Biazon: Tape leakage - Malaya 07.06.2006

Palace treads softly on reaction

BY DENNIS GADIL

A VIDEO showing Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim announcing his and his men’s withdrawal of support from President Arroyo was leaked to the media to determine the extent of grumbling in the military rank and file, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said yesterday.

Biazon, a former Marines commandant and AFP chief of staff, did not categorically say Malacañang or the military leadership was behind the leak. But whoever it was, he said, it was exercising caution because of the possible reaction of soldiers and officers if charges against Lim and others accused of plotting to overthrow government are filed.

"I have the theory that the leakage was intentionally done to test the waters, especially the possible reaction of the rank and file in the military," Biazon said.

He said military leaders are determining the effects of "legal actions that are possibly to be taken against those who are suspected to be participating in the event of February 24 and 26."

Lim, relieved as commander of the First Scout Ranger Regiment, an elite unit of the Army, reportedly planned to lead his officers and men in a march to the Edsa Shrine on Feb. 24 during anti-Arroyo rallies coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Edsa 1, where they would announce withdrawal of support from Arroyo. Hours before the march was to take place, Lim was ordered restricted to quarters by AFP chief Gen. Generoso Senga. He has since been confined to quarters.

The Feb. 26 event Biazon was referring to involved Marines officers and men, led by Col. Ariel Querubin, who protested the relief of their commandant, Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda. The protest sparked a 10-hour standoff at the Marines headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. Querubin, who would reportedly lead his men in joining Lim’s group in the march to the Edsa Shrine, was sacked on Feb. 28 as commander of the 1st Marine Brigade based in Marawi City.

Lim and dozens others of officers are under investigation by a fact-finding board for possible court martial. The investigating body has not completed the probe which started in March.

Biazon said the AFP leadership is in a "dilemma" as to whether to press charges against Lim and his men or not.

‘Itutuloy ba natin ito o hindi? Pag itinuloy natin, ano ang magiging reaksiyon sa baba?’ They have to consider this. Anybody who will soberly examine the situation will always be cautious because they are not sure of the extent of the disgruntlement down there," he said.

Biazon said if the military leaders saw no violent reaction on the leaked video, they would press on with charges against Lim and his group, and might charge more members of the Armed Forces.

"So that they will be guided accordingly as to whether to push through with the filing of charges or whether all will be charged in court martial, or only selectively or drop the charges altogether," he said.

Biazon called on the AFP leadership "to be careful about the handling (of) the issue."

He said he is not holding a Senate probe soon.

"I will allow the AFP to exhaust all institutional processes to provide for a credible resolution of this incident. Wag na muna natin silang guluhin. Maybe later, much later we may have to consider," he said.

FULL SHOWING

The military on Tuesday said it intends to use the video recording as proof of the overthrow plot.

Former President Fidel Ramos said he favors the showing of the full video.

"It should be shown in full if it’s for the good of everybody," he said in an ambush interview at the PNP turn over ceremony in Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Lim, in the video shown by ABS-CBN’s news program "Bandila" Monday night, branded Arroyo a "bogus president" and called for the establishment of a new government which he said would be headed by civilians.

"We cannot stand idly by while the rule of law, the moral order and the integrity of our institutions, the very future of our country and people and our own professional careers are destroyed by this bogus President," Lim said in the video which was supposed to be aired after Arroyo, who is accused of cheating in the 2004 elections, was ousted.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, one of the four generals implicated in the alleged cheating in the May 2004 polls, said it was expected of Lim to call Arroyo a "bogus president" because he plotted to overthrow the Arroyo government.

"For one who wants to take over power, he can always say that. He can allege that but who is he to judge the President to be a bogus President when we went through all these electoral process and she (Arroyo) is the duly constituted authority?" he said.

During the polls, Esperon was AFP deputy chief of staff for operations and concurrent deputy commander of the military’s Task Force Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Elections. He was named Army chief a month following the elections.

It is widely perceived that Esperon will be the next AFP chief. Senga retires on July 21.

Esperon and the three other generals have been cleared by a military fact-finding board of any wrongdoing because, the board said, not a single witness testified against the officers as involved in the electoral fraud. The findings were released during the Holy Week in April.

Esperon said the video proved right the military and government’s moves last February, when Arroyo issued Proclamation 1017 declaring the country under a state of national emergency because of a supposed Leftist-Rightist conspiracy to overthrow government.

"I have always claimed that there was a report as early as Feb. 22 that a tape recording has been prepared to express withdrawal of support from the President. It has come out so I believe the basis for our actions on the 22nd, 23rd, and the 24th and so on onwards were indeed justified," he said.

The Supreme Court has said that while the declaration of the state of emergency was valid, the police actions during the weeklong state of emergency, like warrantless arrests and raids and ban of rallies, were unconstitutional.

MILITARY JUSTICE

Esperon, asked if the military is eyeing more charges against Lim in view of the video footage, said: "On the matter of charges what we must do is we must allow, we must let the military justice system take its due course."

Esperon said the officers and men involved in the failed coup could be subjected to court martial proceedings for violation of the Article of War 65 or disrespect to the president and Article of War 67 or mutiny.

He also said they could also be charged for violation of the Article of War 68 or failure to report or quell mutiny, Article of War 96 or conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman and Article of War 97 or conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline.

"They could (also) be charged with Republic Act 134-A which is the coup d’état, committing coup d’état," he said.

Asked if Lim and other Army officers would be transferred to a recently completed detention facility inside Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal, once the court trial pushes through, Esperon said: "Let us see how thing goes about. That (Tanay jail facility) was meant to house some violators or people who violate the Articles of War."

"Under the Articles of War, I can confine him (Lim) as I wish. I could put him in the full security detention center of the Army (inside the Custodial Management Unit in Fort Bonifacio) or bring him to Tanay," he added.

Senga stressed the investigation against Lim and other suspected plotters has yet to be completed.

But he said the board’s chairman, Rear Adm. Rufino Lopez, has shown him a manuscript or draft report, which he said could have been leaked to the media.

On Tuesday, media outfits said the Lopez board has submitted a report to Senga, recommending court martial proceedings against the accused officers.

"I was shown what they have. Very clearly it’s a draft or it’s a type-written manuscript of something, there is no heading, there is no appropriate marking that will indicate that it’s an official report," Senga said.

Senga said he has ordered his men to find out if the manuscript or draft shown to him was what was leaked to the media, and who were responsible for the leakage.

On the video, Senga said: "I have told Admiral Lopez to get hold of it and consult our lawyers so that they can determine what is the proper utilization of that tape in the investigation that they are doing."

On what was the guidance Arroyo issued to the AFP on the case, Senga said: "What she merely said was just let justice be done and really apply to the fullest extent the law and in this particular case, it would be the Articles of War."

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita belied talks the video was made public as part of efforts to downplay the series of impeachment complaints being filed against Arroyo.

"Hindi naman talaga. It just came out the way it came out last Monday evening…Tsaka we are not bothered about the impeachment cases. Remember I told you hindi naman surprise iyan e. So what do we have to be worried about na kinakailangan mong tabunan? How can you `tabon’ something that’s already out?" he said.

He said the government had nothing to do with the airing of the video. He said the intelligence community has been looking for it and might have gotten a copy but was beaten by the media in making it public.

He said the Palace has been asking about the video when it was first mentioned in February, wondering if it really existed,, especially after Lim told the NBI he had nothing to do with the withdrawal of support.

"The least I can say, talagang madidiin siya (Lim). That is the incontrovertible evidence about their plot for February 24," Ermita said.

He said the video also showed Arroyo’s decision to declare a state of emergency was correct. – With Victor Reyes and Jocelyn Montemayor