Military court defers Magdalo arraignment

A military court re-scheduled yesterday the start of the court martial of a group of soldiers who allegedly took part in a failed coup attempt against President Arroyo last year.

The 267 officers and men of the Magdalo group, which took over the Oakwood Apartments in Makati City last July 27, won a court order to reset the reading of the charges against them for Feb. 16, citing their right to challenge the composition of the tribunal.

The group wants five of the nine Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officials sitting as judges removed, while also challenging the jurisdiction of the military court.

After barely settling inside the military courtroom at the Army Headquarters Officers Club at Fort Bonifacio in Makati, the accused broke into a loud applause after one of their civilian counsels, retired Pasig Judge Harriet Demetriou, questioned the jurisdicton of the court while accusing the chief military prosecutor of mental dishonesty.

She said the certiorari case questioning the jurisdiction has yet to be resolved by the Supreme Court.

After a two-hour exchange of arguments between the defense and prosecution panels, AFP judge advocate general Brig. Gen. Ferdinand Bocobo ordered for the arraignment proper to proceed.

However, Roel Pulido, lawyer of the accused, was quick to pose a challenge against five active and alternate military judges, rendering the court out of quorum. This left Bocobo with no other recourse but to defer the arraignment.

The accused are facing charges of mutiny and sedition, disrespect to the President, Vice President and members of Congress, disrespect to superior officers, conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman and conduct prejudicial to good conduct of military discipline.

Many of the officers are facing coup d’etat charges in civilian court, and the defendants want to be tried only under one court instead of two.

Guarded by military police armed with automatic rifles, the 267 officers and men marched out of the courtroom in a festive mood, flashing victory signs and Fernando Poe Jr.’s No. 1 sign.

Some even shouted as if taunting the proceedings, Ituloy and rebolusyon!

Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, AFP-Public Information Office chief, said the postponement of the proceedings only prolongs the agony of the detained soldiers.

"The AFP looks at all these as delaying tactics by their lawyers, thereby denying the soldiers an expeditious resolution of the case filed against them," he said.

The soldiers stand accused of leading or taking part in the mutiny, which prosecutors alleged was a part of a larger coup plot meant to oust Mrs. Arroyo and replace her with a junta.

The soldiers seized part of the Makati business district in the early hours of July 27, planting explosives and briefly taking dozens of tourists hostage. They demanded the resignation of the President and then Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes whom they accused of corruption.

The rebellion fizzled out less than 24 hours later and all the known participants were arrested. A number of civilians allegedly linked to Mrs. Arroyo’s deposed predecessor Joseph Estrada were also charged. – With AFP