When news of the arrest of former assemblyman Homobono Adaza and four of his friends for “proposing to commit coup de’tat” broke out early afternoon last Wednesday, our reaction was of disbelief and concern.
If the Adaza report were a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces do not fit.
Although Adaza’s companions- Army Lt. Col. Oscarlito Mapalo, retired colonels Ernie Amboy (Army), and Cesar dela Peña (Marines) and retired Police Supt. Rafael Cardeño – at one time or another figured in some controversial activities while in the service, they are not known to have a following in the military.
After the Manila Pen incident on Nov,. 29, 2007, where “dissent without action” was all that the brave, patriotic officers got from an Arroyo-abused public, there has not been any talk of a brewing rebellious activity in the military. The replacement by Gen. Alexander Yano of Gen. Hermogenes Esperon as AFP chief of staff has helped create an environment of professionalism and has greatly diminished restlessness in the armed forces.
Later on, reports said Adaza and company would also be slapped with charges of extortion and estafa. Based on a complaint by lawyer Raymond Fortun, Adaza’s group tried to extort from his client Japanese businessman Monotori Sakuma $4 million to stage a coup againt the Arroyo government.
The Japanese businessman was reported to be involved in a legal squabble for control over a beach resort.
The next day, an additional charge of “obstruction of justice through harboring a fugitive” was included because Cardeño has been wanted for the Dec. 2001 murder of Baron Cervantes, who had passed himself off as spokesman of the Young Officers Union.
We asked our usual reliable sources and we have good reasons to believe that this is a simple case of extortion. Although Adaza says the charge of coup d e’tat is preposterous because he has no army and his companions are retired officers, we get the sense that he does not categorically deny it.
Which is understandable because it’s much more honorable to be accused of attempting to unseat the illegitimate president than be involved in an embarassing extortion activity.
AFP Chief of Staff Alexander Yano has the good sense of not riding on the “coup angle” . He said there has not been any report of movements in the military.
That’s why we are puzzled by the insistence of PNP Chief Avelino Razon that “there is enough basis to charge them with a plot to commit coup d’etat.”
“Even as we speak, follow-up operations are ongoing to get to the bottom of this new coup plot.We have reason to believe that they are plotting against the government, ” he said.
It’s seldom that we agree with Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez but we believe he is right in suggesting that it could “only be an extortion attempt using a coup plot as pretext.”
Ellen,
The name of the alleged Japanese victim of this extortion seems fictitious to me, because there is no such name as “Monotori” although Sakuma is a common family name in Japan. “Monotori” means to take things, or in tagalog, “nanenekwat”!
Halata namang imbento lang ang kukurakot nilang panakip butas sa mga kabulastugan at kurakutan under this fake regime. Kahit na anong sabihin ni Pandack Omama bistado na siya. Konting hagod na lang sa mga pilipino at baka gumising na rin sila.
Adaza is too smart as a lawyer to allow himself to be caught in that situation. It’s unbelievable. What surprised me was not the arrest; but the involvement of Fortun who’s the complainant. Anyway, the truth would come out later. This government has the history of accusing and then retracting.
grizzy Says:
Konting hagod na lang sa mga pilipino at baka gumising na rin sila.
ooooooo
Hi grizz … sa totoo lang, insulto ang koment na yan sa mga pinoy. Da truth is, kahit anong insulto sa pinoy ay di sila kikilos. Gloria knows pinoys too well, kaya tuloy ang gloria – ligagya.
I agree with kejotee as to the truth about the kapinuyan and Gloria.
“That’s why we are puzzled by the insistence of PNP Chief Avelino Razon that “there is enough basis to charge them with a plot to commit coup d’etat.””- Ellen
Baka naman si Razon ang sekretong inutusan ni Gloria para kunyari ay meron kukuruku-coup sa kanya, malapit na kasi ang ZONA at ang bruha ay laos na laos na at huling assignment na ng hepe ng Police Ni Pidal (PNP) bago magretiro.
Napakaimposible namang kailangan pang sabihin ng extortionists sa Hapon kung saan gagastusin ang kinokotong sa kanya.
Eto ang gustong palabasin ni Razon:
Nagkausap sina Adaza at ang Hapon at ganito ang sinabi -“Sakuma-san, bigyan mo kami ng $4M, para mabuksan na yung resort mo, kung hindi, papatayin namin yung dalawang Pinoy na kalaban mo at ikaw ang madidiin. Siyanga pala, gagamitin namin yung $4M para i-coup d’etat si GMA.”
Sino’ng gago ang gumawa ng pekeng script na yan? It won’t stick because it’s stupid.
siRaulo said “it could only be an extortion attempt using a coup plot as pretext.”
Contrary to what the Gunggong said, Sergio Apostol on the otherhand said on radio the government holds enough evidence to back the charges filed against Adaza’s group which is also Razon’s line.
Kontra-kontra sila sa EK, tuliro. Malamang iyan ay plain extortion na sinakyan ni Gloria d’ Puta para mapag-usapan siya and justify the thousands of Police ni Pidal (PNP) and militar that will secure her kapututan when she delivers her fake SONA.
Razon is due to retire in September.
maybe he learned a lesson from his classmate, esperon, who was extended because he told gloria of the threat posed by the NPA’s and the military rebels.
Maybe he also wants to be extended.
Balita ko nga gustong tumakbong mayor.
But you know Tongue, I can believe that Adaza said about the coup to the Japanese. Just to give a semblance of something patriotic in what they were doing.
Semblance lang ha. This group has degenerated to a bunch of petty criminals. Sayang si Adaza.
Alam mo dito sa amin, Chi, pag iyong Chief of Police puro speculation lang tapos di pa nag-iimbestiga, inuunahan na iyong mga reporters sa media, sinisibak iyan lalo na kapag nalamang nagsisipsip lang pala. Papogi points pa ang ungas. May galit lang siguro iyan si Razon kay Adaza, tapos kamag-anak siguro ni Fortun, para bumango kay Gloria Dorobo, nag-imbento ng istorya na para lang naman sa mga gunggong din na maniniwala kuno sa kanila. Kasi kung matalino naman ang bumabasa ng balita, baka nalaglag na sa silya sa katatawa kasi kahit bobo alam na kagaguhan ang pinagsasabi nila! Ulol talaga, di ba?
Gusto lang nilang swindil-in iyong hapon na komo di marunong ng ingles, akala nila bobo. Di nila alam mas masahol pa iyan sa hudyo! You know, iyong merchant of Venice na hudyong shrewd and cunning. Pero sasama sa coup iyong hapon? Ano gago? I doubt lalo na wala naman siyang mapapakinabang doon. Iyong hapon ang magpa-finance ng isang coup? Kahit yata yakuza, hindi naman magpapagago ng ganyan. Kaya siguro minali pa ang pangalan ng kausap kuno nilang hapon kasi baka makasuhan sila ng libel!
Iyong gunggong naman, Chi, nagmamaang-maangan pa e pihado namang kasama siya sa mga usap-usapan tungkol sa destab plot kuno nila to help save the face of the Pandack Omama. Ang sabihin mo, hindi sila nagkakasundo-sundo ngayon dahil siguro sa parang unfair distribution ng mga nakaw! Mga ganid talaga! 🙁
Parang tingin ko ay hindi nagkaintindihan yung grupo ni Adaza (kung kasama nga siya sa kikilan group) at yung Hapon. Baka dahil gusto ni Hapones na ma-take-over yung business, eh ususally yung term na ‘kudeta’ ay minsan nagagamit to express a ‘take-over’. Na-mis-understood siguro na akala niya ay yung impyernong administrasyon ni Gloria Engkantada a iku-coup! Hahaha! Baka bopol sa Ingles at pati si Atty Fortun ay naguluhan na rin! Kaya nagkaso ng ‘proposal to commit coup d etat’!
Eto namang mga kapulisan sa pangunguna nila Razon ay mukhang medyo ninerbyos at pwede ring gusto magpasikat kay Gloria. May mga sundalo kasing mga involve kaya nag-1+1 equals 2 ang mga nerbiyoso!
On the contrary, iyong coup d’etat na salita ay ginagamit din sa wikang hapon. Internationally accepted ang salitang iyan at ina-adopt sa kahit na anong wika. Kaya hindi puedeng hindi alam ng hapon ang implication. Ang kaso baka peke namang hapon ang ginagamit nina Fortun, et al dahil akala nila kapareho nilang mokong ang kausap nila komo patango-tango. Hindi nila alam na ang mga hapon ay may kustumbreng tumatango-tango at nagsasabi ng “hai” o “ee” bawat sentence ng kausap dahil kundi baka kasi sabihin hindi sila nakikinig. In short, courtesy lang iyong pagsabi ng hapon ng “yes” na baka siyang inakalang handa siyang magpaloko. Mga gago din ano?
Ang leksyon niyan? Iyong salawikain na “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!”
Yuko, Luz n’ Gab,
Mas believable ang comments ninyo na hindi nagkaintindihan dahil sa language barrier at hindi nagkasundo (unfair distribution). Sinamantala ni Razon para magpasikat sa kanyang Milady for purposes of service extension (natuto kay Ass) ang mokong.
Ang deprensya lang, tulad ni Gloria ay laos at wala ng naniniwala sa kukuruku-coup.
Chabs,
If you analyze it, the Jap had 2 lawyers, Fortun and Adaza. His problem is his resort’s opening is being held back by some people. Why did he select Adaza? Because he is known to be close to military people. When things get from bad to worse he can count on Adaza’s military connection to twist an arm here or there. Or simply demolish the obstruction. He does not have that option with Fortun.
Upon knowing the Jap’s objectives, the military guys (who are partners, btw, in a security agency) saw a good business opportunity and probably demanded a price too expensive for the Jap to be able to afford but he feared that as he revealed his intentions, he is now open to extortion, he had to tie the loose ends and jumped the gun on a possible blackmail. Thus, the fabricated story that the officers will kill 2 people and frame him.
The coup d’etat was likewise a “pilit” concoction which does not connect to either the resort’s problems and the Jap’s worst-case murder option. All the players, including Fortun and Razon know that these guys were either old, retired or on the run. The possibility of these guys pulling a Coup, assuming the Jap did raise $4M, is nil. Everybody knows that. Except the Jap.
Fortun cannot refuse a client. Especially one that has an issue against other lawyers, his own competitors. Fortun knows a coup-d’etat charge cannot stick. What he does know is that a non-existent high crime can drag and be very expensive and physically taxing it can only achieve to harrass the other party. Of course he knows, too, that it will be dismissed. Cardeño and Dela Peña were simply victims of bad timing.
We’ve read and seen not a few times that before intel people take coup rumors seriously, they wait for Adaza to confirm it first, oftentimes he was the first to announce it. In this case, it was the Jap who broke the news.
Granting these arguments up to this part were true in favor of the Jap, it still doesn’t hold why supposed criminals on the very act of committing the extortion would announce to their victim how they plan to use their profits – a coup – according to the Jap’s own tale. A fault he commited first and attributes later to his fall guys.
This is a classic case of a failed deal where the prospective client revealed more than he should have.
Tongue,
That’s a brilliant analysis.
Just wanted to know why Raymond Fortun is not Erap’s lawyer anymore/ why he is sacked by Erap?
As I mentioned earlier, Fortun has long parted ways with Erap’s group. If former opposition guys like Sotto could be bought by Malacanang, why can’t lawyers like Fortun?
Sinabi mo pa BE. Is this Fortun with the Narvasa Group? I heard stories about that firm. The possibility that the evil bitch is behind this is very high. You know naman that for the right price and prize, so many are falling in line to do anything for her. She is known to PAY those she owes something from PRONTO and PALDO!
Tongue, ok ang analyses mo. Sino ba namang loko loko and magsasabi ng paggagamitan ng proceeds ng extortion money? Alam lang kasi ng lahat na kapag “coup” ang pinaguusapan, lagot ang kahit sino dahil pihadong kulong o patay ang kinalabasan. Look at how the Tanay Boys are treated now. They are incarcerated on just the word of asspweron that they were plotting a coup! Kay evil bitch, siya lang ang pwedeng mag-coup at wala ng iba pa!
I wonder what position or pay off was promised to Fortun to pull this one?
Kulang na lang magsuklob si Fortun ng bayong na may butas. Tanong ko lang kung nag-file ng complaint naman iyong hapon sa pulis sa ginagawang pag-i-extort sa kaniya?
Hindi lang extortion ang kasong ito, frame up pa. Diyan expert ang rehimen ni Pandack Omama. Mag-iimbento ng kaso, tapos kakasuhan iyong gustung ipitin na makikipag-negotiate naman para makalabas, tapos publicity stunt na naman about how magnanimous the Pandack Omama is for granting pardon to the repentant convicted felon whose crime in fact has never been really established as in the case of Erap.
Anong klaseng hustisya iyan? I can’t understand how Filipinos can tolerate it. 🙁
Offtopic.
Mamimintas muna ako. 🙂
Yuko,
Did you see the Dorobo modelling a $3000 piña ensemble (Malaya)? Tingnan mo ang posing at expresyon ng pagmumukha, sineryoso ang pagiging modelo, ahahahaha! Hindi bagay sa impakta ang mamahaling damit. Kinulapulan ng make-up ang mukha, mas pangit pa ang resulta.
She bragged about her $3,000 dress. It only looks like P30 when she wears it.
3,000 dollars daw? Sobra naman ang mahal, di naman bagay doon sa nagsuot. At least, si Imelda kahit mumurahing saya, gandang tignan. Kahit nga duster sa Divisoria, mamahalin pa rin ang dating, pero si Pandack Omama, kahit anong bihis, mukha pa ring bangketa! Yuck!
Sabi ko nga, Chi, parang bangkay na minek-apan. Ang baho ng dating!
Psst. Huwag kayong maingay, ha. $300 lang talaga ang presyo nun. Nag-tongpats lang yung wardrobe consultant ni Gloria. May 50% discount pa nga dahil kalahati lang ang haba ng tela.
Another classic tale, ala-Emperor’s new clothes!