by Victor Reyes
THE chief prosecutor in the court martial of 28 military officers implicated in the supposed plan to overthrow the Arroyo government in February 2006 yesterday said he has recommended to AFP chief Gen. Alexander Yano the dropping of the mutiny charges against almost half of the accused.
At the resumption of the trial against the officers, chief prosecutor Col. Jose Feliciano Loy however said Yano did not approve or deny the recommendation. He did not say when he made the recommendation or exactly how many officers he recommended for “nolle prosequi.”
“I made a lengthy communication to the convening authority (Yano). Had the convening authority approved it, the charges against half of the accused would have been withdrawn at this point. But the recommendation was returned without action,” said Loy.
Loy made the manifestation after the defense panel inquired about the status of the prosecution’s earlier pronouncements that it will request for a nolle prosequi (do not pursue), or the discontinuation of the trial against some of the accused.
Initially, Loy asked that his statement be kept off the record but the court wanted it reflected on the records for transparency. Loy’s revelation prompted the defense to ask the court to compel him to furnish the tribunal a copy of his recommendation.
Defense lawyer Trixie Angeles said the Loy recommendation proves that the prosecution has no case against at least 14 of the accused. He said these officers have been in detention for over two years and “one minute longer is one minute too much.”
In an apparent attempt to force the prosecution to name the officers recommended for nolle prosequi, lawyer Teddy Rigoroso said he is filing a motion to dismiss the case on behalf of his clients – Maj. Francisco Domingo Fernandez and Lt. Belinda Ferrer.
This got the ire of Loy who said that the defense should not be filing such motions because they were still in the pre-trial stage. He said such motions should be filed after the prosecution and the defense are through in the marking of their evidence.
Rigoroso then asked if Loy had any objection to his motion in fact and in law and in equity and in justice. Loy replied that he thinks the prosecution has sufficient evidence against his clients. Rigoroso said he will later file a written motion.
The court’s law member, Col. Marian Aleido, said the court cannot compel the prosecution to submit to the court a copy of the nolle prosequi recommendation, saying the matter is between the prosecution and the convening authority under the court martial procedure.
Yesterday, the prosecution marked additional evidence against the accused – affidavits of some officers, including that of Lt. Michael Cuarteros who was initially charged for involvement but was later dropped as a respondent; and the video of accused Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim shown on television while withdrawing support from President Arroyo.
The defense also submitted as evidence affidavits of Maj. Oriel Pangcog, a former Scout Ranger operations officer who was also a former accused in the case but was subsequently cleared; and that of Col. Ariel Querubin.
Querubin’s lawyer Rodrigo Artuz asked the court to summon former AFP chief now ambassador to Iran Generoso Senga, then AFP deputy chief of staff for intelligence now AFP deputy chief of staff Lt. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang and Querubin’s wife Maria Flor, as witnesses.
Lawyer Gilbert Gallos, counsel for accused Col. Orlando de Leon, tried to have a stipulation of facts with the prosecution, which denied most of the assertions, including Senga’s instruction to former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda to meet with the Marine officers on the night of Feb. 23, 2006 after information reached him that the officers were planning to join protest actions; the award of a medal to De Leon by Miranda’s successor, now Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, for his role in the peaceful resolution of the Feb. 26 standoff at the Marine headquarters; and Miranda’s assurance to then Navy chief Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga that no Marine officer will join the protest actions against President Arroyo.
Captions:
1. Scout Rangers including Brig. Gen. Danny Lim
2. Col. Ariel Querubin and Col. Nestor Flordeliza
3. Col. Januario Caringal
4. Col. Orlando de Leon
5. Col. Achilles Segumalian and Lt. Belinda Ferrer
6. Col. Armando Bañez
My blog was upgraded and I don’t know how to post photos under the new format. Pasensya na.
A recommendation of the dropping of charges merits the highest attention of the CSAFP. He surely doesn’t want any of his innocent soldiers incarcerated any further, or is it beyond his authority now?
Yugyugin yan si Yano para gumising, bawal sa sundalo, lalo’t Peemayer, ang natutulog sa pansitan! O baka naman na-Euro na rin?
hanggang ngayon ba Ellen sobra pa ang pasikot sikot ng mga lintek na yan, like loy and yano? malinaw naman na walang ground ang kanilang pag-prosecute sa mga opisyales na ito. puro harrassment lang talaga.
papogi point rin itong ginagawa ni loy….
wala talaga, puro bulok na ang mga iyan…. may pag-asa pa ba?
Wow, I’m learning to post photos under the upgraded format of this blog. I’ll post some more later together with captions.
Yano made no comments because he still has to consult the one who will make the decision-Assperon. In this case Assperon is the complainant, the court, the law, the lawyer, judge and executioner and he enjoys seeing those officers languishing in jail. So forget about the dropping of the charges.
If we are to give honor to our soldier fathers like General Artemio Ricarte, General Antonio Luna and others who resisted without wavering, the American invaders of our nation and their collaborators like Macabebe Scouts, the Philippine Constabulary and other Filipino traitors, we must unite to campaign with our own strength and resources to have all of these brother soldiers of ours for their release the soonest. These brother soldiers of ours have been carrying their mission in the tradition of our forefathers- the genuine soldiers of the Filipino Nation. Their moves have been consistent with the moves of our soldier forefathers- the resisting of the Americans who until now control our foreign affairs system, political system, economic system, education system, our defense system and other vital functions of our nation thru the Gloria Macabebe Arrovo Puppet Government.
Let us start by knowing the history of the Filipino-American War. We will see the pattern of American control of our nation then and until now.
Once you drew the ire of the president tacitly they will throw the books, paperbacks and all copyrighted, copied wrong or imagined.
the prosecutor ought to resign that position if his recommendation is not followed.
Why are you mad at the Americans Jose Miguel? What did they do to your country? Nag punta lang iyong mga police sa Moscow nag iscandalo na. You better hang-on to the Americans because they are the only friends you got. Dito sa America pag naka lusot lang ay mabuti ang sueldo ng mga Pinoy dito. Pag nag retire ka dito nang matanda, may pension ka at may health care pa. Di kong gusto mo isara mo ang Dept. of State at wag mo bigyan nang visa ang mga kano and they will do the same to you and the rest of the Pinoys. That’s called equal footing. Okay ka lang ba niyan? Iyong ibang journalist diyan ang gusto nila ay ang America mag bigay ng pira sa U.N. to support them to buy contraceptive to curb population explosion in the world. Twisted freaks, what kind of mentality do you have? Shi…for brain?
dandaw,
wag mo ng intidihin mga tao na reject ng visa at na deport.
ang nahalata ko ay ang slow grind of justice. Mahaba tuloy ang media exposure ng lahat, mali o tama. Ang mali ay ang gastos habang inaatupag ang “due process”. Tapusin na at kung convicted, eh di wala na sahod na binabayaran ko. At kung dismissed, eh di mapakinabanagan pa magtraffic sa EDSA.
dandaw Says:
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:08 am
Why are you mad at the Americans Jose Miguel? What did they do to your country?
…Why dandaw, is the Philippines not your country too?
I am expecting it that mutiny charges filed against the Magdalo soldiers will be dropped. Especially now that there is the issue of 6.9 M. that was question by the authority in Moscow, Russia,involving the respected generals and their wives. The government has to do something that will divert the issue and will create a little satisfaction to the Filipino people. Alam kasi nila na mahal ng tao ang mga sundalong ito at hindi rin nila kayang ikaila na mabubuting mga sundalo at maganda ang mga record ng mga yan especially Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, Ariel Querubin and other soldiers. Kahit nga sa jip kapag napag kwentuhan ang Magdalo, ramdam mo agad ang simpatiya ng mga ito sa kanila. No one can put down a good sodier lalo kapag wala namang Kredibilidad ang gagawa ng ganon. Please continue praying kasi yun na lang ang katulong natin upang malagpasan ang sobra sobrang kahirapan!
If the gov’t of (Pandak) will drop the charges for the Magdalo she should also drop charges for Trillanes. The hieght of arrogance of this gov’t and the injustices that were done to these group and Trillanes is beyond comprehension. The rightious and people who played by the rules are being punished. Yes, Bitch Evil, Philippines is my country too long time ago but I’d rather be here than there. I’ll just pray that someday Pinas will be liberated from the tyranny of those stupid and corrupt politicians. Just you wait that time will come.
I am sorry dandaw. Maybe I was just a little emotional. Maybe I could not help but appreciate the sacrifices of our soldier forefathers to liberate us from American control because they have already foreseen what will happen to us today under the hands of the Americans. And indeed that is what is happening to us today. And only genuine soldiers led today by Gen Renato Miranda and Gen Danilo Lim are what is left to continue that resistance. The first line of defence of our invaders is GMA who is their puppet government. She is the objective of our resistance because she is collaborating with our enemy. Miranda and the rest of the resistance soldiers are fighting a legitimate war against a ruthless subtle enemy- the Americans.
When the Americans invaded our country 1899, we Filipinos resisted. It took 70,000 American soldiers years to control the resistance. Our death toll was enormous, both from battle casualties and disease. An American Marine Major, Littletown Waller, was accused of shooting eleven defenseless Filipinos, without trial, on the island of Samar. Other marine officers described his testimony: “The major said that General Smith instructed him to kill and burn, and said that the more he killed and burned the better pleased he would be; that it was no time to take prisoners, and that he was to make Samar a howling wilderness. “Major Waller asked General Smith to define the age limit for killing, and he replied ‘Everything over ten.'” In the province of Batangas, 1/3 of the population of 300,000, had been killed by combat, famine, or disease. In the very first battle, American Navy on the Pasig River fired 500-pound shells on us Filipinos in the trenches. Our dead were piled so high that the Americans used the bodies for breastworks. A British witness said: “This is not war; it is simply massacre and murderous butchery.”(1)
Sometime in the 1950s, there have been killings of some of us Filipinos by Americans in Clark Field, Pampanga when it was still a U. S. Base. But the American military refused to hand over the killers to the Philippine courts for trial. There was an incident in which some of us Filipinos were alleged to be pilferers were shot down like dogs inside the American bases. There was also the detention of Enrique Santa Maria, a Filipino mining operator, by the Clark Field U. S. Air Base authorities for mining in Bueno Hill, Capas, Tarlac, which was within the American reservation. In 1964, one of us Filipinos, a boy in Clark Field was shot in the back by an American sentry. This was followed shortly by the killing of another one of us, a Filipino fisherman by American sentries at the Olongapo Naval Base in Subic, Zambales. In 1968, another one of us Filipinos was shot to death by an American sentry in Cavite. The following year, another trigger happy American soldier, who was off duty, went hunting with his service pistol, in broad daylight shot to death another one of us, a Filipino employee of the military base. The American soldier said he mistook that one of us Filipinos for a “wild boar.” The American military court hastily tried the offender and acquitted him. A few days later, he was reported to have left for the United States.(2)
68 participants in the International Solidarity Mission from the Philippines, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China (Taiwan), Japan, South Korea, Netherlands and the United States visited Zamboanga City, Basilan, General Santos City and Manila from July 24 to 31, 2002 to gather information and asses the impact of the presence of U. S. troops. They investigated the shooting of an unarmed civilian among us by a US soldier in a small village of Tuburan town on the island of Basilan. The wife and mother of Buyong Buyong Isnijal testified on what happened just after midnight on July 25 when American soldiers directly participated in the raiding, shooting and arresting in their home without any warrant. The wounded victim was taken by the military after the incident and his family was left uninformed about Isnijal’s whereabouts. Other relatives, neighbors and medical personnel corroborated this information. Delegates of the ISM decry the fact that US soldiers seem to have been given free reign to play the role of military and even police in local matters, bypassing the civilian authorities.(3)
There was a case of an american marine convicted of raping a Filipina. The convicted american was sprang out of Manila City Jail by Americans helped by Filipino Government Officials.
(1) Zinn. Howard, A People’s History of the United States
(2) Agoncillo, Teodoro A., “History of the Filipino People,” Garotech Publishing, 117 2nd St., Bitoon Circle, Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City, 8th Edition: 1990, pp. 527-529
(3) International Solidarity Mission, Statement of the, “Against U. S. Armed Intervention in the Philippines July 24-31, 2002,” http://www.yonip.com/main/articles/intervention.html
Download your free copy of William Cooper’s Legacy, Behold A Pale Horse here.
ms. ellen, i dmire and salute your opinion and articles re issues in our society. please continue to inform us and we will support your truthful and factual journalism. our prayers and concerns for your safety and to all journalists who are doing their share to inform the public inspite of harrassment and intimidation of the powerful malacanang mafia and arroyo corrupt-poration.
minsan nababalewala ng publiko ang tapang at pakikibaka ng mga journalists na katulad mo, at bagkus binibigyan pa ng masamang kulay ang mga prinsip[yo at krusadang pinaglalaban nyo. ngunit matatalino ang pilipino a alam kung sino ang totoo at nagpapanggap lamang. dumami pa sana ang lahi mo.
Mabuhay ka ms. ellen! and to all filipinos continue searching for truth,accountabilty and justice.
may Our God help our country to unite us as one and provide us a sincere, patriotic, honest leader/s…who will guide this country toward greatness.
magtiwala ka,may pagbabago tungo sa kaunlaran kung tayoy magkakaisa – be a hero on your own little way, report any acts of abuse, corruption, injustice, bribery and etc. dumadami sila kasi di natin sinasaway.
mabuhay ka pilipino!
There was never any mutiny! All these are all “palabas” of the asspweron to continue shielding the evil bitch! If there was any wrong doing, baka “conduct unbecoming of an officer” lang. This prescribed last February. Maybe even disrespect to the cheat illegal president! This too already prescribed. Besides, if these men of honor did something “wrong” that caused them their liberties, it was all in protest to the corrupt ways of the evil bitch and her lapdog generals! Just look at the actuations of her “lapdog” asspweron with the MoA obviously engineered to prolong his master’s rule and of course that of his. For as long as the evil bitch is in power, he will continue to be the beneficiary of the “rewards” for orchestrating the “election cheating” operations in 2004! Asspweron rules!
For as long as the asspweron holds the evil bitch by the neck, everything he wants will prevail. Afterall, it is not just the strings he is pulling, it is “rope”! Matibay ang “batak” ni asspweron!
Asspweron was the architect of these men’s incarceration-pampalapad ng papel siyempre. The Mayuga report would not have been whitewashed if these officers were not incarcerated!
Of course, asspweron would not like to look like a fool! Very “thick” faced, ok lang. Sobrang “kapal” yet he manages to walk around with it! As long as he holds the power over the evil bitch and the evil bitch is the Cheat Commander of the AFP, these incarcerated men may not see the light of day.
My only hope is that, when the country evolves into a better one, not the “Most Corrupt” country as it is currently tagged, that these men will find it in their hearts to forgive the maltreatment done on them by the most corrupt leaders our country ever had. That their families will heal in due time and believe in the system again. May some of them aspire to be future leaders to overhaul the “sick” government and put away the crooks who put us into the bottom of the pit!
There is hope for these men. Just continue to hang in there!
Ang tanong, psb, pababayaan ba ni Yano na magpatuloy ang ganitong kalakaran? Naiiba ba siya o isa rin siyang Asspweron?
Jose Miguel,
You had a very good study of the atrocities of the Americans. How would it compare with the atrocities of the Japanese?
TT, a nolle prosequi (did I spell it right) was submitted to Yano for his action. But Gen Miranda made a letter to the press alleging that Yano is no different from the ass. So Yano did not act on the request. Nasaktan siguro sa sinabi ni General Miranda. But if Yano is indeed different from the ass, he should not be so onion skinned that a letter coming from General Miranda would bruise his ego. Yano should think about the welfare of his men more than his ego, if he is for real. Abangan natin ang susunod na kabanata.
parasabayan,
I was also able to read the letter of General Miranda. As a Marine myself, I admire him for writing such. That letter even suggested to Yano that all the junior officers except him and Gen Lim should be released from jail. Gen Miranda is invoking Command responsibility on his part. He is ready to face all the charges alone. In fact, that letter DRAWS FIRE AWAY from his subordinates. Yan ang tunay na COMMANDER. Hindi gaya ng iba dyan na gagawa na lang ng lahat ng paraan para maisalba lamang ang sariling leeg.
We salute you Gen Miranda , Sir!!!
FILL IN THE GAPS
Why can we not have the soldiers among us in prison today released? Because there is not enough force to bring about their release.
Why is there not enough force? Because many of us Filipinos are not affected by the situation of soldiers among us resisting the GMA government.
Why do many of us are not affected? Because many of us have a different aspiration in life alien to that of soldiers among us resisting the GMA government.
Why do many of us have a different aspiration in life alien to that of the soldiers resisting the GMA government? Because many of us have for aspiration the welfare of ourselves or that of our family ONLY, while those of the soldiers among us have for aspiration, ourselves, our family INCLUDING that of the whole nation of us Filipinos.
How can many us realize an aspiration which includes that of the whole nation of us Filipinos? When many of us would FEEL that the WHOLE NATION OF FILIPINOS is much a part of us, as we are much a part of the WHOLE NATION OF FILIPINOS.
How can we have that feeling of having the whole nation of Filipinos as much a part of us, as we are much a part of the whole nation of Filipinos? By sharing the experiences of the fathers of our national conception, our independence movement, our birth of our nation, our struggles to remain a sovereign nation and our resistance movement such as Bonifacio, Ricarte, Antonio Luna, Alejandrino, Bugallon, Lucban, Sacay and many of our heroes.
How can we share the experiences of the fathers of our nation? By following their footsteps whenever we encounter the same situation AFTER we have read their biographies.
How do we know that their footsteps were on the right steps? By reading the history of nations admired for their high in economic index, progress, health status of their people such as France, Finland, Japan, Israel and Vietnam and learn how they responded to similar situation and struggle in the development of their nation.
Only then can we realize that: our nation today is pathologic; we are still under American rule in a more subtle way today than in the 1900s; we have been penetrated by the Chinese; GMA is indeed a puppet government of the Americans and the Chinese controlling our nation; the only normal reaction is to resist foreign invaders and their puppet government; the real role of the Filipino soldiers among us is to defend our nation against foreign invaders; that the Filipino soldiers among us, having resisted GMA were just doing their duty—a legitimate act.
Only then can many of us Filipinos can have a greater force to have the Filipino soldiers among us now in prison released.