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Tag: Military

Tantya ng Malacañang, kaya nila

Ayan, umaatras na kunyari ang Malacañang sa kanilang pinasabog na lagim na posibleng magkaroon ng military takeover kung pumalpak ang eleksyuns a Mayo.

Hindi personal na humarap sa mga reporter si Undersecretary Charito Planas, deputy presidential spokesperson ,katulad nang ginawa niya noong Biyernas nang pinalutang niya ang military takeover. Noong Linggo nagpalabas lang siya ng written statement na nagsabing talagang bababa si Arroyo sa Malacañang sa June 30, 2010. “Malacañang assured the public that the President will definitey step down on June 30,” sabi ni Planas sa statement.

Sinabi pa rin niya na ang pagiikot daw ni Arroyo sa bansa ay “last minute inspection” daw niya yun para masigurado na ang mga proyekto na kanyang inumpisahan ay ginagaw a. Ang hindi daw matatapos ay ipagpatuloy ng kung sino man ang mananbalo sa eleksyun.”

Military takeover

Now, they are trying to quell the fires they ignited. Related links:

AFP denies Malacañang’s military takeover claim.
Bangit and Versoza meet
Malacañang flirts with military revolt

Malacañang sees military takeover if election fails

Heto na naman tayo. Papalutang na naman ng lagim si Gloria Arroyo.

Testing the waters. Tinitingnan nila ang reaksyun ng mga tao para malaman kung paano nila ipatupad ang kanilang maitim na balak.

Noong Biyernes, sinabi Undersecretary Charito Planas,deputy presidential spokesperson na posibleng magkaroon ng military takeover kung magkaroon ng total na failure of elections sa Mayo.

Ito ang sinabi ni Planas: “It is possible that the military might take over. That is possible … Military juntas have taken over in several countries, especially in Southeast Asia.”

Bangit is next AFP chief

Photo from Malaya
Photo from Malaya
Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit will be the next Armed Forces chief of staff to succeed Lt. Gen. Victor Ibrado who is retiring on Wednesday, March 10.

Bangit, the current Philippine Army chief, is a known Arroyo loyalist having been been head of the Presidential Security Group under GMA. He also had a stint as chief of the Intelligence Service.

He belongs to Class ’78 of the Philippine Military Academy, which adopted Arroyo. Class ’78 is considered the “favored” PMA class under Arroyo with a number of them in strategic positions.

Earlier, there were calls to extend until after the May 2010 elections the term of Ibrado, who is highly regarded for his professionalism unlike former AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon whose name was mentioned in the “Hello Garci” tapes which revealed the participation of the military in tampering the results of the 2004 elections in favor of Arroyo.

In a statement, Bangit said, “”I am very thankful with the decision of the commander-in-chief. More than it is an honor for me, I would like to assure the people that I will do my very best to serve the interest of this nation and the Filipino people.”

Lipat kulungan lang

Related story in the Inquirer: Narcotics agent accuses Tingas of coddling kins suspected of drug pushing

Paglabas sa kulungan sa Camp Crame, lumipat lang sa kulungan sa Camp Aguinaldo.

James Layug
James Layug
Itong ang nangyari kina Marine Capt. Gary Alejano at Navy Ltsg James Layug ng grupong Magdalo na nanindigan sa pekeng presidente na si Gloria Arroyo.

Noong Pebrero 17, inaprubahan ni Judge Elmo Alameda ng Makati regional Trial Court ang pagpiyansa ng 18 opisyal at sundalo na sangkot sa Nov 2007 na insidente sa Manila Peninsula. Maliban kay Brig. Gen. Danny Lim, ang kasama doon ay miyembro ng grupong Magdalo sa pangunguna ni Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

Gary Alejano and wife Minnie whenhe filed his certificate of candidacy in Sipalay
Gary Alejano and wife Minnie whenhe filed his certificate of candidacy in Sipalay
Sabi ni Alameda hindi naman rebelyun ang nangyari noon at walang rason para hindi sila payagan magpiyansa.

Kaya nagpiyansa naman sina Alejano at Layug noong Pebrero 19. Si Alejano at Layug ay kumakandidato para sa halalan sa Mayo. Si Alejano ay tumatakbong mayor sa Sipalay, Negros Occidental at si Layug naman ay para congressman sa pangalawang distrito ng Taguig.

Akala nina Alejano at Layug ay lalaya na sila kahit pansamantala para naman maasikaso nila ang kanilang kampanya. Mali pala kasi paglabas nila sa Camp Crame custodial center, kinuha sila ng military at nilipat sa ISAFP (Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines) compound.

Nandun ngayon sina Alejano at Layug. Magkasama sila doon ni Marine Col. Ariel Querubin.

Ang tatlong sibilyan na nakasama sa Manila Pen (Julius Mesa, Cesari Gonzales at Emmanuel Tirador) na kasama sa 18 nakakulong sa Crame ay nagpiyansa na rin at pinayagang makalaya. Dapat naman.

Captain? Lieutenant? Mister?

It must have been slip of the tongue when Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita told Malacañang reporters “We have been checking on the court” when asked for reaction to the order of Makati RTC Judge Elmo Alameda to grant bail to Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and 16 officers and soldiers in connection with the Nov. 2007 incident at the Manila Peninsula.

Alameda said the evidence presented by the prosecution did not prove the charge of rebellion, which should have been non-bailable.

Alameda’s order supports common sense that what Trillanes, Lim and company did on Nov. 2007 did not constitute public uprising and taking up arms against the government which is the primary element of rebellion.

Lim, Trillanes to remain in jail despite bail—AFP

From GMA News TV:

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and senatorial aspirant former Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim will remain in jail despite being allowed by a Makati court to post bail on a rebellion charge, the military said on Wednesday.

“The group of Senator Trillanes cannot be released until after the military has agreed already, because they are still facing general court martial,” said Armed Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr.

He said the two have pending cases before the military tribunal in connection with alleged attempts to overthrow the Arroyo government.

“Under the military law, there is no such thing as bail,” Brawner said.

Mrs B and the 43

There were no dry eyes when the lights opened at the auditorium of Bantayog ng mga Bayani last Saturday evening- the last show of “Mrs B”, a theater presentation about Edith Burgos’ search for her son, Jonas.

As we all know , Edith Burgos, widow of Jose Burgos, Jr. founder of Malaya and considered a press freedom icon, has been in search of her son since April 28, 2007 when he was abducted by unidentified men and a woman while having lunch at the Hapag Kainan restaurant in Ever Gotesco Mall in Quezon City.

Last Saturday’s performance had Bibeth Orteza as Edith ( Gina Alajar was the other Edith). It’s a moving 45-minute monologue.

Military defies SC on 43

AFP fails to present detainees

by Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Despite a writ of habeas corpus issued by the Supreme Court, the military and the police failed to present before the Court of Appeals Friday the 43 health workers arrested on Feb. 6 on suspicion of being members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

Statement of the CHR Chair Leila de Lima:

Based on our team’s follow up interview with, and our own doctors’ physical check up of, the detainees last Thursday, February 11, no allegations and traces of physical torture. There’s one though who claims that during interrogation, he felt some twitching of his thighs which he attributes to some form of electric shock. He also claims to have smelled a gas-like substance. Some male detainees have injuries in their wrists due to tight handcuffs. About two (2) of them have injuries surrounding the eye area due to tight blindfolding.

Our initial findings of mental/psychological torture REMAIN, i.e., continuous blindfolded and handcuffed for 36 hours, the resultant indignities (somebody else feeding them or removing their under wears, forced to wear pampers), repeated interrogations using scare tactics like making them believe that they can be killed or disappear anytime or that something will happen to their families if they don’t cooperate. Also, repeated denial to right to counsel at the time of the arrest, during interrogations and inquest. We also learned that interrogations at odd hours midnight continued even after our first visit last February 8. I immediately called the attention of Gen. Segovia about that. He said he would look into it.

Based on our team’s interview with the two (2) barangay kagawads who accompanied the raiding team and witnessed the search, there appears to be NO indication of planting of firearms or other evidence. I hasten to add though that we’re not prepared at this point to completely rule out such planting of evidence. A further probe is needed on this. I also agree with the detainees’ counsels, and I said this before, that the search warrant is patently defective on its face.

AFP’s failure to produce the 43 detainees at yesterday’s hearing is really a dangerous precedent in our justice system. The cited reason, lack of material time to prepare for transit the so-called high-risk detainees, to my mind, is not a valid one. It goes against the very essence of a writ of habeas corpus. If the AFP authorities had the will to obey the order, they could, with best or earnest efforts, have done so. A contempt citation would have been in order. I just hope and pray that between yesterday and the next hearing on Monday they’re no longer subjected to further interrogations, mental torture, indignities and other human rights violations. May I take this opportunity to issue this stern warning to the AFP authorities and detention officers/personnel to CEASE AND DESIST form performing such and similar acts. Irrespective of who they are, alleged NPAs or not, they all have human rights. No one deserves to be treated inhumanely.

Col. Aurelio Baladad, the representative of the military at the habeas corpus hearing, told the appellate court that there was no time to coordinate security measures for the health workers’ transfer from Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal, to Manila.

42 community health workers, suspected as “reds” detained in Camp Capinpin

Update: Kin of 43 health workers go to Supreme Court

Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) strongly condemned the illegal raid and abduction of 42 community health workers and doctors who were conducting health skills training in Morong, Rizal Saturday.

Around 300 soldiers and police of the Southern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Rizal Philippine National Police and headed by Colonel Aurelio Baladad and Police Superintendent Balonglong, respectively, forcibly entered the farmhouse of Dr. Melecia Velmonte around 6:15 this morning. The training participants were then lined up, frisked, blindfolded, and forcibly brought to Camp Capinpin, headquarters of the 202nd Infantry Brigade, AFP.

Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato, civil-military operations chief of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, said in a text message to GMA News that the 17 men and 26 women are suspected members of the rebel group He said initial investigation showed that the suspected rebels were conducting a training on how to make improvised explosives when they were nabbed by authorities.

Following the leader

Update: Martir,Preztosa and Paez were all confirmed.

Gloria Arroyo’s penchant for midnight deals seems to have rubbed on with some members of the bureaucracy.

Victoria Bataclan, president of the Union of Foreign Service Officers wrote to Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile in his capacity as chair of the Commission on Appointments to convey the grievance of the members of foreign service corps, this time not about another political appointee in violation of foreign service law but about another career foreign service officer, Patricia Ann Paez.

The CA is scheduled to meet today.

Brig. Gen. Jonathan Martir and Brig. Gen. Romeo Prestoza are also among those whose promotion to Major General are for confirmation today.

Martir’s name was included at the last minute. There is something wrong here because Martir is due to retire March 5. There’s a rule in the military that one cannot be promoted within one year to retirement.

We are told that a very influential member of the CA is pushing for Martir’s confirmation even if it’s in against the law because a security agency identified iwht the general supplies the guards for his son’s business. Talk of ethics!

Prestoza is lucky because Sen. Panfilo Lacson won’t be here to block his promotion. Prestoza, it will be recalled, was the one who enticed Mancao to implicate Lacson in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case. Success!

Paez, who holds the rank of career minister and is currently detailed in Malacañang as special assistant, is being promoted to Chief of Mission I. If promoted she would qualify for an ambassadorial assignment.