Magdalo leader is next gov’t witness vs coup plotters

Malacañang is presenting Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala as its surprise witness against the military officers involved in the failed Feb. 24 coup attempt, The STAR learned yesterday.

Two student interns stumbled upon Gambala being interviewed and filmed by Radio-TV Malacañang (RTVM) at the Army headquarters at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

Two ranking Army officers were also interviewed by the RTVM interns inside a one-way mirrored room.

After the interview, Gambala and the RTVM crewmembers left the room discreetly through the back door.

"I don’t know. This is a parallel tasking for us. It’s not media related. Sa RTVM iyon (that is for the RTVM)," one of the two military officers later told The STAR.

RTVM is Malacañang’s media outfit under Lupita Kashiwara, an award-winning filmmaker who worked as an image director for President Arroyo during the May 2004 national elections.

Kashiwara is the sister of slain former senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., husband of former President Corazon Aquino, now a staunch critic of Mrs. Arroyo.

Gambala, on the other hand, is among the Magdalo group of officers currently detained over the failed Oakwood mutiny of July 2003.

The Magdalo officers led some 300 of their men in seizing the Oakwood Premier Ayala Center in Makati City to highlight their mutiny against President Arroyo and the top brass they had accused of high-level corruption.

Aside from Gambala, the other Magdalo leaders that include Army Capt. Milo Maestrecampo, LtSg. Antonio Trillanes, Marine Captains Nicanor Faeldon, James Layug and LtSg. Gary Alejano subsequently agreed to return to barracks and face the consequences of their actions following several hours of negotiations.

The six were subsequently detained at the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) where they had a falling out.

Maestrecampo and Gambala were subsequently transferred to Fort Bonifacio to prevent any physical contact with the Trillanes group.

In the exclusive RTVM film documentary held at Fort Bonifacio two Mondays ago, Gambala was very cooperative and accommodating to his Malacañang interviewers.

Neither Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon nor spokesman Maj. Bartolome Bacarro would comment on whether Gambala would become Malacañang’s surprise witness against the Feb. 24 coup plotters.

But Palace spokesman Secretary Ignacio Bunye bared the other day that testimony of the "surprise witness" was contained in a video documentary entitled "Sabwatan sa Kataksilan (A Conspiracy of Traitors)" which will be released today.

"The second video will give more details on the intricate plot to topple the government. Our surprise witness will corroborate the details contained in the first documentary," Bunye said, referring to the first documentary, "Paglaban Sa Kataksilan: 1017 (The Fight Against the Traitors: 1017)," which detailed the conspiracy behind the Feb. 24 foiled coup attempt and the reason why President Arroyo declared a week-long state of national emergency.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, meanwhile, hinted that the new witness played a role in the planning and execution of the first stage of the February coup plot under "Oplan Hackle."

"I have watched the video, and the witness was part of the plan to remove the President," he said.

Gonzales said the second documentary would dispel allegations that Proclamation 1017, which placed the entire country under a state of national emergency, was unnecessary.

Gonzales, however, declined to comment or even say if the surprise witness was an Army Scout Ranger or a Marine.

Bunye, on the other hand, stressed the public’s interest in knowing more about Oplan Hackle, which also detailed the last-ditch effort of extreme forces to remove President Arroyo and other high-ranking officials through bombings and assassinations.

The military said the threat remains until May 1. This is when militant labor groups will be joined by extreme forces to trigger another mass action to press for the ouster of Mrs. Arroyo.

The plan was discovered following the recapture of 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan last February. — With Aurea Calica