Ex-defense chief tagged in ouster plot vs Noy

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV yesterday tagged former defense secretary Norberto Gonzales as among those allegedly instigating an ouster plot against the Aquino administration.

Trillanes said he got wind of reports about Gonzalez’s involvement in efforts to topple the government amid public outrage over the Mamasapano encounter that left 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos killed on Jan. 25.

“What is the role of Norberto Gonzales? To sow confusion in the country,” he said in Filipino.

Trillanes, who led a failed coup against the Arroyo administration, described Gonzalez as “a sociopath who will pursue anything he has in mind.”

The senator downplayed the capability of any group out to overthrow the Aquino administration.

He expressed doubts that the former defense chief had enough influence in the military to convince them to support any ouster move against the Aquino administration.

“Wala (None). But he’s trying to project that he has one. Briefly nag-defense secretary yan pero wala namang nakikinig (He briefly became defense secretary but no one listens to him),” Trillanes said.

But while there was presently nothing to be alarmed about, the senator said: “We can’t be complacent because having experienced this, you need to have only one disgruntled soldier who has valid grievances, this can become a very bad situation for this administration.”

He bared the alleged ouster plot against President Aquino last week.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who attended the Senate hearing on the Mamasapano incident on Thursday, said there have been meetings aimed at staging a coup but maintained she would not support any moves.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said they have received reports about plans to destabilize the government but these are still being validated.

‘Lessons of the past’

Soldiers will not join any ouster plot against the Aquino administration because they have learned from the experiences of those whose careers were ruined after joining coups, the military said yesterday.

Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said there are no valid reasons to withdraw their support from the government, which is facing a backlash over the Mamasapano incident.

“We have a lot of examples of soldiers whose careers were destroyed by people who lured them into joining coup attempts,” Cabunoc said in an interview.

“I’m especially referring to the enlisted personnel. Some of them are discharged from the service and some of them were demoted to the lowest ranks and their families were affected by these incidents,” he added.

Cabunoc said among those who have learned from the lessons of the past is Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr., who joined ouster plots against the Marcos dictatorship during his younger years.

Catapang was a member of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement, a group of officers who were disgruntled by military corruption during the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos. The group was one of the key players of the 1986 EDSA Revolution that toppled the Marcos regime and restored democracy in the country.

“Gen. Catapang has learned from past incidents. He believes that soldiers should not resort to violence and uprising to promote change,” Cabunoc said.

He said soldiers who would join anti-government uprising would be charged before civilian and military courts. He reiterated that the military would remain loyal to the Constitution and the chain of command.

CBCP to P-Noy: Explain role in SAF operation

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged President Aquino to explain his role in the Mamasapano bloodbath as it seeks justice for the fallen SAF members.

CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said Aquino and his advisers must give a “full and satisfactory accounting of their actions in respect to this tragic loss.”

Villegas explained that the targets of the SAF operation – terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and Abdul Basit Usman – were characterized as high-value targets.            

“If the police went after them, it can only be because they were ordered to do so. Policemen do not order themselves,” the CBCP official said.

He said Aquino should explain why Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II were left out of the loop of information, consultation and command.

“It seems that a suspended police officer played more than a merely advisory role. Why should he have been giving orders? And if he was in fact issuing orders and commands, should it not be clear that his authority to do so, precisely because he was laboring under a legitimate order of suspension, emanated from higher levels?” Villegas said, referring to then suspended PNP chief Alan Purisima.  –  With Alexis Romero, Eva Visperas, Evelyn Macairan