Two mutiny leaders get life; AFP to seek pardon

MANILA, Philippines – The Makati Regional Trial Court yesterday meted life sentences on two ringleaders of the failed Oakwood mutiny and sentenced seven junior military officers of the Magdalo group to jail terms ranging from six to 12 years for taking part in a foiled coup attempt against President Arroyo in 2003.

Following the conviction and sentencing, the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is seriously considering filing an appeal for pardon on their behalf, although Malacañang officials denied that there are any moves for a presidential pardon.

Makati RTC Branch 148 Judge Oscar Pimentel sentenced Captains Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo to reclusion perpetua or 20 to 40 years’ imprisonment.

The court imposed a lighter sentence on Captains Alvin Ebreo, Laurence Louis Somera, Albert Baloloy and John Andres; 1Lt. Florentino Somera, 1Lt. Cleo Dongga and 2Lt. Kristoffer Bryan Yasay to prision mayor, or six to 12 years.

The court slapped the heavier penalty on Gambala and Maestrecampo, considered the core leaders of the Magdalo group of junior military officers and men who, along with detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, seized the Oakwood Premiere Hotel in Makati City in a short-lived mutiny on July 27, 2003.

The accused soldiers rigged the place with explosives, triggering a one-day standoff to highlight their demand for President Arroyo to step down on allegations of high-level corruption.

Pimentel imposed the heavier penalty on Gambala and Maestrecampo for leading the mutiny with the seven other accused officers who merely participated in the uprising.

Pimentel ordered five years served in detention to be subtracted from the sentence.

Malacañang, for its part, hailed the conviction of the nine Magdalo officers.

“Those who committed crimes against the government and the Filipino people must pay the price for their anarchic actions. We hope they learned their lessons well,” deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez in separate interviews denied that there are moves for a presidential pardon, saying that such was not discussed in recent Cabinet meetings.

Lawmakers led by Speaker Prospero Nograles said the conviction is “an example of what soldiers of the government should not do.”

“The message of the judiciary is loud and clear: that such actions will never be condoned and will be meted with the fullest force of the law,” he said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the verdict showed the judicial system was “taking its due course.” He said he appreciated the officers’ guilty plea.

AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said the verdict served as a warning against soldiers engaging in adventurism.

“The verdict would somehow preempt plans for similar undertakings,” Bacarro said.

He said the change in plea by the nine accused officers only proved that engaging in such activities would not lead to anything good.

Bacarro also said that there are no talks yet about the possibility of granting pardon to the convicted officers.

“We leave it up to the authority who would give pardon, and to determine if they deserve such,” Bacarro said.

Esperon, however, said that he was “subjecting to a deep study” the possibility of filing an appeal for pardon on the soldiers’ behalf.

He also said the AFP is planning to assert custodial jurisdiction over the nine military officers following their conviction by the civilian court.

“I’m subjecting that to a deep study,” Esperon said, as officials disclosed plans of the AFP to file a motion before the court to allow jurisdiction over the nine convicted officers.

Esperon said the verdict is not yet final and executory.

“The group of Gambala are given 15 days to file an appeal,” Esperon said. He said it would be disrespectful on the part of the AFP to comment on the verdict handed down by the court.

Following the verdict, the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) said they have yet to receive the commitment order from the Makati court.

“We have not yet received any commitment order that will come from the court of origin. It is a written document that says the soldiers would have to be detained at the NBP,” Prisons Superintendent Ramon Reyes said.

Mitigating

Last week, after almost five years in detention, all nine officers pleaded guilty to the charges, indicating a possible plea bargain. But Assistant State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon denied any deal was reached.

Fadullon said the prosecution sought 20 years each for Gambala and Maestrecampo, both from the elite Army Scout Rangers.

“The decision caught us by surprise,” Fadullon said.

“Judge Pimentel has his reasons and what the judge imposed was in accordance with the law. It’s harsher than what we expected.”

Judge Pimentel, in his 127-page decision, noted that despite their admission, the accused officers are not entitled to a lighter prison term since they changed their plea after the prosecution panel had already rested its case.

The court ruled that the only mitigating circumstance is their voluntary surrender after the one-day mutiny.

“Considering that by pleading guilty to the charge of coup d’etat, under Article 134-A of the Revised Penal Code, all the accused, therefore, have admitted their guilt and they accepted the consequences of their acts,” Pimentel said.

“With the plea, therefore, of the nine accused, the court finds that the prosecution was able to establish beyond reasonable doubt that all the accused committed the crime of coup d’etat,” he said.

The nine officers were convicted on charges of coup d’etat, separate from court-martial proceedings on them.

Gambala and Maestrecampo were among four identified ringleaders who publicly apologized to President Arroyo months after their coup attempt.

The two others, led by then Navy Lt. Junior Grade Trillanes, and Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, remained defiant and criticized their comrades for expressing support for Mrs. Arroyo.

Trillanes later ran successfully for the Senate, but remains in detention pending the outcome of his trial.

The government said the July 27, 2003 mutiny was part of a larger coup conspiracy, but the officers who led the action said they were only protesting alleged corruption and demanding the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo and other officials. They gave up after a 19-hour standoff without any shot being fired.

A fact-finding commission concluded the mutiny was not a spontaneous protest, but part of a larger plot to seize power from Mrs. Arroyo and appoint a 15-member junta.

It was one of the most serious challenges faced by Mrs. Arroyo since she took power in a 2001 “people power” uprising that ousted her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, on charges of corruption. She has survived four attempted power grabs and three impeachment tries during her seven years in power.

Estrada, for his part, said the nine officers deserved an acquittal instead of being imprisoned for their struggle.

“Didn’t they plead guilty to the charges already? They deserved to be acquitted because what they are fighting is the graft and corruption involving top military officers,” Estrada said.

Defense lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr., counsel for eight of the convicted officers, said they will appeal the verdict.

“I have to study (the) ruling and I am preparing for the next hearing. This development somehow increases pressure on us. We must present all available evidence to secure an acquittal for my clients,” Francisco said.

Trixie Angeles, Gambala’s defense counsel, said the probability of a presidential pardon for the nine convicted officers is very high.

Of the 31 Magdalo soldiers charged with coup d’etat, only 22 now remain on trial, including Trillanes who recently said that he no longer wants to be part of the proceedings. - With James Mananghaya, Delon Porcalla, Rhodina Villanueva, AP