Court-martial hearings of coup plotters moved to QC

Court-martial proceedings against the 28 rebel officers who were implicated in the foiled February 2006 coup plot will be transferred from Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal, to Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, a military spokesman announced yesterday.

Maj. Emilio Felicen, spokesman for the Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAGO) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the military tribunal granted the motions of defense lawyers who wanted a more convenient venue for the hearings.

“The change of venue was within the prerogative of the court, as long as the rights of the accused are upheld,” he said.

Felicen said the accused Army and Marine officers, led by former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, have requested the transfer of venue of the court-martial proceedings because of the difficulty in going to Tanay.

He said the custodians of the detained officers will now prepare contingency and security plans when the accused are brought to Quezon City from Camp Capinpin.

Felicen said the accused officers will be brought in by batches for the arraignment of charges against them for alleged violation of the Articles of War.

One of the accused senior officers, former Scout Rangers chief Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, is currently detained at the custodial center of the Philippine National Police at Camp Crame, Quezon City, along with Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and other military officers who allegedly led a standoff at the Peninsula Manila hotel last Nov. 29.