ariel querubin – Page 2 – ellen tordesillas

‘Querubin is free to dream of a country with clean and honest elections unlike those that happened in 2004’

Published by Ellen on May 11, 2009

Col. Ariel Querubin, detained on charges of mutiny for allegedly planning to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo in February 2006, revealed his plan to run for the Senate in 2010 in a letter first published in this space last Saturday.

Malacañang made a mocking reaction.Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said, Everybody is free to dream.”

He added, “Hindi ko kilala si Colonel Querubin, ang pagkatao niya, ang pag-defy niya sa chain of command, nakikita ko, to me that does not show any good [I don’t know Colonel Querubin personally but his defying the chain of command, the way I see it, does not show any good].” .

Letter from Col. Ariel Querubin

Published by Ellen on May 8, 2009

Update: Malacañang tells Querubin: Dream on.

May the peace of Christ be with you!

Life has presented to me in many ways, from my exploits in the field that eventually earned me the Medal of Valor, a new lease on life after being left for dead in 1989 and to my current incarceration.

During all these episodes of my life, I have both witnessed and felt human suffering and desolation. After a long process of discernment while in confinement, I resolved to do something about human suffering- not through any other modality but through faithful, competent and committed public service.

I do not assume to be the solution to all these problems. I definitely am not. It takes the collective effort of every member of this society to make things improve. All I can do on my end, is to make the best effort possible to make society better, stand by my principles and fight for what is right in the appropriate forum; if not for myself and one generation, for our children and their children as well.

I thought that if I do not try to at least offer myself to give our people an alternative, then all the sufferings I have witnessed and felt would be rendered meaningless.

I plan to run for the Senate in the coming 2010 elections with this dream that we all share,

Eye to eye contact

Published by Ellen on May 7, 2009

Maj. Gen. John Martir’s appearance at the court martial hearing last Tuesday of the mutiny case against 28 officers led by Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and Brig. Gen. Danny Lim was enlivened by side incidents. Otherwise, it was boooring.

Before Martir was brought in, the nine accused Marine officers namely Maj. Gen Renato Miranda;Col Ariel Querubin; Col Januario Caringal; Col Orlando de Leon; Col Armand Bañez; Lt.Col Custodio Parcon;.Lt. Col. Achilles Segumallian; Maj Domingo Fernandez; and Lt Belinda Ferrer, the lone military female detainee, positioned themselves in front of the defense lawyers directly opposite the witness who would be sitting near the end of the panel’s table.

In the courtroom at the Daza Park, the accused are seated together enclosed by steel railings in the middle of the room. Some ten feet away from them are members of the panel seated behind a long table in an elevated portion of the room. Between the accused and the panel members are the lawyers seated on opposite sides.

Prosecution wants to change rules in the middle of the game

Published by Ellen on April 25, 2009

Update of the mutiny case against 28 officers in connection with the February 2006 alleged withdrawal of support from Gloria Arroyo following revelations of the military’s role in the tampering of election results as heard in the “Hello Garci” tapes:

The prosecution asked that the charge sheet, which focused on the Feb. 23, 2006 activities, be amended to include the Feb. 26 Fort Bonifacio standoff because their witnesses can only speak about the Feb. 26 standoff.

The court denied the motion to amend the charges.

More of this on Monday.

Photo caption:

Unspeedy trial

Published by Ellen on March 26, 2009

Click on each of the pictures to view them enlarged.

At the court martial hearing of the 28 officers accused of mutiny for a February 2006 non-event last Feb. 26, it was agreed that the next hearing would be on March 10, 2009.

A day before March 10, the lawyers of the accused were notified that the hearing would be on March 20. No explanation was given why the agreed hearing on March 10 would not push through.

March 20 came and all the lawyers and the accused (except for two officers) were present at the Daza Park hall in Camp Aguinaldo. But there were only three members of the panel who would be hearing the case: Maj. Gen. Jogy Fojas, Commodore Ramon Punzalan and law member Col. Marian Aleido, when there should at least be four of them to constitute a quorum. One member was out of the country. Even the trial judge advocate could not explain the absence of the other members of the panel.

Three years after: no end in sight for detained Marines and Rangers

Published by Ellen on February 26, 2009

by Tessa Jamandre VERA Files Exactly three years ago today, hundreds of Marines marched in full battle gear outside the Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio,…

Three years ago

Published by Ellen on February 22, 2009

Three years ago, on this day, there were talks of restlessness in the military as more first-hand accounts of how the military was used as cheating operators in the 2004 elections were being shared by the soldiers themselves.

Eight months earlier, on June 6, 2005 then Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye revealed the existence of a taped conversation between Gloria Arroyo and then Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano about manipulating the results of the election in Muslim Mindanao to offset the huge lead posted by opposition candidate Fernando Poe Jr. in Luzon.

Gloria Arroyo apologized on TV for “talking to an election officer” which is prohibited by law. “A confessed felon,” lawyer Francisco Chavez said.

A mother finally got to embrace her son

Published by Ellen on January 2, 2009

Col. Ariel Querubin, who has been in detention for almost three years, was allowed to be with his 87-year old mother on her birthday on New Year’s day in their place in La Union. A friend who was there wrote to me the heartwarming reunion of the Medal of Valor awardee with his mother.

col-querubin-with-mom

I had a very good reflection about hope and family this New Year. For the first time, I celebrated New Year out of town with a very special family. And the experience gave me a chance to reflect about how my mother had been spending Christmasses away from us for 10 years now. How she must have longed to come home. Oh how I missed her now. Let me then share with you, a new year’s story about a mother and son that I will never forget…

Hamon sa sambayanan

Published by Ellen on December 13, 2008

Nakakaloka itong si Congresswoman Juana Change.

Nag gate-crash si Congresswoman Juana Change (ginagampanan ng artistang si May Paner) sa anti cha-cha rally noong Biernes at nilait-lait ang mga rallyista. Inulit niya ang sinabi ni House Speaker Prospero Nograles na wala silang paki-alam sa mga rally rally dahil ang desisyon tungkol sa charter change ay sa kamay nila nakasalalay, hindi sa mga mamayan na nagra-rally.

Tamang-tama yun para pumanting ang tenga ng mga nagra-rally. Kaya kahit medyo mahinahon ang simula (siyempre naman inter-faith rally kaya puro dasal ang simula) uminit na rin.

Sinundan ni Harry Roque ng Concerned Citizens Movement na simple lang ang malakas na mensahe: “Ayaw namin ng Cha-Cha, Lalo na kay Gloria.”

‘Time to grip hands and act’

Published by Ellen on December 11, 2008

All 23 senators, including incarcerated Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, signed resolution opposing charter change without concurrence of the Senate being pushed by allies of Gloria Arroyo in the House of Representatives.
Click here for full report.

Arroyo spokesperson: Let’s talk

In today’s anti- Gloria Arroyo, anti- charter change rally, two of the messages to be read are that of detained officers, Brig. Gen. Danny Lim of the Army Scout Rangers and Marine Col.Ariel Querubin.

Lim and Querubin, together with 26 other officials including Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, have been in detention for almost three years. They have been charged with mutiny for allegedly planning to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo following the “Hello Garci” expose that showed Arroyo masterminding the tampering of election results in her favor with the help of some military officials.

Lim’s message was released last Nov. 29 to mark the second anniversary of Manila Pen incident where he, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and other Magdalo officers made a stand against the unabated corruption in the Arroyo government.

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