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Brigadier General Danilo Lim
11/29/2007

ISSUES






PERSONAL

* Born and raised in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya (Youngest of five brothers.)

EDUCATION

* Finished elementary and high school in Solano
* University of the Philippines freshman when he took and topped the Philippine Military Academy entrance exams
* Philippine Military Academy, while at PMA, he took and topped the the US Military Academy entrance exam
* US Military Academy, Westpoint, graduated in 1978
* took the Scout Ranger Course, and graduated No. 1
* took Advanced Infantry Course at the Infantry School in Fort Benning, Georgia, topped the course, and awarded the Distinguished Allied Student Award for that year.

CAREER

* Commanding Officer, First Scout Ranger Regiment (April 10, 2005 - )
* Deputy commander, First Scout Ranger Regiment (January 2002)
* Commander, 42nd Infantry Battalion (July 9, 2000 - Sept 15, 2001)
* Chief of staff, DILG Undersecretary Narciso 'Jun' Santiago
* Member, RAM-SFP-YOU Peace panel in the negotiations
* Chief of operations, First Scout Ranger Regiment
* PMA instructor
* Commander, forward Recon Unit of the 1st Infantry (Tabak) Division in Jolo, Sulu


AFFILIATIONS

*Former founding chair, Young Officers' Union (YOU)
*PMA Class 1978. Lim entered PMA together with Class '77 but he finished his schooling in West Point '78
*Other members of this batch:



Sources: AFP website, INSIDE PCIJ, Malaya, PCIJ, Philippine Army

By Philippine News Online

MANILA, February 25, 2006 (STAR) (AFP) Brigadier General Danilo Lim, arrested Friday for his alleged role in a plot to unseat President Gloria Arroyo, was considered a highly respected army officer despite his record of involvement in past mutinies.

A 1978 graduate of the West Point military academy in the United States, he led the elite Scout Rangers, who were at the frontlines of campaigns against communist guerrillas and Muslim separatists.

Military chief General Generoso Senga said Friday he had taken Lim into custody after the regiment commander had revealed to him his desire to lead some men against Arroyo.

"A case will be filed against him based on the investigation that will be conducted," said Senga, who stated he had convinced Lim not to go ahead with his plan.

Political commentator Julius Fortuna, writing in the Manila Times last year, described Lim as "respected in military circles for his idealism, integrity, expertise and bravery."

But Lim was also know for his prior involvement in military coups.

On the night of November 30, 1989, Lim, who was a captain along with then major Abraham Purugganan and colonel Rafael Galvez, led the Young Officers Movement (YOU), a covert military fraternity, in a nine-day siege of the Makati business district.

This was part of a coup attempt by rightist military forces against the government of Corazon Aquino, who was installed after the fall of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos on February 25, 1986.

Ninety-one people were killed and 570 wounded during the 1989 coup, the bloodiest of the four failed mutinies against Aquino.

Almost 3,000 officers and men were involved in that coup attempt which would have succeeded if not for the intervention of the US airforce which was then still based at Clark Air Base north of Manila.

American jets buzzed the city and Lim and his troops stood down with many later being jailed. The coup was quashed but the economic fallout lasted for years.

As part of his effort to achieve political stability, Aquino's successor, former military chief Fidel Ramos, signed a peace agreement with the military coup plotters and granted them amnesty.

Over a hundred of these officers were reinstated in the military and some like Lim later received promotions.

Last year he was brought in by Arroyo to play a leading role in the armed forces after the YOU issued a statement that it was being revived to counter the alleged corruption of the government.

Lim obliged, saw the grumbling officers and then later declared that the YOU was no more.

However sources close to the opposition say that Lim had also been forging ties with other anti-Arroyo figures who are seeking the president's ouster for alleged election fraud and corruption.

Government officials Friday said the alleged new plot involved military officers like Lim using rallies marking the 20th anniversary of the 1986 "People Power" revolution to publicly withdraw support for Arroyo.

ATSH-B
SUBJECT: Letter of Commendation



CPT. Danilo Lim
Allied Student Training Detachment
United States Army Infantry School
Fort Benning, Georgia 31905


1. I commend you for your superb performance of the Infantry Officer Advance Course Army Physical Fitness Test.

2. Your perfect score – 300 points out of 300 possible – is most impressive. You were the only non-American officer in IOAC Class 1-87 to attain a perfect score on the event.

3. As you return to the Philippines, I wish you the best as you pursue what I am certain will be an outstanding career.



RICHARD T. RHOADES
LTC, INF
Senior Faculty Adviser

ATSH-SE-ASTD
SUBJECT: Letter of Commendation


CPT. LIM, Danilo D. 900-87-0011
Infantry Officer Advanced Course 1-87
JUSMAG-Philippines, APO San Francisco 96528-5000


1. You are to be commended for your outstanding performance in the Infantry Officer Advanced Course Physical Training Programs. As a result of your diligent effort, you received the highest score possible on the Army Physical Readiness Test (300).

2. This score surpassed the majority of our US classmates and was the highest score obtained by an allied student in the past year. You have set the standard for all future allied officers and you are a great credit to the Army of the Philippines and your county. You epitomize the phrase “Lead by Example.”

3. I will expect you to continue this fine performance and to rise to positions of great responsibility in your army.



THOMAS J. WILSON JR.
Major, Infantry
Commander, Allied Student
Training Detachment

President Aquino
Malacanang Palace
Manila, Philippines

Dear Madam President,

I am respectfully writing this letter to you on behalf of Captain Danilo D. Lim, one of your officers currently being held in maximum security detention at Fort Bonifacio for his participation in the December military rebellion. I cannot offer any advice for I know nothing about Philippine politics. I cannot offer any words as to “Danny’s” guilt or innocence because that is a matter of Philippine law and courts to determine. The purpose of this letter is to request clemency in Danny’s case and to provide some insight into his character and conduct.

I first met Danny during the summer of 1974 when he and I were new cadets undergoing the rigors of a West Point “Plebe’s” first summer. I believed then, as I still do, that the Philippines could not have sent a better representative of all that is good in the Philippines than Danilo D. Lim. I thought then “if all the officers in the Philippine Army are as idealistic as Danny, what a wonderful group to which to serve.” Watching Danny over the following four years did not diminish that thought. Everyone at West Point who knew him, knew him to be fiercely idealistic: honesty beyond question, unfailingly trustworthy, and unswervingly loyal. He was known as a man who would follow his conscience and pursue his ideals regardless of the personal risks.

Danny so impressed my parents that, after their first meeting, Danny was considered a regular member of our family. Several times, even when I could not get away, my parents would travel to West Point to pick him up for a weekend’s leave. My father often remarked to me that he wished Danny could serve the US Army because of the need for men such as he in our ranks.

For four years at West Point Danny excelled academically and athletically. He told me many times that he felt it was his duty to his country and “his people” to do as well as he possibly could.

I did not lose track of Danny after our graduation in June, 1978. We corresponded often. I was never more proud of him than when I learned that he won the Gold Cross for gallantry-in-action and was seriously wounded while fighting the Communist insurgents in Mindanao. He loved his subsequent assignments to the Philippine Military Academy because it was there where he felt he could impart to the young Cadets the high ideals of love of country, care for one’s troops, and concern for one’s people.

Danny came back to the United States for additional military training. I often spoke with him about his possible advanced civilian schooling in the US and even about the possibility of immigration to the US. He was always adamant about his desire to return to the Philippines. He always said that his country, his soldiers, and his people needed him.

Whatever Danny did, I am sure that it was a result of his genuine concern for the Filipino people and the soldiers entrusted into his care. He is not the kind of man who is motivated by personal gain. He is my best friend in the world and I love him as I would love my older brother. Please Madam President, take into consideration Danny’s idealistic nature when the time comes to review his case.

I know Danny and I understand professional soldiers and what motivates them (I was retired from the US Army as a Captain for permanent physical disabilities uncured in the line-of-duty). Even though I am not a wealthy man, I will fly to the Philippines and will testify on Danny’s behalf if you need any assistance with his case. You have but to call on me.

Respectfully yours,

(Signed)
Richard D. VonOrsdale

Copy: General Renato De Villa
Chief of Staff, AFP

Secretary Fidel Ramos
Secretary of National Defense

Words from Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim

By Julius F Fortuna
(The Manila Times - Opinion Section – July 26, 2005)