CBN?

Is it possible the video was sent to various TV networks, including ABS-CBN in the first hour, but they decided not to use it in order not to be accused of fomenting a coup or exacerbating the February 24 crisis? In this burgh, rumor is faster than a speeding bullet – even than Superman on I-MAX.

Is there a fellow named Bubut who was implicated, too, in the networking? The entire scenario is beginning to read like a dime novel.

AND NOW WHAT? An early ANC report yesterday afternoon erroneously reported that Señeres retracted his statement. However, Señeres immediately reiterated that he’s standing by his statement.

He talked about morality. The moral of this twisted tale is that if you’re plotting to overthrow the Queen, or hatching a conspiracy, never do so with a blabbermouth. It’s suicidal to do so.

In any event, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez – fast on the draw – has directed the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate Señeres and the "others" named by Big Mouth.

* * *

If you want to know a bit about Señeres, he was our Ambassador to Kuwait. He had figured prominently in the effort to secure the release of Sarah Balabagan – remember the OFW, the girl who had been sentenced to death for killing her employer who tried to rape her?

An international outcry to save Sarah, including the direct intercession of the wife of France’s late President Francois Mitterrand, the formidable Leftwing lady, Madam Danielle Mitterrand with whom this writer had lunch on a couple of occasions, had finally accomplished this mission impossible. (In fact, Madame Mitterrand wrote a book about the saga of Sarah Balabagan).

A champion of Leftist causes she was also a devotee of Fidel Castro.

One thing is clear, Señeres was an all-out loyalist of former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada who appointed him, after his diplomatic stint, to the National Labor Relations Council. When GMA assumed the Presidency in January 2001, Señeres began bad-mouthing her and former Labor Secretary Pat Sto. Tomas. Eventually he resigned (was impelled?) from the NLRC. A thought intrudes. If Señeres was a conspirator – does this not "implicate" Erap? (He was already accused last February but had stoutly denied it).

Why did Señeres "implicate" the prominent figures who are now in deep shit with La Glorietta, the outraged Emperadora?

Abangan the next chapter of this outlandish Zarzuela.