ZAMBOANGA CITY, 22 August 2003 — Military chief Gen. Narciso Abaya yesterday warned of a new recruitment by coup plotters and urged soldiers “not to be fooled.”
“Don’t be deceived. Don’t be a victim. We cannot allow ourselves to be used by others for their own evils. Any attempt to grab power from the government will not prosper,” Abaya said in a meeting with officers and soldiers at the military headquarters here in Zamboanga City.
“There is no legitimate cause to topple the government because we have the support of the people, of everybody, of foreign governments,” he added.
He declined to give additional details about the new recruitment, but stressed that the military was taking steps to thwart another coup attempt against the Arroyo government.
More than 300 soldiers, calling themselves the Magdalo Group, have staged a coup, briefly occupying the Oakwood Hotel in Manila’s financial district last month and demanded fthe resignation of President Arroyo, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, national police chief Hermogenes Ebdane and military intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus for failing to stop corruption in the armed forces.
The rebel soldiers surrendered 20 hours later after the supposed public support for their rebellion failed to materialize.
Abaya did not say who were behind the recruitment in Zamboanga City, but he assured the troops that the military is on top of the situation.
He said some of those who joined the coup in Manila secretly met in Garden Orchid Hotel in Zamboanga City, where they had a “blood compact.” He did not elaborate.
He warned that those who would join coup plots would be arrested and charged in court.
The rebellious soldiers face charges of mutiny or sedition, disrespect towards the president, conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman, conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline, desertion and willful damage or wrong disposition of issued firearms.
The mutineers also face rebellion charges in civilian courts.
The government has also filed criminal charges against an opposition senator for allegedly masterminding the failed mutiny, as well as an aide and a mistress of former President Joseph Estrada for allegedly supporting the coup attempt.
Court Martial
In Manila, the military’s Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAGO) yesterday started pre-trial investigations on charges filed against 356 officers and soldiers who joined the July 27 aborted coup.
The mutineers were accused of violating six articles of war.
Brig. Gen. Mariano Sarmiento, the JAGO head, said the pre-trial investigations would determine if the evidence against the 356 officers and soldiers was enough to initiate court-martial proceedings against them.
Sarmiento said the first group of six officers and 19 enlisted men summoned refused to cooperate in proceedings.
Only the enlisted men actually appeared before an investigating panel at the JAGO in Camp Aguinaldo, the military general headquarters, yesterday.
Sarmiento said the panel would deal with the enlisted men first before calling in the officers who led the rebellion.
The 19 soldiers refused to accept charge sheets or answer questions of the panel, saying they had been advised by their lawyers not to do so.
They will be given 10 days to file counter-affidavits to answer charges of mutiny or sedition, disrespect to the president, violation of military discipline, wrongful disposition of weapons and unbecoming conduct, Sarmiento said.
The charges, made under the Articles of War, are separate from the coup d’etat indictment they face under the Revised Penal Code.
“Later on, we will determine who will be charged for particular violations of the Articles of War,” Sarmiento said, adding that the military may absolve soldiers who were “misled” by their superiors into supporting the mutiny.
The five-man investigative panel is headed by Col. Gilberto Jose Roa.
The pre-trial investigation will continue despite the soldiers’ refusal to accept copies of the charge sheet, Sarmiento said. He said it was not necessary for lawyers to be present when charge sheets were given.
The pre-trial investigation, which is equivalent to a civil court’s preliminary investigation, will not be limited to the JAGO courtrooms and can be held in the military camps where the rest of the 356 mutineers are confined.
The hearings will proceed on a daily basis, Sarmiento said.
“This is an opportunity for them to submit their affidavits so their sides will be heard,” he told reporters. “We will determine who will be charged for a particular violation.”
