Corpus on probe: Is this my reward for saving the republic?

A disappointed Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus is questioning the move of Congress to have him investigated on allegations that he was involved in the twin bombings in Davao City early this year.

"Is this my reward for saving the Republic from the last coup?" Corpus asked.

He said he wanted to seek public understanding without sounding like one of the "griping" junior military officers in last month’s mutiny.

"Instead of getting the credit, I am the one they want to be investigated by the Senate and (even the independent fact-finding) commission," he told journalists Sunday night.

Corpus said he will recommend to President Arroyo the dismissal and imprisonment of Navy Lt. SG Antonio Trillanes IV and the other junior military officers who took part in the mutiny last July 27.

"They should face the charges, be dismissed and incarcerated," he said.

Corpus said Mrs. Arroyo should not allow a repeat of the aftermath of the failed coup in December 1989, when the government did not prosecute the leaders.

"Why are we going to follow a bad precedent?" he said. "It is time we became a strong republic, if that is what the President wants to have."

Corpus expressed his frustrations in an interview with select reporters at his Fort Bonifacio quarters, the first after he resigned as military intelligence chief last July 29.

In the interview, Corpus said the tables were turned on the Armed Forces after the military solved without bloodshed the 22-hour standoff on July 27 at the posh Oakwood Premier Ayala Center apartment building in Makati’s central business district.

"We were responsible in the last few days in this republic itself from being taken over by a coup d’etat," he said. "What is bigger achievement than saving the government itself from falling apart?"

Corpus said he has evidence to prove that Sen. Gregorio Honasan was involved in the mutiny of junior military officers.

Honasan led the 1986 military uprising that helped topple President Ferdinand Marcos and the failed but bloody coup against President Corazon Aquino in 1989.

Corpus said Honasan, along with eight other "elders," knew of recruitment and implementation plans of the mutinous Magdalo group.

The Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) got wind of the plan as early as June 12, he added.

A copy of the so-called Campaign Plan: Andres showed that rebel soldiers planned to simultaneously take over the Armed Forces headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo and the Philippine National Police headquarters at Camp Crame, both in Quezon City; Sangley Point Naval Base in Cavite; and close down GMA-7 television station and dzRH radio station.

Corpus said the mutineers were forced to implement their plan a week ahead of the Aug. 2 schedule when the Armed Forces high command started monitoring unauthorized troop movements in Mindanao in the last week of July.

"I knew that the reports were serious... we were able to get bits and pieces of information, but not the whole picture," he said.

"In this one, we knew that the coup was to be launched that weekend and it happened."

The mutineers failed to infiltrate the ISAFP when they were recruiting cohorts, he added.

Corpus said he had reported to President Arroyo the "latest developments" on the thwarted coup Saturday night, hours after he returned from an official trip in Seoul, South Korea.

Mrs. Arroyo had ordered some 300 mutineers arrested, which is why the "state of rebellion" had not yet been lifted, he added.

Corpus said he had "misjudged" Ador Mawanay, a self-confessed swindler, who was wrongfully tapped as a "witness" against Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

"When you judge somebody, you look not just at his mistakes but also his successes," he said.

"You must see it in its totality," he said. "Like me, I have committed some mistakes. That was part of my failure. I can say, I have turned these (lapses) into positive experiences which led to the full blown investigation. History will prove them wrong."

Corpus said he wants to lead the anti-insurgency campaign by pursuing pro-people and anti-poverty programs in far-flung areas in the country.

"I think I can contribute in addressing the problem in insurgency because we have been addressing this problem for more than five decades now," he said.

"For the past five decades, we have been addressing this problem by applying the military solution. I think that this can only be resolved through holistic approach."

Corpus said the government must look for the "root causes" of the insurgency.

"The government could address the root causes of insurgency and we can only do this if we adopt programs that are pro-people and anti-poverty programs that will go into the root causes of insurgency," he said.

Corpus said this can be done through distance learning, bringing the information highway to the grassroots, and community-based reforestation.

"As of now, I have only a year more or less left in the service, I hope I can devote my time to that," he said.