By Ronron
July 10, 2007
Twelve of the 29 core leaders of the Magdalo Group that staged an attempted mutiny in July 2003 at Makati City pleaded guilty on Tuesday before a military court to a charge of violating the Articles of War.
The 12 who changed their original plea of “not guilty” to “guilty” to violating AW 96 (conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman) were identified as: Captains Milo Maestrecampo, Albert Baloloy, Gerardo Gambala, Elvin Ebreo, Laurence Luis Somera, and John Andres, and First Lieutenants Rex Bolo, Von Rio Tayab, Audie Tocloy, Cleo Dongga-as, Florentino Somera, and Kristoffer Bryan Yasay. All belong to the Philippine Army.
If the plea is accepted, the 12 face dishonorable discharge from the military service, military officials said.
The 12 or their lawyers did not say yesterday during the hearing at Camp Aguinaldo why they are changing their original plea, entered for them by the court two years ago.
But during the hearing last June 6 when they first manifested their intention to change plea, one of the defense lawyer admitted that one of the factors could be “practicality” since they will still be meted with the same penalty if the case is pursued.
“Besides, their case at the Regional Trial Court is bailable, so there will no longer be a reason for them to be detained except this court martial proceedings,” said Atty. Ed Abaya.
All 29 core leaders are also facing coup d’ etat charges before the Makati City Regional Trial Court, together with two enlisted personnel (who were already discharged from the service), in relation to the same incident, which will mark its fourth year this July 27th.
At the Makati RTC, almost all of the 31 charged were granted bail except for a few of the six hardcore leaders, identified as Maestrecampo, Gambala, Marine Captain Gary Alejano, Navy Lt. Senior Grade James Layug, Navy Lt. SG Antonio Trillanes IV (now resigned and a Senator), and Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon.
Court Martial President Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Legaspi said the court will hand down the verdict on the 12 and their sentence on the next hearing day, which has yet to be scheduled.
But he hinted of the dismissal by telling the accused before ordering the adjournment, “It doesn’t matter anymore because you know your sentence.”
Meanwhile, 12 other leaders opted to enter into a “special plea,” which, military prosecutor Col. Pedro Davila called as a demurrer or a motion to dismiss the case.
The 12 are Alejano, Layug, Capt. Segundino Opriano, Lts. SG Andy Torrato, Eugene Louie Gonzales, Cabuchan, Lt. Junior Grade Arturo Pascua, 1Lts. Nathaniel Rabonza, Sonny Sarmiento, Billy Pascua, Francisco Ashley Acedillo, and Ensign Armand Pontejos.
The court ordered the lawyers of the 12 to file their special plea in writing and submit it within 15 days. The military prosecution will also be given another 15 days to submit a comment on the special plea.
The remaining five leaders – Trillanes, Faeldon, 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan, 1Lt. Jonnel Sanggalang, and 1Lt. Warren Lee Dagupon – opted not to enter into a plea bargaining agreement for different reasons.
Trillanes, Faeldon and Sanggalang were not around, while San Juan said he would still await the action on his change plea motion at the Makati court. Dagupon, for his part, invoked his right to remain silent, but the court took it as a not-guilty pleading.
Aside from the 29, seven other junior officers are still facing court martial proceedings.
Just last June 12, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo approved the plea-bargaining agreement entered into by 54 other Magdalo junior officers with the court martial. They were sentenced to jail until January 27 next year and will then be meted with dishonorable discharge.
A few other accused officers have been cleared of the charges by higher military authorities, while over 180 enlisted personnel who also participated in the takeover were already absolved, after also entering into a plea-bargaining agreement.
The 300 soldiers and officers took control of the former Oakwood Hotel in Makati City last July 27, 2003 in protest of alleged corruption in the government, particularly the military organization./DMS
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment