‘I never betrayed my oath’

Facing the prospect of court martial, an Army general has accused members of Congress of "trying to gain media mileage at my expense" in reviving allegations that he had connived with the Abu Sayyaf when the bandits escaped a military cordon in Basilan on June 2 last year.

Maj. Gen. Romeo Dominguez, commander of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division in Samar, said the new interest in the issue could be linked to the choice of a new Armed Forces chief next month.

"(This) makes one sympathizing observer wonder if it takes this sort of a demolition job by unseen hands to temper an excellent service reputation," he said.

Dominguez, who was commander of Task Force Comet, the military unit that had cornered the Abu Sayyaf with their hostages in a hospital compound in Lamitan town, said he welcomes the Senate’s recommendation that he face a court martial.

"My conscience is clear," he said. "I have never betrayed my oath."

Dominguez said if he had earlier been charged before a court martial or a civilian court, he would have been able to clear his name and a congressional "exercise in futility" would not have wasted public funds.

"The so-called hearings in aid of legislation proponents have zero knowledge of military nuances ... and a number of them showed up at the hearings to merely squeeze whatever media mileage they could gain," he said. – Paolo Romero