Army to present captured Magdalo leader today

The Philippine Army is set to present today captured Magdalo leader 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan after he pledged to support the Arroyo administration.

San Juan has denounced his ties with the rebel soldiers’ group and is now ready to come out in the open, a senior Army official, who requested anonymity, said yesterday.

He is expected to make important revelations regarding his role in the Magdalo group and its links with the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

One of the reasons why San Juan had a change of heart is his association with Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, who was recently named by President Arroyo as the next Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief when Gen. Generoso Senga retires on July 21.

"He (San Juan) was like a son to General Esperon and he looked upon General Esperon like his father," the official said.

San Juan, then executive officer of the Army’s anti-terrorism unit, the Light Reaction Company, served under Esperon who was then the Army brigade commander in Basilan at the height of the Sipadan hostage crisis in 2001.

At the time of his arrest in Padre Garcia town, Batangas last Feb. 21, San Juan reportedly met with top Southern Tagalog NPA commanders headed by Tirso "Ka Bart" Alcantara to discuss Oplan Hackle.

San Juan, along with three other Magdalo junior officers, escaped from the Army detention facility a month before he was arrested. They had been detained in connection with the failed mutiny in July 2003.

The military claimed that Oplan Hackle is a joint Magdalo-NPA grand plot to bring down the Arroyo administration.

To make up for his mistakes, San Juan started cooperating with the Army leadership, the official said.

"He has finally realized his mistakes, most especially the tie-up of his group with the communists. Kasi nasa puso at isip niya na ang daming mga sundalo na namatay habang nakikipaglaban sa mga NPA (What was on his mind was the number of soldiers who had already died fighting the NPA)," the official said.

Aside from breaking his ties with the Magdalo group, San Juan declared his all-out support for Esperon as AFP chief.

Joining San Juan in his support for Esperon are key Magdalo leader Army Capt. Milo Maestrecampo and 1Lt. Jeffrey Gaueuiran, both of the Army’s First Scout Ranger Regiment.

In a one-page signed manifesto of support, Maestrecampo described Esperon as a fair and just commander.

"In his tenure as brigade commander, where he was even especially assigned in a brigade in Basilan from Cotabato to handle the Basilan crisis, he has always exemplified the meaning of true military proficiency in all three levels: strategic, operational and tactical level," Maestrecampo said.

He added that Esperon typifies the excellence in leadership that is proven not through his personal account but through the accounts of others.

"He instills discipline without favor as part of his sterling leadership style. I should know because when I broke the chain of command in 2003, I felt how steadfast a general he (is)," Maestrecampo said.

Maestrecampo said Esperon is the kind of leader and commander he can neither hate nor disrespect even when he was rebelling against the organization.

"He is someone that a soldier would always respect even if that soldier is on the other side of the fence. What makes him an excellent commander is the fact that he is a good man," Maestrecampo said.

Gaueuiran, in his handwritten manifesto, described Esperon as a "commander who makes the troops feel that are all important in the organization. He knows how to take care of his men."

Maestrecampo, Gaueuiran and San Juan all served under Esperon.