Court martial proceedings for mutineers start

Court martial proceedings are being prepared against the renegade soldiers accused of mounting a mutiny last Sunday, Armed Forces spokesman Col. Daniel Lucero said yesterday.

He said the possible trial of the junior military officers, who are under technical arrest, will also coincide with a larger effort to unmask more senior figures possibly both within the government and the opposition behind Sunday’s 22-hour mutiny.

Lucero said Armed Forces chief Gen. Narciso Abaya has ordered the convening of a task force "so we can investigate those involved."

"This task force will be composed of 10 teams, from the major services," Lucero said. "The result of the investigation will determine the organization of the court martial."

He said the servicemen who participated in occupying Oakwood Premier Ayala Center in Makati City on Sunday had been placed under the custody of their respective commanders.

Lucero said their movements were being "restricted" and they would not be allowed out of their headquarters. He said there were security measures to keep them from fleeing.

"We will give them a fair trial, we will give them a day in court to explain their side," Lucero said.

Navy Ltsg. Antonio Trillanes IV led some 295 other officers and men in staging the mutiny, setting up explosives around the building, and accusing government and military officials of selling munitions to rebel groups, carrying out terrorist bombings and planning to declare martial law next month.

Some 22 hours later, the plotters agreed to return to barracks after negotiators promised to improve security on military weapons and investigate the bombings.

Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) chief Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus said they have already started the interrogation of the five officers involved in the mutiny.

Even as Corpus refused to identify the five officers, sources identified them as Trillanes, Capt. Milo Maestrecampo, Capt. Gerardo Gambala (Army), Marine Capt. Gary Alejano, and Navy Ltsg. James Layug.

Sources said the five are now being grilled by Corpus, the very same person whom they accused of corruption and masterminding the Davao City bombings.

The five who led the Magdalo group have called on the resignations of Corpus, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. over the accusations.

Sources said the five officers were placed under strict security and intensive interrogation by Col. Carlos Quita, chief of the military intelligence group (MIG-17).

There were also accusations that some civilians and government officials, including those from the political opposition, were involved in the mutiny.

Opposition leaders yesterday rejected accusations that they were behind the alleged coup attempt.

Sen. Gregorio Honasan, amnestied for his role in several coup attempts in the 1980s, was earlier linked by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. to the mutiny.

A day after being conspicuously absent when Congress resumed session Monday, Honasan delivered a privileged speech before the Senate and denied the accusations linking him to the rebellion.

Honasan acknowledged that he had allowed the leaders of the mutiny access to his office for "assistance and input in my National Recovery Program," referring to his political platform which he had been promoting in recent months.

Reyes, for his part, vowed to uncover the hidden "traitors" behind the plot.

"I want to find out who is behind this mutiny, this rebellion so we will know who are these traitors," Reyes said.

"Perhaps (the mutineers) were used unknowingly or they might have been used with their knowledge... but the ones who used them were politically motivated."

"They were well-funded, they had equipment that did not come from the military so it means they had support from the outside," he said. — Christina Mendez, Eva Visperas, Artemio Dumlao, Jaime Laude, AFP, AP