Unspeedy trial

By Ellen Tordesillas
March 27, 2009

At the court martial hearing of the 28 officers accused of mutiny for a February 2006 non-event last Feb. 26, it was agreed that the next hearing would be on March 10, 2009.

A day before March 10, the lawyers of the accused were notified that the hearing would be on March 20. No explanation was given why the agreed hearing on March 10 would not push through.

March 20 came and all the lawyers and the accused (except for two officers) were present at the Daza Park hall in Camp Aguinaldo. But there were only three members of the panel who would be hearing the case: Maj. Gen. Jogy Fojas, Commodore Ramon Punzalan and law member Col. Marian Aleido, when there should at least be four of them to constitute a quorum. One member was out of the country. Even the trial judge advocate could not explain the absence of the other members of the panel.

Atty. Vic Verdadero, counsel of Brig.Gen. Danny Lim and several other officers of the Scout Rangers, proposed to the court that they waive the quorum requirement so they can hold a hearing so as not to waste the time and effort of three witnesses who were present.

But the court played safe and decided that without a quorum, the hearing had to be adjourned. It was agreed that the next hearings would on March 24 and 26.

A day before March 24, the lawyers were notified that the hearing was cancelled. No explanation was given. Everybody looked forward to the Thursday hearing.

After that, nothing was heard from the Trial Judge Advocate that serves as the court’s secretariat. One lawyer, however, called the TJA Wednesday afternoon and was told that there would be no hearing the next day. No reason was given.

As of today, no hearing has been scheduled.

The right to speedy trial is a supreme human right that the Constitution mentioned twice in the Bill of Rights.Section 14, paragraph two, states that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until the contrary is proved and shall enjoy the right…to have a speedy, impartial trial…

Section 16 underscores that right again: “All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.”

The dictionary defines speedy as “ accomplished rapidly and without delay”. The accused have been in detention for three years. They submitted themselves to military justice and they are ready to accept whatever is the decision. But undue delay is something difficult for them to take.

Col. Aleido reasoned out that the defense lawyers were also to blame that the trial of this case had gone this long with their motions during the early stage of the proceedings. The defense lawyers quickly took exception saying that it was the delay in giving the accused the copies of the Pre-Trial Investigation Report and the Pre-Trial Advice that delayed the proceedings.

It took the Trial Judge Advocate five months to give the defense the PTIR and another three months to give the unsigned copy of the PTA which were the basis of the charges against the officers. “Surely, we cannot proceed without our knowing what’s the basis of the charges against our clients,” Verdadero said.

Atty. Rogelio Bagabuyo, counsel for Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, never tires of reminding the court that every day of delay in trial is a grave injustice to the accused officers.

Church-media attack on political system and trapos begins

ANALYSIS

By Alejandro Lichauco
03/26/2009

Political pros looking forward and maneuvering for elections 2010 should take note of certain developments recently which appear to herald the approach of convulsive events that could wipe out the entire political system — and, with that elections and the political pros.

One is the story whose title — “Clergy enter politics because of current system in gov’t — Rosales” — commanded top space in the Bulletin’s issue on Tuesday, March 4. The story reports the head of the nation’s preeminent diocese, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, as saying that “members of the clergy are being forced to enter politics because of the current political system that drives people to hopelessness.”

Elaborating, the Cardinal said that “The people are already tired of what has been happening in the country. Whoever we place there, it’s still the same type of people, only with a different face.”

This is the first time, to the knowledge of this writer, that a preeminent leader of the Catholic clergy directly assailed the political system itself and didn’t confine his attack on individual politicians or leaders. They are all the same, the Cardinal maintained. And they are all the same, of course, because of the very political system to whom they owe their elections.

Even as the Bulletin carried the Rosales attack on the system, the PDI, in its issue of the same day, March 24, carried an editorial on what it called “The failure of the trapos.” It was an unmitigated attack on the quality of the nation’s political leaders. In essence, the editorial’s theme was that the country can’t pin its hopes for change on the trapos and had better start looking elsewhere for the kind of leadership it needs.

Actually, the attack on the political system — and elections under the system started with the declaration of military nationalists called the Bagong Katipunan. Several years ago, the underground military group called for the suspension of elections and the reconstruction of the nation’s political system on the ground that the political system and elections conducted under it are rotten to the core and could only worsen the problem of poverty, graft and corruption. They said this in a declaration which appears in their Web site Sundalo.bravehost.com.

So there you are. You have military nationalists and reformers, a preeminent member of the clergy and influential member of media harping on the same theme: The trapos are behind the national sickness and therefore must go along with the political system that produces them.

I don’t know what you would read in these declarations but it seems to this writer that the views expressed — by elements in the military, church and media — on the failure of the political system and elections to provide the nation with the leadership it needs reflect what in fact is widespread popular sentiment and disenchantment with the very political system itself.

So rotten is the system, Cardinal Rosales is saying, that people are beginning to turn to the clergy for political leadership. And that, the good Cardinal should have added, is just as bad. You can run an angel or a saint in these elections and in time he will be acting like a trapo because the political system will make him so.

If then the assault on the political system itself waged by Cardinal Rosales and the Bagong Katipunan and on the trapos by the PDI is representative of popular opinion, then the project known as elections 2010 could be in trouble and what we could possibly be facing is a repeat of Edsa I under which civilian power, combined with military power, to abolish the then existing political system along with the then existing Constitution and the then existing Congress installed a revolutionary government which ruled without a Congress, without a Constitution and without the trapos.

Another Edsa I and a revolutionary or extra-constitutional government but with the lessons of Edsa I behind and in front of it?

To this writer’s mind that is what the preeminent Cardinal from Manila, an eminent member of media and an underground military nationalist organization are actually calling for — whether they intended it or not.

What do you think? Another Edsa I, this time with military idealists on the saddle?

Act Now!!!

TO ALL NEW KATIPUNEROS, MAGDALOS, PATRIOT SOLDIERS OF THE LAND, fellow Compatriots:

If you don't want any change
Don't do anything, stay where you are
Go about your daily chores
Don't think about the country, the one and only...
Don't think about your children's future, Philippines- the one and only...
Soon they'll grow, soon they'll work,
engineers or domestic helpers, they are all servants and slaves of other countries..
Let a few families of thieves, drug lords. and smugglers ruin our country,
Let them spoil and divide the lands...

If you want change, a real change
You have to act now...

There is nothing to hope in 2010...election will be rigged...agonies prolonged...

YOU HAVE TO ACT NOW!

LET US WAVE THE BANNER OF CHANGE
UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF GENERAL LIM

YOU ASK ME, WHY GENERAL LIM?
I ASK YOU...WHO IS YOUR ALERNATIVE?

YOU WANT ANOTHER POLITICIAN?
WHATEVER AFFILIATION, THEY ARE STILL POLITICIANS..
SNAKES! SNAKES IN THE GRASS!
ESCUDERO WITH COJUANGCO LORDING OVER HIM...
NOLI DE CASTRO.. JUST ONE OF THE THIEVES...
LACSON?...VILLAR?...ESTRADA?...THEY HAVE INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS!
POLITICIANS ARE POLITICIANS...DIFFERENT ACTS, SAME COLOR, SAME SKIN...
Oh! JUSTICE PUNO..DOES HE HAVE THE BALLS? DOES HE REALLY WANT TO ACT?
IS THERE ANYONE AMONG OUR POLITICIANS AND PREVAILING LEADERS,
WHO IS PATRIOTIC ENOUGH, NATIONALIST ENOUGH,
WHO IS WILLING TO DIE FOR OUR COUNTRY?

COME ON FELLOW COUNTRYMEN...
THIS IS THE TIME..

LET US UNITE UNDER GENERAL LIM
TO WHOM TO DIE FOR COUNTRY IS HONOR
TO WHOM NINOY'S ASPIRATIONS WILL NOT BE LAID TO WASTE
TO WHOM COUNTRY AND PEOPLE IS FIRST AND FOREMOST

WE NEED A LEADER WITH INTEGRITY
WE NEED A LEADER WITH LOYALTY
WE NEED A LEADER WITH HONESTY
WE NEED A LEADER WITH LOVE FOR PEOPLE AND COUNTRY

WE NEED LEADERSHIP THAT NEEDS PEOPLE

FOREMOST OF ALL
WE NEED PEOPLE TO ACT
WE NEED PEOPLE WITH COURAGE
WE NEED PEOPLE WITH HONOR
WE NEED PATRIOTS
WE NEED NATIONALISTS
LET US UNITE AND ACT NOW
FOR OUR COUNTRY, FOR THIS BELOVED LAND
FOR OUR CHILDREN, FOR THEIR FUTURE
UNSLAVE THEM FROM THE CURRENT DISPENSATION


FREEDOM

-From a comment posted by Bitnik Kibbutz

Erap's operators are destroying Gen. Danny Lim

AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR
By William M. Esposo
March 03, 2009

The political operators of convicted former president Joseph “Erap” Estrada have been hyperactive lately in trying to promote a power triumvirate featuring Estrada, General Danilo “Danny” Lim and Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

This idea was first broached by Alejandro “Ding” Lichauco in his January 22 column in the Tribune (“Puno-Lim-Erap triumvirate: The political future”).

Then my Ateneo batch mate, Jose Luis “Linggoy” Alcuaz, went to town sending text messages that an important announcement will be posted on Gen. Danny Lim’s website. The much ballyhooed ‘important’ announcement turned out to be the posting of Ding Lichauco’s triumvirate proposal.

More text messages from Linggoy pertaining to Gen. Danny Lim followed — commentaries on the recent full page ad of active and retired military officers hailing Lim as their leader, announcements by the lawyer of Danny Lim and so forth. If you did not know any better, you’d get the impression that Gen. Danny Lim has already entered into a political partnership with Joseph Estrada.

My friend Linggoy has long been what Luigi Pirandello described as a character in search of an author. Linggoy can also be likened to the nowhere man of the Beatles song. He was with Cory Aquino then fought Cory Aquino. He fought Estrada and now works for Estrada.

Save for the salivating Estrada camp supporters, it is easy to see that the convicted former president no longer generates the same level of support that propelled him to the highest office of the land in 1998. Trying hard to be seriously considered as a 2010 presidential candidate, Estrada cannot top the SWS and Pulse Asia surveys the way he topped the 1998 surveys.
It’s doubtful if Supreme Court Chief Justice (CJ) Reynato Puno was ever consulted or formally invited to join the proposed triumvirate. If CJ Puno is eyeing the presidency — which he denies — then Estrada has to be considered a liability and not an asset to a campaign founded on the platform of moral leadership.

This Chair Wrecker would have assumed that Gen. Danny Lim was not also consulted except that his website posted the Lichauco triumvirate article. Now unless that website is operating without the consent or control of Gen. Danny Lim — the logical conclusion to be made is that there is indeed a Lim-Estrada political alliance.

If so, that would spell doom to Danny Lim’s hopes to become an alternative leader. Just look at the following premises which were laid out by that full page ad endorsing Danny Lim as an alternative leader:

1. Vision of a country of peace, progress and prosperity
2. Need to strengthen ranks against a ruthless enemy
3. Desire for a new breed of leaders
4. That Gen. Lim has the moral authority to lead

Is Estrada credible at all being associated with peace, progress and prosperity? He went into an all-out war against the MILF when the economic situation (during the fallout of the Asian Currency Crisis of 1997) dictated that we cannot afford a war. His corrupt leadership made the bad economic situation worse.

How does Estrada strengthen Lim’s ranks when he is an obvious liability? Estrada subtracts not adds to the ranks of Danny Lim’s political forces.

How can Danny Lim lay claim to represent a new breed of leaders and one who wields moral authority if he will have Joseph Estrada prominently pictured with him as a political partner?
Most people are aware of the saying that “Birds of the same feather flock together.” Parents never tire warning their children to avoid bad friends with this saying: “Show me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.” Danny Lim must seriously weigh just what Estrada erodes from his image.

Frankly, this Chair Wrecker does not buy the claim that the full page ad extolling the leadership of Danny Lim is intended to promote Lim’s Senate candidacy. If it is, then it is money wasted because it is too early for those aspiring to run for the Senate in 2010 to be floating their names and projecting a desired public image.

This Chair Wrecker sees that Danny Lim full page ad as a float for the highest plum to be won — the top executive post. It could also be a signal for something that is about to happen.
Potentially explosive political factors have emerged — the instability resulting from the current global economic crisis, the real risk of an all-out war in Mindanao with the MILF, the foolish drive to railroad Charter change and the clashing US-China interests in the Philippines. It doesn’t require a political genius to see the many possibilities that an out-of-the-box political situation can develop.

Thus, it stands to reason that the Lim full page ad could be an attempt to position for an out-of-the-box situation. It cannot be called though an attempt to promote an out-of-the-box situation. The ad does not call for a political upheaval. It merely floats and endorses Danny Lim as an option.

A Danny Lim partnership with CJ Puno has tremendous possibilities. CJ Puno would represent the vital element of civilian authority over the military. CJ Puno is also associated with moral leadership and strict adherence to legal means for attaining change and reform.
Three is a crowd — especially if Joseph Estrada is that third person.

* * *
Chair Wrecker e-mail and website: macesposo@yahoo.com and www.chairwrecker.com

General Danny Lim, rebel with a cause

Reveille

By Ramon J. Farolan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
03/02/2009

Last year in early June, I visited the detained officers and men of the Magdalo group who are being held at the Camp Crame Custodial Center. Just to refresh the minds of our readers, in July 2003 some 300 junior officers and enlisted men took over the Oakwood Hotel in Makati City, denouncing corruption in government and calling for the resignation of the president. A day after, following 20 hours of negotiations, the mutineers surrendered, giving up their arms and returning to barracks.

As I mentioned in several columns on the subject in the past, the terms of surrender unanimously pledged by the government called for military justice under the Articles of War and not being charged in civilian courts. The late Max Soliven, publisher of the Philippine Star, dwelt lengthily on the negotiations in his column of Monday, Aug. 4, 2003. Soliven wrote: “What bothers me is that the mutineers are being double-crossed...”

To this day, no one in government has publicly repudiated the personal witness account of Soliven. And true to his apprehensions, in an unprecedented act of betrayal, the government charged 20 of the junior officers involved in a civilian court. They all pleaded “not guilty.” But after more than five years in detention, nine of the 20 changed their pleas from “not guilty” to “guilty,” and were pardoned by the Arroyo administration. Eleven junior officers including Sen. Antonio Trillanes continue to languish in jail at Camp Crame and it appears that under this government, the act of betrayal continues to be compounded by the slow pace of justice. As of July this year, the officers will be completing six years in jail for an alleged crime which government has not been able to bring to a close one way or another.

Six years in jail and still no end in sight!

When I visited the officers last June, Brig. Gen. Danny Lim, former commander of the Scout Ranger Regiment, was also with the group. Since Danny participated in the Peninsula hotel actions, he was separated from his former comrades who were involved in the aborted February 2006 movement. By coincidence, it was Danny’s 53rd birthday and jokingly, he mentioned that it was his sixth birthday celebration in captivity. Surrounded by family and friends, he appeared to be in high spirits, ready for the worst that could be thrown at him.

Danny Lim has always had a rebel streak in his bones. As a young captain in 1989, he made a brief TV appearance against the government during the Makati standoff. For this he was detained for almost three years and for a while, it looked like the end of a promising military career which began as a plebe at the Philippine Military Academy in 1973. In 1974, after completing plebe year with class 1977, he was sent to the US Military Academy at West Point, graduating with the class of 1978. By tradition, he could have joined PMA class 1977, his original group, but Lim is listed in the PMA alumni register as a member of PMA class 1978.

Like the legendary phoenix, Lim rose from the ashes of the 1989 coup to become a brigadier general. Just a few years ago, the brightest stars of PMA class 1978 were Brig. Gen. Delfin Bangit, the commander of the Presidential Security Group, and Lim. If anyone dared to predict who in the class would become AFP chief of staff, the choice easily narrowed down to these two gentlemen with each deferring to the other whenever the subject was raised.

Today they find themselves in contrasting situations. One is being groomed for AFP chief of staff; the other enters his fourth year in detention, his military career once more in limbo.

Last Monday, a full-page advertisement appeared in the Inquirer, extolling the virtues of Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim. The signatories declared their unity under his leadership, citing “his leadership qualities, his impeccable character, and his consistent display of uncommon valor and patriotism in the face of extremely difficult situations.”

Was it the first salvo fired for a Senate bid while in detention? Or was it a reminder that all was not well in the armed forces notwithstanding declarations to the contrary by government authorities? By the way, a full-page ad usually costs around P180,000.

Filipinos love rebels. Gen. Fidel Ramos was a co-leader of the first Edsa Revolt. He was elected president. Sen. Gregorio Honasan made it on his first try for the Senate. Sen. Antonio Trillanes with limited funds and minimal media coverage, and under detention, easily won also on his first try. If Danny Lim decides to join the political race, he would be welcomed with open arms by the opposition.

To my mind, Danny Lim is no political animal. I suspect that he would rather be back in the saddle commanding troops, than serving as a senator of the land. But this dream can only be realized under a new and completely different dispensation. And there are a few scores to settle. Shortly after his arrest, army authorities unceremoniously evicted his wife and daughter from their quarters in Fort Bonifacio. In a society that has always respected women, they became collateral victims in an age that has forsaken chivalry.

Danny’s father is pure Chinese from Xiamen; his mother, a Boholana. He grew up in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, finishing as valedictorian in high school then moving on to UP Diliman before entering the PMA. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Aloysia. They have an only child, 18-year-old Aika, a first-year architecture student at the University of Sto. Tomas.

Last Saturday, Danny was given a 12-hour pass to attend Aika’s debut. It was only the third occasion for limited liberty granted by Judge Elmo M. Almeda of the Makati RTC. With all the criticisms being made against our justice system, Judge Almeda must be commended for his willingness to temper the harshness of a basically political system with understanding and compassion.

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