4 AFP officers, 200 soldiers linked to coup plot freed

The 214 officers and enlisted men linked to the latest plot to overthrow the government have been reprimanded and then released for lack of evidence, the military said yesterday.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public information office chief Col. Tristan Kison said the men were ordered released because they could not be charged without solid proof that they had participated in the plot to oust President Arroyo.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon earlier disclosed the plot was uncovered by the military and 14 junior officers and 200 servicemen had been placed under investigation.

Esperon claimed some of those involved in the latest power grab attempt had renounced their membership from the group and were allowed to return to duty while others remained under detention.

Esperon however refused to identify the group that planned to mobilize the 200 servicemen in a bid to force Mrs. Arroyo from office.

While saying the alleged plot had been thwarted, Esperon stressed he would not engage in trial by publicity by revealing the names of the alleged coup plotters without sufficient evidence.

"The 14 officers who squealed on General Esperon about the recruitment have been freed… The Army is confident that they have given information to stop the recruitment," Kison said.

He issued the statement even as lawmakers and some from the military were calling on Esperon to substantiate the allegations of another coup plot and present the rebel soldiers before the public.

Kison’s statement was in apparent contrast to Esperon’s announcement last Wednesday that the 214 coup plotters had been "restrained" and placed under investigation.

"What charges will we file against them?" Kison asked.

"It does not necessarily mean that they have joined the coup plot," he said of the supposed release of the 214 suspected coup plotters.

Kison added that Esperon had already explained why some from the group renounced their membership after learning that their leaders were trying to forge an alliance with the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

A group of military officers, however, pointed out Esperon might have used the names of the original Magdalo group of officers and men who launched the failed mutiny in July 2003.

Authorities have recovered documents and computer diskettes from the posh Oakwood Premier Ayala Center in Makati City’s central business district where the mutiny was launched, naming some of the supporters of Magdalo from the military.

The group said Esperon was apparently engaged in "psy-war" efforts to emphasize the support of the military to President Arroyo.

Some administration lawmakers also called on Esperon to disclose the supposed coup plotters.

"Their presentation to the public will lend credence to the military’s disclosure that it discovered and thwarted a plot to oust and assassinate the President," Lanao del Sur Rep. Benasing Macarambon said.

Macarambon said the AFP should also identify the supporters and financers of the group.

Malabon-Navotas Rep. Federico Sandoval said the public deserves to know the truth about the plot and identify those involved in the conspiracy.

Sandoval, however, maintained the plot was real, not part of the military’s psy-war tactics.

"That is why it is important for the AFP to present the 14 junior officers who abandoned the plan to be part of the coup plot," Sandoval said.

He also urged the military top brass to initiate court-martial proceedings against those involved in moves to overthrow the government.

Sandoval pointed out the testimonies given by those who confessed to being part of the plot should be used as evidence in the prosecution of those involved.

"They (the AFP) have the men under their control. Their testimonies and some material evidence (are needed) to have them convicted," the Malabon-Navotas lawmaker said.

‘Something could happen’

Esperon, on the other hand, emphasized the coup threat remains even though key leaders of a planned power grab have been identified.

Many details of the plot, which appears to have been well financed, have been uncovered, Esperon said, assuring the public that the military was completely in control.

While he felt the alleged plot had been thwarted, Esperon said he is "not precluding the possibility that something could happen."

"But I can say that most of its participants have been identified by us and investigated and we believe that, even if they push through with it, they would not succeed because your Armed Forces are very much prepared."

Security has been heightened at several military and police camps as rumors of another impending coup swept Metro Manila.

Two battalions of soldiers from the Army and the Air Force have been called to reinforce and fortify security defenses at the AFP headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

This developed as a man who introduced himself as Air Force Capt. Batingaw warned of another power grab being launched very soon.

"(The coup) will happen in a split second. Time will come, quietly and swiftly," said Batingaw, whose name in Filipino means "bell."

"We have to be loyal to the Filipino people, not to a single president that we see is doing nothing at all," he told dzBB radio yesterday.

Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla said Batingaw might be an impostor, claiming there is no such name in their rosters. "That’s not true. He’s just an opportunist who is grabbing the limelight but the things he’s saying are all empty," Padilla said.

Padilla claimed anti-government forces are simply "counter-reacting" to the recapture of Army 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan who was seized by security forces last Tuesday in Batangas.

San Juan’s recapture raised new controversy since it uncovered a plot by the Magdalo group to link up with the NPA in a tactical alliance to overthrow the government and establish a coalition government with the communists.

Esperon unveiled "Operation Hackle," which he said detailed a planned jail escape by detained rebel soldiers, massive recruitment, and eventually the "abolition of democratic institutions."

Esperon revealed the recruits had developed a secret handshake and underwent a ritual involving bloodletting and mixing the blood with red wine. Military dog tags were reportedly dipped in the mix before being distributed to new members.

Many of the members backed out after learning that some coup leaders were forging an alliance with communist guerrillas to topple President Arroyo. — With Delon Porcalla, AP