As I have been discussing in my other recent AFP (Armed Forces of the Phillipines) entries,Congress is about to offer Concurrence to Presidential Proclamation #75 (the revised version of Presidential Proclamation #50,the Presidential Amnesty for the GMA Era Coup and Mutiny Attempts).In light of this impending Concurrence,the case in Makati Regional Trial Court,Branch #148,where 22 of the Oakwood plotters have been going mano to mano (double entendre for Tagalog,Bisaya and English speakers,but only if you are at least bilingual) with presiding Judge Oscar B.Pimentel is sputtering to an anti-climatic ending.On Monday,December 20,2010 Judge Pimentel decided to finally take Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on an offer Enrile had made way back in October,when Enrile had offered to have the Senate take custody of Senator Trillanes.
Judge Pimentel is a man who apparently enjoys thinking long and hard about every decison he makes.It probably takes him 2 days to pick his socks.Remebering what I had mentioned in my last AFP entry,it took him 2 months to compose a voluminous Ruling on the Oakwood Case.In any event the good judge,as I mentioned in my previous paragraph,finally agreed to release Senator Trillanes to the Senate's custody on Monday,December 20,2010 .Enrile welcomed his comrade to the Senate for an impromptu tour on Wednesday,December 22.After the short tour Enrile assigned 2 officers from the Senate's Sergeant at Arms to act as "Security Guards".Asked if he did so out of concerns that Trillanes would flee,Enrile answered that that would be insane given his impending Amnesty,but then failing to answer as to why he bothered assigning the 2 men.
There are no restrictions on Senator Trillanes'freedom aside from the requirement of gaining Enrile's clearance should Trillanes somehow decide he wished to travel abroad prior to the President signing off on his application for Amnesty.It is expected that Trillanes,who has held a seat in the Senate for 3.5 years but never even been inside the Senate Building prior to Wednesday,will attend his first Session on January 17,2011 when the Senate resumes after Xmas Vacation.
Oakwood took place long enough ago that a good many Filipinos might not know much about it,to say nothing of foreigners. In discussing it one needs to remember the state of the nation in the Summer of 2003,when the coup attempt transpired.In 2001 GMA (President Gloria M. Arroyo) came to power in a military sponsored coup against President Joseph"ERAP"Estrada. Immediately she ran into resistance from large segments of society who saw no real difference between her and Estrada, both were corrupt puppets out for self enrichment.Coincidentally,a large clique within the AFP began coallescing around PMA (Philippine Military Academy) Class of 1995 who at this time were still Junior Officers (Captains or below).The clique,led by the most charismatic of these Junior Officers,1stLt.Gerardo Gambala,Class Valedictorian and serving in the Army,and the afore mentioned Antonio Trillanes who was then an extroverted Naval Lieutenant,Senior Grade.
Fashioning themselves true patriots,they were disgusted by the gross incompetence and flagrant corruption that typified AFP Senior Officers (and sadly,still does to a high degree).Chief amongst their very long list of complaints was the theft of the military's best Infantry equipment which was often sold directly to various insurgent organisations.Imagine yourself a platoon leader,you have 30 young men whose lives (as well as the living conditions of all their families) directly depends on your leadership.You are struggling to make ends meet yourself.You see your Superiors blatantly stealing 120 new rifles meant to replace your unit's 40 year old equipment.Your Superiors flaunt the wealth generated by their blatant thefts and THEN sends you into a place like Basilan where your young men are dying at the hands of people firing those same stolen rifles.I dare say it is enough to drive a great many idealistic and capable young men over the edge.
Fashioning an insignia closely modeled on Aguinaldo's factional emblem,a 16 rayed sun on a red background, 337 men ensconced themselves in Makati's luxurious Oakwood condominiums ("The Oakwood Premier,Ayala Center,Makati,since renamed, "Ascott, The Residence, Makati"[sic]) on July, 27, 2003.Aside from their disatisfaction with the status quo within the AFP they demanded GMA's ouster insisting that they had discovered an insidious plot by which GMA played up fears in Mindanao, specifically the (then) recent bombings in Davao City.The clique insisted that they had proof that those bombings were committed by elements within the AFP with the 2 pronged aim of enrichment via US anti-terrorism funds (this was in the days of America's bottomless pockets as it flailed left and right against anything having to do with Bin Laden) but more importantly so that she could use the bombings as a pretext with which to declare Martial Law.Once Martial Law was in effect they said,GMA would co-opt dictatorial powers along the lines of former President Marcos,post-1972.
It was in the late afternoon when an ignorant journalist (don't know many of them, do we?) mistook that catchy emblem, worn on the arm,as the"Katipunan"emblem of Bonifacio,another hero of Philippine Independance.Bonifacio's faction was called,"Magdalo."With that pronouncement the clique instantaneously became the,"Magdalo Soldiers,"a name they retain until the present.
This was not the first plot against GMA,in fact every post-Marcos Presidency has been wracked by mutinies and coup attempts with the exception of the current President Aquino but then he is barely 6 months into his 6 year term,give him time.GMA however was shocked at the widespread support the Magdalo Soldiers instantly generated.She deployed a negotiating team led by former AFP Chief of Staff,General Roy Cimatu.General Cimatu has been widely regarded as a straight shooter, a good man within a perverted system and so he quickly made headway with the 5 Junior Officers who formed the command and control nuclei as it were:
I) Lieutenant Gerardo Gambala (Army)
II) Lieutenant, Sr. Grade, Antonio F. Trillanes (Navy)
III) Captain Milo Maestrecampo (Army)
IV) Captain Gary Alejano (Marines)
V) Lieutenant, Sr. Grade, James Layug (Navy)
General Cimatu gave them his word as a man of honour,an officer and a hentleman (that movie was just so-so,didn't really like it,Debra Winger isn't my cup of tea) that only these 5 leaders would be tried at all,and that they would be relegated to the Military Justice System where he strongly inferred it would be whitewashed.He even thanked the leaders for being brave and patriotic enough to take this much needed stand.The rest of the group would be given an Article #105 (of the Rules of War),known as an "Admonishment" (akin to written warning).The 5 agreed and ordered the rest of the men to promptly return to Camp Aguinaldo for deployment back to their respective units.The very next morning GMA showed her true colours by having every last one of them imprisoned on the harshest charges possible,in the civilian courts.Trillanes, Gambala and 29 others (including 2 Enlisted Men) were charged with"Rebellion"and this is the case now being shelved by Judge Pimentel in Makati.In the end,General Cimatu said nothing (thus proving what a loser he really is).
No comments:
Post a Comment