Reveille

By Ramon J. Farolan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
03/16/2009

This morning the long gray line coming out from the Philippine Military Academy will be lengthened by 184 fresh graduates who will be commissioned second lieutenants in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The young man who is graduating at the top of his class, cadet Karl Winston Cacanindin, comes from the little-known province of Aurora, the son of a public schoolteacher and a municipal official.


Of all the educational institutions of the land, none is probably more democratic than the Philippine Military Academy. Here, no one cares for your birthplace, your religion, your social standing, your family fortune or whether your parents are married. The cadets come from every part of the country and in that sense they represent the youth of the land, from the Batanes Isles to the Sulu Archipelago. The great majority of these young boys and girls are from the middle and lower classes of Philippine society. And for many, entrance to the PMA represented the only opportunity for higher education with the possible realization of dreams for a better life. For a few, the vision of someday being AFP chief of staff was also part of the dream.


The members of PMA class 2009 join the Armed Forces at a critical juncture in the life of our nation. They are being asked to serve our people with courage, loyalty and integrity. The secretary of national defense, Gilbert Teodoro Jr., recently reminded them to strictly follow and observe the military code of honor, admonishing them not to lie, steal or cheat.

These are good reminders but as these young men step out of the cloistered halls of Fort Del Pilar into the real world, how do we explain to them the contradictions they will face in their new life?

We ask them not to cheat. But our politicians cheat like hell in order to win elections and at times, use the Armed Forces for their own purposes and advantage. By the way, when will the secret Mayuga report on alleged AFP participation in the 2004 elections be de-classified and made available to the public?

We ask them not to steal. But politicians and administration stalwarts steal from the national coffers as though it were their personal piggy banks. And they continue to do so, supremely confident that they will be protected by those in power. No one goes to jail. In fact, the only people in jail are the Magdalo junior officers and the marines and scout rangers who were involved in the February 2006 actions—all soldiers who decided this regime was not worth dying for. The civilian allies of the administration like Benjamin Abalos, to give only one example, have not even been charged over cases of plunder magnitude.

We ask them not to lie. But in the current Legacy scandal that has resulted in the forced leave of SEC Commissioner Jesus Martinez, guess who is being reported as his replacement? Deputy Executive Secretary Manuel Gaite. Remember the Good Samaritan who lent half-a-million to Jun Lozada, a complete stranger, on the basis of a phone call at two in the morning? The money was reportedly borrowed for house repairs. All this was revealed in Senate hearings on the aborted ZTE-NBN scandal. In other countries, Gaite would probably be charged as an accessory to a cover-up. Only in the Philippines would such an individual be considered for a position in the Securities and Exchange Commission, an agency tasked with regulating business in the country.

The fertilizer scam involving Joc-joc Bolante has almost been forgotten. Remember how Bolante sought asylum in the United States when the Senate wanted to question him about the disappearance of P728 million in funds for our farmers? He is back in the country after being denied asylum, but it appears he could have saved himself so much discomfort in a US immigration detention center by remaining in the country. After the sound and fury of hearings at the Senate, all remains quiet at the Office of the Ombudsman.

And before I forget, how can this regime invoke the military code of honor when it double-crossed the Magdalo junior officers who were promised military justice after surrender? As Max Soliven put it, “Word of honor binds those who give them, not the accused or imprisoned.”


Now what does all this mean to our cadets and young officers? The message is clear: If you must lie, lie to protect the administration. If you must steal, make certain some of it goes to the administration. If you must cheat, cheat in favor of the administration. You will be assured of protection and you may not see the inside of a courtroom. Like Gaite, you might even be rewarded, perhaps even with the position of AFP chief of staff someday.

* * *

In a recent column, I had some special notes on PMA icons. I reported that in the history of the academy, only one individual graduated No. 1 in the class, and also served as first captain (baron) of the cadet corps. This was cadet Leopoldo Regis, class of 1951, who died in the crash of President Ramon Magsaysay’s plane in 1957.

Two days ago, Navy Capt. Winston Arpon, class 1964, sent me a sheaf of his literary work and corrected me, saying that the No. 1 graduate of his class and also first captain was cadet Manuel Arevalo. Unfortunately, the Academy Scribe that lists the Graduation Day awardees for every PMA class has Manuel Arevalo as the Presidential Sabre awardee (No. 1 graduate) but lists the Chief of Staff sabre awardee, which goes to the first captain of the corps, as Jorge P. Agcaoili. But Winston Arpon should know best. After all, he served as a member of the Regimental Staff when Arevalo was first captain.

Because of this error, I also discovered that there was a third cadet who served as first captain of the corps and graduated No. 1 in the class. Cadet Aristeo Ferraren of the class of 1938 held both positions. That makes three individuals with this rare achievement.

A wonderful writer—I thoroughly enjoyed reading his notes on “Witful Thinking, Wednesday”—Winston Arpon served at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. as an assistant of Ambassador Kokoy Romualdez. He has his own column for the PMA community posted weekly on the Internet. On graduation from the PMA, Arpon was awarded the following: JUSMAG Military Professional Award, US 13th Air Force Socio-Humanistic Award, DND Press Club Journalistic Award, Chief of Services Award and Philippine Constabulary Award. (This last one is a bit puzzling, as Arpon is a Navy man.)

* * *

We all know by now who are the top graduates of class 2009. Nothing has been said about the “goat.” But whoever he is, let me point out that the goat of class 1937 was Gen. Jonas A. Victoria and the goat of class 1938 was Gen. Augusto L. Jurado. Guess what!? Both became commanding generals of the Philippine Air Force.

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.

By TESSA JAMANDRE
VERA Files

Exactly three years ago today, hundreds of Marines marched in full battle gear outside the Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, defending their commandant who was then accused of mutiny. The soldiers and their officers said theirs was a legitimate cause: They were merely protesting what they said was the fraud-ridden 2004 elections which Gloria Arroyo won.

The lives of those officers and men have changed, and 28 officers of the Marines and the Army Scout Ranger remain detained for what government said was a mutiny. Yet so far, the prosecution has only presented seven witnesses who have yet to pin them to the charge. Today also marks the 36th court-martial hearing of the 28 officers.

It was the afternoon of Feb. 26, 2006, while the country was under a state of emergency, that 600 Marines protested the relief of their commandant, Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, who was being linked to a destabilization plot. Thousands of civilians, including former President Corazon Aquino, also braved the emergency rule and showed up in Fort Bonifacio armed only with prayers and fighting spirit in support of the Marines.

The people knew there was more to Miranda’s relief as commandant. Armored personnel carriers suddenly rolled in front of the Marines headquarters and the six-foot-tall Lt. Col. Achilles Segumallian led the march of combat-ready Marines, saying, "Ang gusto lang naman namin ay isang malinis na halalan."

After Miranda accepted his relief, everyone returned to barracks except for nine officers, among them the only two living Medal of Valor awardees in the Marines: Col. Ariel Querubin and Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon. The nine officers, including Miranda, were detained along with 19 other officers from the elite Army Scout Rangers led by Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim whom the government also accused of "conspiracy to attempt to create and begin a mutiny."

Forty enlisted men of the Scout Rangers were also jailed, although only for over a year. But life in and out of detention, the enlisted men say, has not been kind to them. They were never given their day in court, and were dismissed for following orders from their superiors. Now out of jail, they say they cannot find jobs because they were dishonorably discharged.

For the 28 Marine and Scout Ranger officers, three years in detention at the Intelligence Service of the AFP and Camp Canpinpin in Tanay, Rizal has been marked by births, illnesses, and deaths in their families, and by livelihood ventures and spiritual enrichment.

At least five babies were born to the officers while behind bars. Army Capt. William Upano had no such luck for many years until he was detained. His second baby is on the way. Maj. Jason Aquino was blessed with another baby just when his daughter was already in high school. Lt. Col. Nestor Flordeliza, a Scout Ranger who is near retirement, can only be thankful for his first boy who celebrated his first birthday last week. And Capt. James Sababan’s only daughter — he has three boys — was christened last Christmas in Camp Capinpin.

When son Amiel was born two years ago, the wife of Capt. Ervin Divinagracia, Marlyn, wished her husband was with her in the hospital. Last November he was with her in the hospital; she died in his arms as she lost the battle to leukemia. Marlyn left him to raise their two children, a tall order for someone in detention at the ISAFP.

Also last year, Aquino lost a sister to breast cancer while in jail. He never got a chance to see her before she died.

Detention has denied the Marine and Scout Ranger officers a chance to see their sick loved ones. Capt. Allan Aurino wasn’t there to care for a wife who underwent surgery to remove a myoma, while Miranda can only wish to be with his wife who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Miranda had issued two statements urging the release of everyone else, offering to face trial alone. After he retired from the service last December, he said the court has lost jurisdiction over him and sought to be released to the custody of a military defense counsel.

But the detained officers have been making the most out of detention, especially to help their wives who now bear the brunt of earning for the family. While the lieutenants make cheese pimiento spreads, the captains tend a vegetable garden and a tilapia pond and raise poultry in their detention facility in Camp Capinpin. The major and colonels held at ISAFP have tried soap-making.

Some of the detained officers in Tanay have also enriched their spiritual lives through the "Purpose- Driven Life" experience.

Three years in detention, however, has apparently not quenched the detained officers’ fervor for truth and justice. Last week, they issued a manifesto declaring that they have formally united under the leadershp of Lim.

Some have interpreted this to mean that they were prodding Lim to run for public office in 2010, just as detained Navy Capt. Antonio Trillanes IV did in 2004. Although a senator, Trillanes remains in detention at Camp Crame.

Lim has responded to the declaration of support through a statement released by his lawyer: "Not one to shirk away from the challenges and responsibilities, I accept the mantle of leadership bestowed upon me by the collective wisdom of the leaders and followers of the various reformist groups. I will do justice to the trust and I commit myself to the attainment of the aspirations for a country of peace, progress and prosperity."

(VERA Files is the work of veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for "true.")

(Convenor - Mandirigma laban sa mga Ganid, Mandaraya, at Abusado (MANDIRI GMA)
By: Ambassador Roy V. Señeres


It is deplorable that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is still unaffected in spite of the serial emergence of (as in “serial killer”) scandals in the country. These scandals have wreaked havoc to almost everything that the Filipinos hold dear namely democracy; good governance; morality; good customs and traditions such as delicadeza and amor propio; national pride; nation-building, and national unity.

The AFP either wittingly or unwittingly, is still clueless about what it means to be “Protector of the People of the Philippines.” It will serve them well to revisit two relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Philippines, to wit:

“Article II, Section 3 – Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military. The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the Protector of the People and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of its National Territory.” And---

“Article VII, Section 18 – The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion, or rebellion.

The phrase “Protector of the People” is clear and unambiguous. Needless to say, we the Filipino people are the Protectorate of the Protector, not any single individual even if he or she is Commander-in Chief or President of the Philippines, especially so if that President is under the glare of a noon-day sun, sitting on top of a towering mountain of excreta comprised of the Hello Garci Scandal; the Norberto Gonzales Venable Scandal; the Jose Pidal Scandal; the JocJoc Bolante Fertilizer Fund Scam; the Nani Perez Scandal; the Vicky Toh Scandal; the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard Scandal; the North Rail Scandal; the Mikey and Iggy Arroyo Jueteng Payola Scandal; the extra-judicial killings; the rampant violations of human rights; the unceasing smuggling especially at the SBMA; the Joey De Venecia III expose of the ZTE-NBN bribery and overpricing; the Malacanang bribery scandal and many others that judging from the serialization of these scandals, are just waiting to emerge or be unmasked. And more especially so that a vast number of Filipinos are of the opinion that the incumbent President cheated her way to the presidency in 2004. Moreover, reliable surveys show the trust rating of this incumbent occupant of Malacanang is virtually zero. “Public opinion,” according to Charles Dudley Warner “is stronger than the Legislature and nearly as strong as the Ten Commandments.”

For the Ladies and Gentlemen of the AFP to fully fathom the length and breadth of their role as “Protector of the People,” they must not only revisit the two provisions of the Constitution as above-quoted, they must also absorb into their minds the in-depth analysis of the Armed Forces’ role, by Father Joaquin G. Bernas S.J., on page 59 of his book entitled “The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, A Commentary,” published by the Rex Book Store, 1999 Edition, relevant portions of which are quoted as follows:

“2. Role of the armed forces.

“The second and third sentences of Section 3 originally discussed by the 1986 Constitutional Commission under the General Provision, are meant to express the philosophy that underlies the existence of armed forces.” (Underscoring mine.)

“The two sentences, however, also yield a meaning which was not articulated during the Commission debates. When one reads them in the light of the unsuccessful military coups of 1987 and the reasons given for them, and especially in the light of the successful and civilian-approved coup of February 1986 which became known as the February Revolution, one cannot escape the conclusion that the armed forces can be a legitimate instrument for the overthrow of a civilian government that has ceased to be a servant of the people.” (Underscoring mine)

“Civilian supremacy, in other words is, in the final analysis, not a guaranteed supremacy of civilian officers who are in power but of supremacy of the sovereign people. The Armed Forces, in this sense, is the Protector of the people and the State.” (Underscoring mine.)

It is clear from the foregoing that where there is a conflict between the Protector of the people clause and the Commander-in-Chief clause of the Constitution, the former must prevail.

Notwithstanding Father Bernas’ counsel that the armed forces can be “A legitimate instrument for the overthrow of a civilian government”, I am not asking the AFP to stage a rebellion or sedition or coup d’ etat. After all, there is a completely legitimate, peaceful and bloodless way of terminating the reign of a government that “has ceased to be a servant of the people”, and that is by way of withdrawal of support.

Article 134 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) defines rebellion as “rising publicly and taking up arms against the government xxx.” To withdraw support, the AFP does not have to rise publicly or take up arms against the government.

Article 134-A says, inter alia, that a coup d’ etat is a “swift attack accompanied by violence, intimidation and threat, etc.” To withdraw support, the AFP does not have to swiftly attack anyone.

Article 139 says the crime of sedition is committed by persons who “rise publicly and tumultuously in order to attain by force, intimidation, etc.” To withdraw support, the AFP does not have to rise publicly and tumultuously.

Withdrawal of support is not a crime. Otherwise the Supreme Court would have said so. In the two landmark cases, the Supreme Court narrated the withdrawal of support from President Joseph E. Estrada of General Angelo Reyes, AFP Chief-of-Staff, and Director General Panfilo Lacson of the PNP. The high court repeated the phrase “withdrawal of support” 16 times but it did not say a word on whether or not it was improper, illegal, unconstitutional, or unacceptable. (Page 8, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, and 34, “Joseph E. Estrada vs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo G.R. No. 146738; and Joseph E. Estrada vs. Aniano Desierto et al., G.R. No. 146710-15)

It is noteworthy that Justice Jose C. Vitug even wrote a concurring opinion where, despite the withdrawal of support of Generals Reyes and Lacson, he declared: “The basic structures, the principles, the directions, the interests, and the spirit of the 1987 Constitution have been saved and preserved.” (Page 14, concurring opinion)

Sure of my thesis about the legality of withdrawal of support, I came out with a public statement in March 2006, that I was among those who personally advised General Danilo Lim to withdraw support from Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. After my public statement in support of General Lim, some of his comrades asked me to convince the others especially those who persistently goaded General Lim to withdraw support, to also come out with a public statement similar to mine as there was a great likelihood according to them, that thousands of soldiers might just come out of their barracks to come to the side of the detained General. I tried to convince some of them but to no avail. “Nag bahag buntot silang lahat,” according to General Lim’s comrades. The poor General Lim. He now suffers quietly in detention, abandoned by the men who inveigled him to do what he did that fateful morning of February 24, 2006. Indeed, there is truth to Kennedy’s woe: “Victory has so may fathers, defeat an orphan.”

General Danilo Lim did not commit any crime. He tried through the legitimate avenue of withdrawal of support, to unshackle the Filipinos from the grip of what he believed was and still is an illegitimate regime.

It is relevant to quote at this juncture Thomas Jefferson, circa 1787, thus :”I hold it that a little rebellion now and then, is a good thing and therefore, necessary in a political world as storms in the physical… it is a medicine for the sound health of government.”

The internationally respected Washington Sycip, appear to have agreed with Jefferson, when in a speech (published by the PDI on March 19, 2007) he said: “While western nations and financial institutions were critical about the last coup in Thailand, I, together with my Asian friends were glad that it took place. We saw that a coup, with the pre-approval of the King, would be bloodless and would enable the Thai government to correct the many abuses of the Thaksin government.” (Underscoring mine.)

I am sure Sycip and his friends also saw that Thaksin’s sins were not as numerous and humongous as those of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Thaksin was, comparatively, a juvenile delinquent.

But unlike Jefferson and Sycip, I am not asking the AFP to rebel or to stage a coup d’ etat. I reiterate, am only asking it to withdraw support.

Even before the emergence of this regime’s series of scandals starting mostly in 2006 with the Hello Garci revelations, F. Sionil Jose, national artist for literature, in 2004 already called for revolution. In an article he wrote for the Far Eastern Economic Review (December 2004 issue) entitled “A call for revolution in the Philippines,” he said:

“By what right do I have to urge revolution upon our people who will suffer from it? I have no such right, nor will I call it such. I call it duty, duty, duty, duty for all rooted in our soil who believe that freedom is our destiny xxx” “xxx look around us, at the thousands of Filipinos who are debased and hungry, who are denied justice. Be ashamed if you do not act.” (Underscoring mine.)
Protector of the People to the Philippines, be ashamed if you do not, at least, withdraw support.

Posted at www.ellentordesillas.com
November 10, 2008

I think Col. Feliciano Loy’s tantrum near the end of last Friday’s court martial hearing of the mutiny case against Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and 27 other officers was more panic than anything else as reality dawned on him that what he has is a losing case.

“We believe that the prosecution has been trapped, We will have to withdraw from the pre-trial,” he said eliciting surprise, disgust, anger and amusement from the defense lawyers.

Col. Loy is the head of the prosecution team implementing the order of former AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon to have the 28 officers convicted for allegedly planning to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo in February 2006 following the revelations in the “Hello Garci” tapes that she cheated in the 2004 elections.

The 28 officers including Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and two Medal of Valor awardees, Col. Ariel Querubin and Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon, were charged with mutiny despite the recommendation of the panel that investigated the February 2006 non-event to dismiss the charge of mutiny (violation of 67th Articles of War) “for lack of factual and legal basis.”

The officers were also charged with conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman (violation of AW 96) and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline (AW 97) and disrespect towards the president (AW 63). But these minor charges were dropped when no arraignment was conducted after two years.

Last Friday was the third pre-trial hearing. At 3:30 p.m., Loy reported to the panel that both sides were through with stipulation of facts and the marking of evidence. He declared the end of pre-trial and for them to go to trial proper. He even made a snide remark for the officers who have been in detention for almost three years “to prepare for a long battle.”

Atty. Donald Diaz, counsel for Lt. Col. Parcon and Capt. Aurino, reminded the prosecution the agreement that no additional evidence would be presented or else there would be no end to the “fishing expedition” and that would defeat the purpose of the pre-trial. No objection was raised to that.

When the hearing resumed after a short break, Atty. Rogelio Bagabuyo, counsel for Maj. Gen. Miranda, said that in the interest of speedy trial, he is admitting “hypothetically that all the evidence presented by the prosecution are true.” He said he is filing a demurrer because the evidence presented “are not enough to convict the accused of mutiny beyond reasonable doubt.”

A demurrer is a pleading in effect that even if the facts as alleged by the opposite party are true, they do not sustain the contention based on them.

All the defense lawyers manifested the same pleading. Atty. Vic Verdadero, counsel for Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, said, “We shall not be using our evidence. We admit that the prosecution’s evidence is true and that they cannot sustain the charge of mutiny.”

The pre-trial investigation report on the Feb. 2006 incident defines mutiny as “concerted insubordination, or concerted opposition, defiance of, or resistance to, lawful military authority by two or more persons subject to such authority, with the intent to usurp, subvert, or override such authority or neutralize it for the time being.”

The pieces of evidence submitted by the prosecution consisted mainly of affidavits of officials who were at the “Gazebo,” a reception area in the residence of the AFP chief of staff in Camp Aguinaldo, the night of Feb. 23, 2006. At that time, it was the residence of the AFP chief Generoso Senga, who is now ambassador to Iran.

They were supposed to be discussing the restlessness of the young officers over the “Hello Garci” expose which validated what they knew that the military was used extensively to cheat in the 2004 elections in favor of Arroyo. There was talk about some officers planning to join the protest rally the next day, the 20th anniversary of the 1986 People Power. The meeting ended with Senga giving the order to “Go back to barracks” which everybody obeyed.

One of the affidavits in the prosecution’s arsenal is that of Esperon, who was then the chief of the Philippine Army.

Loy said the defense team was being “presumptuous” because they have not presented the witnesses themselves.

Atty. Teddy Rigoroso, counsel for Maj. Francisco Domingo Fernandez and Lt. Belinda Ferrer, said since the witnesses are not expected to say anything contrary to what is contained in their affidavits, they would just be wasting time because the defense would just agree to what the witness would say.

Loy asked the court to nullify what transpired in the three pre-trial hearings. That’s when the soft-spoken Bagabuyo, who was a former senior state prosecutor, turned testy. He told Loy that “it is never right for any one to say ‘Yes’ today and say ‘No’ the next day. That is never done.”

Atty. Trixie Angeles, counsel for Maj. Jason Aquino, asked the court to order Loy to “tell the truth” and show cause why he should not be cited for contempt for delaying the trial.

Atty. Gilbert Gallos, counsel for Col. Orlando de Leon, took exception to the allegation of Loy that the “prosecution has been trapped.” He said no one forced the prosecution to submit their evidence. All that the defense was doing was to admit their evidence. “I can’t understand where he is coming from.”

I think I understand. Loy’s statement betrays his own assessment of the weakness of their evidence. What if the court approves the defense’s demurrer? AFP Chief Alexander Yano, in contrast to Esperon who was known to exert pressure on the panel, has always said he will respect the decision of the court.

If the demurrer is approved, the accused officers would be released to go back to the service. Will Arroyo and Esperon allow truth to prevail?

The panel headed by Maj. Gen. Jogy Fojas denied Loy’s motion to nullify the pre-trial proceedings. He gave the defense seven days to submit their demurrer and another seven for the prosecution to comment. Next hearing is on Nov. 28, 2008.

By Victor Reyes
Malaya
November 06, 2008

THE defense panel in the court martial of 28 Army and Marine officers linked to the alleged attempt to overthrow the Arroyo government in 2004 yesterday renewed its bid for the military tribunal to dismiss the mutiny charges against the accused.

Vicente Verdadero, counsel for former Scout Ranger Regiment commander Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and several other accused, informed the court that he is filing a formal motion to demurrer. "It’s like a motion to dismiss," Verdadero told reporters. "The evidence cannot sustain the charge of mutiny."

Verdadero, however, declined to elaborate on the supposed weakness of the evidence of the prosecution headed by Col. Jose Feliciano Loy. "I do not want to telegraph my punches to Col. Loy."

Defense lawyers have filed similar motions to dismiss in the past but these were denied by the military tribunal, now presided over by Army Maj. Gen. Jogy Leon Fojas.

The military court started trying the accused officers in December 2006 for their alleged plan, subsequently thwarted, to march to the Edsa Shrine in February 2006, join the anti-government demonstrators there, and publicly withdraw their support from President Arroyo.

The defense yesterday continued marking its evidence with Rogelio Butch Bagabugo, lawyer of former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, one of the accused, offering the sworn statement of his client and 11 other officers, including then AFP deputy chief of staff for intelligence now AFP deputy chief Lt. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang.

Miranda’s evidence included the pre-trial investigation report that recommended the dropping of the case of mutiny against the accused for lack of merit. The recommendation was reversed by a pre-trial advice that was approved by then AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon.

The prosecution in turn presented its issues to the court, to wit: whether the court has jurisdiction over the accused officers; whether there was conspiracy; and whether the accused indeed committed mutiny.

The defense panel’s issues included whether there was conspiracy to commit mutiny, whether the prosecution evidence is enough to overcome the presumption of innocence of the accused; and whether the prosecution can convict the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

www.sundalo.bravehost.com
October 21, 2008

MUTINY CHARGES against more than half of the military officers involved in a 2006 plot to oust the government were recommended dropped for lack of evidence.

Military prosecutors told a court martial yesterday that they have recommended to military chief Gen. Alexander B. Yano the dropping of charges against 16 of the 28 military officers who tried to overthrow the Arroyo administration in February 2006.

Court martial proceedings are being held against the military officers headed by former Marine commander Ma. Gen. Renato P. Miranda and former Army Scout Ranger chief Brig. Gen. Danilo P. Lim.

Col. Feliciano Loy, head of the military prosecution panel, said the letter of recommendation to Mr. Yano "was returned without taking any action. It was neither denied nor approved."

He stopped short of disclosing the names of officials recommended for deletion from the charge list.

Mr. Yano has the authority to convene or dismiss court martial proceedings.

Trixie Angeles, lawyer for Maj. Jason Aquino, one of the accused, and collaborating counsel for Mr. Miranda, said the mutiny charges against all officials should be dismissed based on the prosecution’s admission of lack of evidence to pursue the charges.

Other defense lawyers also asked the court martial president, Maj. Gen. Jogy Leo Fojas, to direct Mr. Loy to furnish them a copy of the letter to Mr. Yano.

Mr. Loy, however, said the letter was a "personal communication between me and general Yano."

Col. Marian Aleido, a member of the court, said: "We could not grant the oral pleading to dismiss the case because we have not heard yet the evidence of the prosecution."

Mr. Loy said other evidences can be presented against the accused.

The 28 officers remain in detention pending the resolution of mutiny charges.

By Romy Lim
07 July 2006
Malaya

BRIG. Gen. Danilo "Danny" Lim, relieved commander of the Philippine Army First Scout Ranger Regiment, really took his licks from the official comment made by the AFP on the video where he allegedly announced his withdrawal of support from the government. A very tragic fate, if not an outright maltreatment, from the institution that he has served so well.

(Very Important Prisoner)

By Fe Zamora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
July 23, 2006

BRIG. General Danilo Lim has the heart of a civilian trapped in a soldier’s battle-scarred body.

“Maybe I should have not been in the military,” Lim told a friend who had visited him recently at his heavily-secured military quarters at the Philippine Army Officers’ Village (Paovil) in Fort Bonifacio. “I cannot be a fence-sitter; never was, never would be,” Lim was also supposed to have said.

Outside his leafy abode, a group of soldiers man a makeshift checkpoint; another group had set up a sentry at the back, beefing up the guards at the Paovil gate, just 20 meters away from Lim’s house. Such airtight security arrangements have earned Lim the distinction of being “most important prisoner” in recent coup-prone military history.

Lim has been under military custody since a videotape of himself announcing his withdrawal of support from President Arroyo surfaced in a news program. The tape was to have been used on Feb. 24, when soldiers marching out of their camp were supposed to meet with civilians out in the streets to commemorate the Edsa revolt. It was proof, claims Malacañang, of a Leftist-Rightist plot against the government that justifies Arroyo’s proclamation of a state of emergency.

The charges that Lim would lead the conspiracy have surprised those who know him only as an indulgent father to his only daughter, Aika.

Just five years ago, Aika Lim dragged her father to the Cineplex in Glorietta. The older Lim had already forgotten what it was like to watch a movie. “I haven’t been inside a movie house since 1973,” Lim told the Inquirer then. Transformed from security-conscious officer into a dutiful dad, Lim was having a good time when Aika nudged him to take a closer look at their seatmate. It was Phillip Salvador, the movie actor whose tumultuous love affair with Kris Aquino had been the staple news in those days. Lim was amused, but Aika was adamant. She wanted her Dad to get Phillip’s autograph.

Putty

Lim, the hardline Army captain who negotiated that the rebel troops be allowed to return to barracks, weapons and all, can be putty in his daughter’s hands. An only child, Aika was a baby when Lim was detained for the December 1989 coup. A former detainee recalled several officers doing “infantry” duties in jail, among them Lim.

Another detainee, an alleged communist leader from Southern Luzon, Vic Ladlad, would be Aika’s godfather, a relationship that transcended the ideological divide between Lim and Ladlad. When Aika starred in her school’s musical production in 2001, Lim unabashedly invited media friends to watch the play. The souvenir program also showed ad placements from military organizations that could only have come from the solicitation of a very supportive father.

A consistent honor student in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, Lim was a freshmen at the University of the Philippines in Diliman when one of his classmates, Renato Heredia, came to class with application forms for the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). It was 1972. Martial law had just been declared. Lim said he signed up for the heck of it. “There were many who had signed up, so I joined the line,” he said. The successful examinees either had brothers at the PMA, like Heredia, or had fathers who were PMA alumni or military officers.

Second highest

Lim, the youngest of five sons of a Chinese migrant worker from Xiamen and a hardworking businesswoman from Bohol, did not top the exams, but the topnotcher backed out, pushing Lim, who had the second highest score, to the top slot. Lim was sent to the US Military Academy in West Point in 1974.

“I would have wanted to be a doctor, but it was too expensive,” Lim said. He did not want to burden his mother or four brothers, either. Lim’s father died when he was 5 and his mother raised the brood by herself. Since his older brothers finished college on scholarships, Lim felt he too had to get by on scholarship.

Fortunately, Lim found academics, especially the math subjects, a breeze at West Point. The regimented military life also suited him, as he adapted to it seamlessly. Even his marriage was something of a record, according to another classmate. Lim’s wife, Aloysia, was actually his neighbor and classmate from elementary to high school. “But there was nothing there then,” Lim once told the Inquirer. “(The attraction) came later.”

Upon graduation from West Point in 1978, Lim was sent to Jolo to head the all-Igorot Forward Recon Unit. The unit was often sent out to patrol the enemy lairs, chalking up seemingly endless encounters that had their senior officers shaking their heads in disbelief. A former pilot who sometimes airlifted the wounded recalled in jest that the Igorot troops never realized what they were getting into because Lieutenant Lim kept them drunk with gin.

Wounded twice

But Lim would himself be wounded twice from grenade shrapnels. After his second hospitalization in 1981, then Col. Arturo Enrile sought him out. “He told me, ‘I better take you out from here before you run out of luck,’” Lim recalled. From Jolo, Lim was transferred to the PMA, where he taught math subjects. He would also become the aide-de-camp to PMA Superintendent Brig. Gen. Jose Ma. Zumel, and administrative officer of PMA Superintendent Brig. Gen. Rodolfo Biazon in 1986.

In March 1987, a bomb exploded at the PMA grandstand, ripping off a roof and wounding several personnel, including then Col. Lisandro Abadia, the PMA commandant of cadets. Lim was among those suspected behind the incident, but this was never proven.

Before the incident, however, Lim had supposedly questioned the alleged anomalous deals at Biazon’s office. From the PMA, Lim was transferred to the Scout Rangers, the unit that he led in the takeover of the Makati Commercial and Business District in the December 1989 coup.

Doubts

The Feb. 23 videotape seemed to be an apt follow up. Lim’s doubts about President Arroyo’s mandate started soon after the May 2004 elections, when rumors circulated in the military circle about how some senior officers had allowed the President’s allies to use the military camps in the cheating operations, particularly in Basilan, Sulu, Lanao and Cotabato areas in Mindanao. There were also rumors that some units from the Marines and the Scout Rangers had reportedly refused to cooperate with Malacañang’s allies in the military.

Compounding the situation was the alleged braggadocio of some officers who were supposed to have orchestrated the cheating operations, to the consternation of the young officers, including some Rangers who sought out Lim for advice. A senior colonel who talked to Lim then told the Inquirer that he was concerned about the Scout Rangers that Lim headed. “Lim does not believe that GMA won the elections. This is problematic,” the colonel said of his former classmate.

Fearless prognosis

Lim’s doubts were reportedly shared by many officers, with one of them expressing doubts that the President would be hounded by questions about her mandate. “GMA cannot govern,” was his fearless prognosis, as of June, 2004.

The cracks in the military armor surfaced after the June 6, 2005 airing of the “Hello Garci” tapes, the wiretapped telephone conversations between Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and several personalities, including Ms Arroyo and her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. The tapes seem to confirm allegations of fraud during the May 2004 elections, with at least four generals mentioned in the tapes as being involved. On July 8, 2005, a group of military officers had reportedly planned to withdraw support from the President, joining the group of senior cabinet members who had resigned en masse and urging Ms Arroyo to do the same for the sake of national unity.

But Lim prevailed over the disgruntled. Later that month, Lim’s group, the now-defunct Young Officers Union (YOU, also issued a statement of withdrawal from the 1995 peace agreement it had forged with the government. Lim denied the YOU statement. He also sent a text message to the Inquirer, to the effect that he was “under pressure from all sides.” In fact, Lim was under surveillance from the military and under intense courtship from the opposition. At the necrological rites for Capt. Rene Jarque at the Fort Bonifacio chapel in September 2005, Lim showed up by his lonesome.

Close tabs

But a civilian-clad soldier tailed him, always keeping within earshot of the general. Malacañang also kept close tabs of his activities, often inviting him to dinner at the Palace. By late January 2006, Lim had reportedly visited troops in Mindanao to sound them off about his plans to withdraw support from President Arroyo. An officer he talked with said Lim did not indicate he would “do something” anytime soon. “We talked and he said it was ’no go,’” the officer told the Inquirer. In less than a month, Lim would “go,” to the surprise of even his closest friends.

Since Feb. 24 when he was placed under house arrest, Lim has not been allowed to talk to the press. Some have managed to sneak in, however, accompanied by lawyers, priests and relatives. Former Inquirer reporter Andrea Trinidad-Echavez visited Lim one day in July. Lim had been Echavez’ sponsor at her church wedding to Dick Echavez in 2001.

According to Echavez, Lim was in good spirits, and seemed at peace with himself and the world. “He looks confident that all would end up well,” Echavez said. Having hit rock bottom after the 1989 coup, Lim knows only too well how to play his cards. “He’s a tactician. He’s been through a lot. What is happening to him now is chicken feed,” Echavez added.

Besides, people who’ve met Lim also know that the man would rather pay the price of taking sides than stay still, watching from the sidelines.

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

We, the Officers and Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, loyal to God and country and to our duty under the Constitution, do hereby make the following declaration:

A crisis of extreme proportions now confronts our people. The economy, the rule of law and the moral order lie in ruins. Political, judicial and economic power, as well as the power of the mass media, has been perverted to inflict and justify high crimes against the Filipino people. More and more among our people no longer eat, while the idle rich and the corrupt live like kings. Minority rule has replaced majority rule. The three branches of government are now in total disarray, the entire system has broken down, thanks to a President whose legitimacy is denied by the vast majority of our people.

Corruption has not only become a way of life among those in power. It has also become the most effective means of destroying our country and people. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has played a key role in promoting corruption to its present levels. In her mad desire for power, she has corrupted and destroyed all institutions. She has promoted a policy of loot and plunder while hypocritically announcing a war against corruption.

She has corrupted the justices of the Supreme Court, the entire Commission on Elections, the mass media, some members of the military, the police and the clergy, and countless teachers who took part in counting the votes in the last elections. She is not only the most corrupt official in the country today. She is also its No. 1 corruptor.

We cannot stand idly by while the rule of law, the moral order, the integrity of our institutions, the very future of our country and the people, and our own professional careers are destroyed by this bogus President. We cannot afford to do nothing while she and her cohorts turn our government into a criminal syndicate. We cannot allow ourselves to be used as a tool of injustice and oppression. We must act, and we must act now.

Pursuant, therefore, to our constitutional duty as “protector of the people and the state,” we have today withdrawn our support from Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in order to end her unconstitutional and illegal occupation of the Presidency.

This we have done to restore the rule of law and public morality, the legitimacy and accountability of government, the integrity of our public institutions, the sanctity of the democratic process, and the trust and confidence of our people and the rest of the world.

We call on all our comrades-in-arms to discharge their genuine responsibilities to our people with full dedication and fervor. We call on our people to support the men and women at the forefront of this undertaking. We call on Mrs. Arroyo to accept gracefully the formation of a new government.

As soldiers, we do not seek political power for ourselves. But we shall not allow anyone to use political power to commit crimes against our people or to pursue their own personal agenda, at the expense of the national interest. We shall maintain law and order, prevent any group from taking advantage of the situation, and protect the innocent from all possible harm. We shall leave the actual business of governing the nation in the hands of professionally competent, morally upright, patriotic, trustworthy and self-sacrificing Filipinos whom we now invite to form a new government.

This may be our last chance to correct our past mistakes. We cannot afford to fail. We must not fail.

We appeal to everyone to give this effort a chance to succeed. We appeal to all our people to unite and extend all the support and counsel which the new government will need from them. We pray to Almighty God to bless our efforts and keep us pure and strong in this hour of need.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim
Regiment Commander
First Scout Ranger Regiment

San Juan Gossip Mills Outlet

By Edwin Lacierda
July 13, 2006

One of the standard features of a high school examination is the Compare and Contrast test. Let us then compare and contrast the Garci tapes and the Danny Lim video.

First, the Garci tapes indubitably reveals the female voice in the tapes as that of the president. The Lim video clearly shows Brig. Gen. Danny Lim voicing his withdrawal of support from the Arroyo government.

Second, GMA has hid behind the legality of the Anti-Wiretapping Act and therefore, denies she is the voice in the tapes despite the fact that she has this unique voice timber and a thick “s” in her manner of speech. Danny Lim bravely admits he is the man in the tape.

Third, GMA is recorded in the tapes conspiring to defraud and cheat the presidential elections and wants a clear mandate of a 1 Million vote edge over her opponent. Danny Lim is recorded in the video conspiring to right a wrong by withdrawing his support from a president whose legitimacy is in question – one that he brazenly calls a bogus president.

Fourth, GMA stages an apology to the Filipino people. Danny Lim has no need to stage an apology and instead asks Secretary Raul Gonzales to investigate the video leakage.

Fifth, GMA’s and then Chief of Staff Angie Reyes’ withdrawal of support from their commander-in-chief and their president is not a crime. Danny Lim withdraws his support from what he claims to be a bogus president and is exiled to Tanay.

Sixth, to survive politically, GMA made a pact with Old Nick and his minions in the Lakas party and promises charter change, short cutting her term etc., anything to maintain her hegemony. To maintain his principles, Danny Lim refuses to turn state witness and offers nothing for the government to squeal on his brethren.

Seventh, GMA tells herself and the Filipino people to move on, calling us to forget her embarrassing recent past. Danny Lim has no way to move on, his acts will remind us of his recent past.

Eighth, GMA will be remembered as the president who brought down decency, civility and good government. Danny Lim will be remembered as the soldier who defied the chain of command because the chain has been infested with the corrosion of corruption.

Ninth, sadly, GMA will be reviled by future generations. Danny Lim may be a footnote in history but his place amongst historians will be secure.

Mga Diskurso ni Doy
Friday, July 07, 2006

Kudeta, sedisyon, rebelyon, article of war o court martial ang ikakaso sa dating puno ng Scout Ranger na si Gen Danny Lim? Kung kudeta, may kalabuan dahil wala namang kudetang nangyari. Malayong-malayo ito (1987-89) sa mabangis na kudetang inilunsad nung kapanahunan ni Presidente Cory Aquino. Magkakatuwang na isinagawa ng RAM-SFP-YOU, kung saan, maraming napinsalang ari-arian, buhay, ari-arian at nasira ang umaarangkada na sanang kumpiansa ng namumuhunan sa bansa.

Kung sedition at rebelyon? Mukhang alanganin, sapagkat isa lamang “withdrawal of support” at hindi naman consumated ito o binalak pero hindi naipatupad, sa madali't sabi, naunsyami! Nasaan nga naman ang sedisyon at rebelyon dun? Ang totoo pa nga daw, si Danny Lim pa nga ang umawat sa mga maiinit na junior officers na i-assault na ang Malakanyang nuong nakaraang Pebrero,'06. Kaya't sa totoo lang, maari pa ngang magpasalamat ang Malakanyang kay Danny Lim. Ang sedisyon at rebelyon ay lubhang malayong-malayo sa patuloy na inilulunsad ng mga kaaway ng gubyerno, ang CPP at NPA.

Kung ibabase ang kaso sa Article of War at iko-”court martial” ang maramihang kasangkot dito at kapag itinuloy ang pagpaparusa sa mga miyembro ng militar na inaakusahan daw sa kudeta, posibleng mag-init na naman ang mga junior officers sa hanay ng militar at imbis na maistabilisa, mag-alburuto, lumala ang pagbaba ng morale (restiveness) ng mga sundalo at sumabog ang sitwasyon?

Ayon sa ibang nagmamasid, ang timing ng pagpapalabas ng “Danny Tape” sa publiko ay kduda-duda. Ayon kay Sen Biazon, sinadya at masinsinang pinagplanuhan ito ng ilang malapit na Heneral (AFP) ng Malakanyang (Gen. Esperon?) ang “Danny Tape” upang ilito at ibaling ang atensyon ng mamamayan sa umiinit na ikalawang impeachment complaint kay Ate Glo. Sinasabi ring na, isa itong pagsubuk (testing the water), pagtantya at pag-antabay sa posibleng magiging reaksyon ng ilang matataas at junior officers sa AFP.

Maaring magkaroon ng backlash ang nasabing pagsasapubliko (no win situation sa pig ng Malakanyang) ng Danny Tape. Kung masama, kung illegal at kung labag sa Konstitusyon ang “withdraw of support” ng grupo nila Gen Danny Lim, walang dudang masama at illegal din ang “withdrawal of support” ni Sec Gen Angelo Reyes nung 2001 Edsa revolution, ang kapanahun ng dating Presidenteng si Erap Estrada. Ang kaibhan nga lang, nabigo ang huli at nagwagi ang grupo ni Gen Angelo Reyes.

Sa totoo lang, mas magaang pa nga ang dating ng panawagan nil Gen Lim, kung ikukumpara sa kaso ni Gen Angelo Reyes nung panahon ni Erap, mga Kudeta ng RAM-SFP -YOU at ni Gringo Honasan nung kapanahon ni Tita Cory.

Ano ang ipinapakita ng Danny Video? Nakakatulong ba ito sa Malakanyan o nakakasira sa katatagan ng gubyerno? Pinatutunayan lamang na totoo ngang may alingasngas sa hanay ng AFP, totoong watak-watak na ang hanay ng militar, kabalintunaang sa sinasabi ng chief of staff Gen Senga,ni Gen Esperonng AFP na solid, nasa panig ng Konstitusyon, may propesyunalismo at susuporta ang lahat sa ilalim ng pamumuno ng commander in chief.

Pinapakita lamang na may namumuong restiveeness sa hanay ng AFP, lalo na sa hanay ng Junior officers. Ipinapakita lamang na ang Danny Tape na “ganun na nga kalaki, kalawak at kasolido ang restiveness sa loob ng AFP.

Doy cinco/ipd
July7, 2006

By Fe Zamora
Inquirer
March 5, 2006

AS he lay dying in January last year, retired Commodore Domingo Calajate kept asking for Capt. Danilo Lim. When Lim finally showed up at the Cardinal Santos Hospital, the nurses heaved a sigh of relief and ushered him into a room.

“How can I refuse a dying man’s wish?” Lim would tell the Inquirer in May at the Club Filipino, where he was given a testimonial dinner for his promotion as brigadier general, and as chair of the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM), which was Calajate’s dying wish.

In his speech, Lim dispelled doubts about possible conflict of interest that may arise from his positions in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and in RAM, which, despite a peace pact with the government, continues to be linked to destabilization plots. Lim emphasized that under his helm, RAM would become a civic group, even a cooperative for the welfare of retired and active military men.

Calajate’s final request highlighted his trust and confidence in Lim over the more senior former Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, who co-founded RAM, then known as Reform the Armed Forces Movement, in 1985. Honasan tried to wrest control of RAM by declaring himself chair of the steering committee. But majority of RAM’s some 4,000 membership agreed to honor Calajate’s choice.

Former rebel soldiers from RAM, Young Officers Union and the Soldiers of the Filipino People (SFP) speak highly of Lim’s role in the peace negotiations in 1993, which resulted in amnesty in 1995. Except for those who opted to retire with full benefits, the mutinous troops, including those convicted for the 1987 violent attack on Camp Aguinaldo, were reinstated and given back pay for years spent in the military stockade.

No work no pay

Lim, the defiant Army captain who led the march of fully armed Rangers back to Fort Bonifacio after a failed coup in December 1989, waived his back pay, invoking his personal creed of “no work, no pay.” But he would not impose his belief on others. That was one of the reasons he negotiated the back pay.

Close friends said that was typical Danny, whose military career had been described by his wife, Aloysia Tiongson-Lim, as an exhilarating “roller-coaster ride.”

“Danny’s military career can be described as a roller-coaster ride mainly due to his principles, advocacy and fight for ideals in the military organization and good governance for the country,” she wrote in the class roster.

West Point

A 1978 graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point and member of the same batch at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), Lim’s military career began as platoon leader of the all-Igorot Forward Recon Unit based in Jolo, a unique group organized and led by another controversial officer, then Lt. Ricardo “Dick” Morales.

But Lim’s career took a nosedive when rebel soldiers led by him occupied the Makati commercial district from Dec. 1 to 7, 1989 in an attempt to unseat President Corazon Aquino.

The Scout Rangers occupied Makati after other rebel attempts to seize military installations had failed, including the rebel Marines who rammed Gate 1 of Camp Aguinaldo with a Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT), leaving more than a dozen soldiers dead and wounded.

... Ariel Querubin’s escape

Among the ‘cadavers’ was the team leader—then Capt. Ariel Querubin. Querubin was bleeding profusely from wounds in the stomach. A doctor who checked the cadavers for identification, however, noticed a slight twitch on his finger.

Querubin was nursed back to life at the V. Luna Hospital where he would escape months later with the help of the doctor. Years after the incident, Querubin would tell the Inquirer that his getaway vehicle was driven by a businessman.

Wanted

He joined the underground rebel group when the military issued “wanted posters” with rewards for him and three other Marines who were branded “mad bombers and terrorists.” Then AFP chief of staff Gen. Renato de Villa even described Querubin as “psychotic.”

By that time, however, Querubin’s exploits at Gate 1 had already formed part of combat stories that soldiers love to talk about among themselves.

Even his classmates expressed awe at his exploits, but in typical PMA banter. “Whenever we hear rumors of a coup, we always ask, ‘On which side is Ariel?’ We don’t want to be on his side because he would surely survive, and we won’t,” a colonel from PMA Class 1979 said with a laugh.

Truancy

Even at the PMA, Querubin already led a charmed life, according to another classmate. Querubin was originally a member of class 1977, but was “turned back” twice for various infractions of PMA regulations, such as drinking alcohol, breaking curfew and even plain truancy. “But never on academic deficiencies,” Querubin once told the Inquirer.

That Lim and Querubin would find themselves on the same side during the 1989 coup was something that colleagues did not find surprising. But their amnesty and subsequent promotion were resented by officers who fought them during the coup. One officer said promoting Lim would send the wrong signal to younger officers that in the military “one can get away with murder.”

The rebellious past of Querubin was also the subject of discussion by the board that decided to award him the Medal of Valor. A source, who was privy to the discussion, said the issue also hinged on the “wrong signal” that could arise from giving the most prestigious medal to a former rebel.

That they would become “suspects” in fresh plots to unseat a President also did not surprise a police senior superintendent, who is close to both Lim and Querubin.

“They are not corrupt. They are both idealists and they have their own tales of heroism that would inspire soldiers to follow them,” the source, a 1978 PMA graduate who is involved in monitoring suspected coup plotters, told the Inquirer.

By VICTOR REYES
MALAYA
14 MAY 2008

KEY leaders of the alleged power grab attempt in February 2006 yesterday said they are not going to ask for pardon from President Arroyo.

"I cannot see that we will reach that point. I know we are not guilty. If you ask for pardon, you must first accept your guilt," said former Marines commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda at the sidelines of court martial proceedings against him and 27 other Marines and Army officers.

Arroyo on Monday announced she has approved the military’s recommendation for the grant of pardon to nine officers involved in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny. Captains Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo and the seven other officers pleaded guilty to the coup d’état case filed against them before a Makati court.

Miranda, referring to the standoff at the Marines headquarters on Feb. 26, 2006, said, "If you are talking of the Sunday standoff, it’s not a coup, it’s about me, it’s about my relief."

The standoff came two days after the alleged power grab attempt to be led by Miranda and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, former Scout Ranger commander, who would supposedly lead their men to a march to Edsa and air their withdrawal of support from President Arroyo.

The standoff, triggered by Miranda’s relief as Marines commandant, saw the massing of officers and men in front of the headquarters.

"If you can review what happened during the Sunday standoff, it is about the grievances, about how come you treated the commandant that way. Personally, I was very thankful, I was surprised how the men loved the (Marine) leadership," he said.

Miranda said he was "happy, at least" for the pardoned mutineers. "As to the manner it was done, I’m not privy to it," he said.

Lim, asked if they were going to ask for pardon, said: "They (nine officers) made their bed, they sleep on it."

Marine Col. Ariel Querubin said: "I won’t receive any pardon from this administration. I won’t apply... I’ll be cleared."

It was Querubin who called for support for their protest over Miranda’s relief during the standoff.

Miranda, Lim, Querubin and the other accused are facing a number of offenses before a general court martial. The charges include mutiny, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline.

Marine Lt. Col. Achilles Segumalian said they are not going to accept pardon. "Nothing is to be pardoned. We are good and professional soldiers."

Segumalian, who also figured in the standoff, said his group would pardon former AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. if he showed remorse.

Esperon, who relinquished his post to Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano Monday, has said he recommended pardon for the nine mutineers because they have shown remorse.

The group is blaming Esperon for the "prostitution" of the military brought about by his involvement in the alleged cheating in the 2004 presidential elections.

Segumalian said Esperon "should be going to the Comelec (Commission on Elections)."

Asked why, he said: "Do you have to ask that question? He is good at that," he said, referring to the alleged cheating.

Querubin said Yano is better than Esperon.

"At least General Yano has no baggage. He comes clean unlike the other (Esperon)... I think he’ll make good as chief of staff."

Lim said they feel safer with Yano at the helm of the AFP.

"Definitely. Compared to the former chief of staff, most definitely," he said.

Yano vowed he is not going to meddle in the court martial proceedings.

Miranda’s group has accused Esperon of meddling in the affairs of the military tribunal.

"Let me assure that as the new chief of staff, I will respect and recognize the independence of the court. That I will say because even if I am the chief of staff, there is a separate court martial headed by their president and it’s not apt for me to intervene with the results and proceedings of the court martial. I respect the independence of the court," he said.

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.

By Glenda Gloria
Newsbreak

They are so alike in many ways. They belong to elite fighting units in the Armed Forces, their men look up to them, and they have scars to show-physical and psychological-for the cause they once fought for as leaders of the Young Officers Union. They're very good friends as well.

When Lim and Querubin led the December 1989 coup that came close to toppling the Aquino government, both were 33. Now 50 years old, they've come full circle, yet again mired in a rebellion that many thought they had shaken off from their system.

Government bullets pierced through Querubin's chest in his daring attack on Camp Aguinaldo on the first day of the failed 1989 coup. He survived, won an amnesty in 1995 under the Ramos administration, and went back to the Marines, embraced by the organization that he rebelled against. In 2000, he led his battalion in a ferocious fight against Muslim rebels in Lanao, for which he was awarded the coveted Medal of Valor.

Lim was not wounded in the 1989 coup, but had to carry the burden of leading his fellow Scout Rangers back to barracks after they gave up on their siege of Makati's financial district. His career took a backseat after, but he came back with a vengeance after the 1995 amnesty, returning to the Scout Rangers and getting his first star in 2003-the youngest general to be named and one who jumped over many heads in the hierarchy.

It was President Arroyo who gave Lim his first star-a move that critics say was the President's way of rewarding her "adopted" classmate in the Philippine Military Academy (1978). Lim belongs to Class 1978 because he spent his first year at the PMA with them before going to West Point. Querubin is likewise associated with Class 1978 because he spent years with them, too, before he was turned back and was made to graduate with Class 1979.

Ironically, Lim's career was resurrected under the Estrada administration when he was appointed to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) under then DILG Undersecretary Narciso Santiago, husband of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago. After Estrada's ouster, Lim went back to the Army and shortly before the 2003 Oakwood mutiny was appointed commander of the First Scout Ranger Regiment.

On the other hand, Querubin spent most of his post-1989 years fighting Muslim guerrillas in the South. He was the deputy of then Brig. Gen. Renato Miranda when the latter was brigade commander in Basilan in 2002. Miranda was commandant of the Marines until his relief last February 26.

Before his brigade assignment in Marawi, Querubin headed the training center of the Marines based in Fort Bonifacio. It was in Fort Bonifacio where Querubin got wind of the complaints of young Marine officers about the conduct of the 2004 presidential elections. One officer who complained bitterly to him was his former deputy in Lanao: Lt. Col. Alexander Balutan, who would later testify with retired Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani about alleged anomalies in the 2004 polls.

Lim was caught in a similar situation. His operations officer at the Rangers, Maj. Jason Aquino, was relieved last year for distributing leaflets that called for a new political system. Aquino was sacked from the Rangers amid speculations that Lim was either to be transferred to another post or sent abroad.

Asked about this, Lim told NEWSBREAK then in a text message: "If they transfer me this time, I'm going to retire."

They didn't-and he went on to lead yet another failed coup.