Esperon mum on reversal of recommendation to clear Lim, others - Malaya 11.22.2006
BY VICTOR REYES
GEN. Hermogenes Esperon yesterday invoked his prerogative as AFP chief of staff to initiate court martial proceedings as he declined to deny or confirm that he overruled the recommendations of a pre-trial investigation (PTI) panel to drop mutiny charges against Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, former Marines commandant, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, former Scout Rangers chief, and 36 other officers.
He said the recommendations of the PTI and the pre-trial advice (PTA) of his staff judge advocate served as "references" in his decision.
"If I have indeed not approved all of their recommendations, that is my prerogative as the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines," he said.
In convening a court martial the other day, Esperon charged 30 of the 38 officers with mutiny, among other violations of the Articles of War, and cleared the rest.
A leaked copy of an unsigned report by the PTI dated Oct. 25 said there were no "legal and factual bases" to charge the 38 with "Attempting to begin or create mutiny" (Article of War 67).
The report endorsed to Esperon the trial of 18 officers - led by Miranda, Lim and be-medalled Marine Col. Ariel Querubin - for the lighter offense of violations of Article of War 96 (conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman).
The panel, headed by Col. Al Perreras, also recommended the filing of additional charges against Querubin and Marine Lt. Col. Achiles Segumalian for violation of the AW 97 (conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline).
On Monday, Esperon appeared in a press conference where he announced his order to conduct a court martial against 30 of the officers for violation of AW 96 and AW 67 (mutiny).
Querubin will be tried for an additional case of violation of AW 65 (assaulting or willfully disobeying a superior officer).
Lim, the alleged leader of the plot to overthrow the administration last February who was caught on videotape calling President Arroyo a bogus president, has an added case of violation of AW 63 (disrespect toward the President, Vice President, Congress and Secretary of National Defense), AW 65 and AW 97.
Of the 30 officers who face trial, 11 are from the Marines while the 19 others are from the Army, mostly from the First Scout Rangers Regiment.
The other indicted Marine officers are Medal of Valor awardee Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon; Colonels Orlando de Leon, Januario Caringal and Armando Bañez; Lieutenant Colonels Valentin Hizon, Romulo Gualdrapa, and Achilles Segumalian; Maj. Francisco Domingo Fernandez; and 1Lt. Belinda Ferrer.
The other Army officers are Lieutenant Colonels Nestor Flordeliza and Edmundo Malabanjot; Majors Jason Aquino, and Jose Leomar Doctolero; Captains James Sababan, Montano Almodovar, Joey Fontiveros, Ruben Guinolbay, Isagani Criste, William Upano, Dante Langkit, Allan Aurino, and Frederick Sales; and First Lieutenants Ervin Divinagracia, Jacon Cordero, Homer Estolas, Sandro Sereno and Richiemel Caballes.
Cleared due to insufficiency of evidence were Marine Lieutenant Colonels Reynaldo Ocsan and Martin Villasan, Army Maj. Oriel Pangcog, Capt. George Malones, and First Lieutenants Antonio Timbal, Jerald Reyes, Mario Bautista and Michael Cuarteros.
Asked if the PTI panel indeed recommended to him the dropping of the mutiny charges against the officers, Esperon said: "There are two reports that came in to me. One is the pretrial investigation report of the pretrial (investigation) panel and the other one is the pretrial advice of my staff judge advocate."
The PTI panel forwarded its report to the AFP chief last Oct. 25. Esperon had the recommendation reviewed by his staff judge advocate, Lt. Col. Pedro Davila, who submitted his PTA to Esperon on Nov. 7.
"They (PTI and PTA reports) are the basis for my decisions in directing the court martial of the 30 officers," he said.
"I will not comment on the contents of the PTI report and the PTA. I will not tell you the contents. Suffice it to say that they are my references. Whatever are their contents, they served as my references in arriving at my decisions."
"I do not have to abide by the PTI report and by the PTA. They are my basis (in coming up with the decision). I could refer to them as my basis for my decisions," he said.
SUB JUDICE
Asked whether he still maintains an earlier statement that there exists strong evidence to try the officers for mutiny, Esperon said: "I will not talk about the merits of the case. It’s sub judice. As I said, I’m not testifying."
Asked if the unsigned PTI report posted on the internet (ellentordesillas.com) is an authentic copy of the report, Esperon said: "I have not seen a copy of that. (But) what I must tell you is that the PTI report is a signed report and there is only one copy of that original report," he said.
Esperon said he forwarded the original copy of the PTI report to the office of the Judge Advocate General Col. Nemesio Dabal.
"So anything that you see in the internet is not the PTI report," he said.
Esperon said he may convene the general court martial that will try the 30 offices in five days after AFP deputy chief of staff for personnel Maj. Gen. Horacio Tolentino submits to him the names of those who will compose the court.
COURT MARTIAL IN DEC.
Esperon said trial may start in December.
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel urged Esperon to follow the recommendation of the PTI panel to dismiss the charges.
Pimentel said disregard of the recommendation of the JAGO panel would create the impression that the officers are being persecuted.
"(It) will only stoke the fires of discontent in the military ranks," he said.
Pimentel said Esperon’s decision to pursue the charges against the soldiers was "a sign of a military mind in action."
"It is very authoritarian in its decision-making so that no matter what a duly constituted review panel has found out in the matter of investigating, Gen. Miranda, et al., is no deterrent to a predetermined course of action by the AFP chief of staff," he said.
Pimentel added: "This kind of authoritarianism that is being applied in handling the case against the alleged mutiny participants is not good for the rule of law." – With a report from Dennis Gadil
GEN. Hermogenes Esperon yesterday invoked his prerogative as AFP chief of staff to initiate court martial proceedings as he declined to deny or confirm that he overruled the recommendations of a pre-trial investigation (PTI) panel to drop mutiny charges against Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, former Marines commandant, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, former Scout Rangers chief, and 36 other officers.
He said the recommendations of the PTI and the pre-trial advice (PTA) of his staff judge advocate served as "references" in his decision.
"If I have indeed not approved all of their recommendations, that is my prerogative as the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines," he said.
In convening a court martial the other day, Esperon charged 30 of the 38 officers with mutiny, among other violations of the Articles of War, and cleared the rest.
A leaked copy of an unsigned report by the PTI dated Oct. 25 said there were no "legal and factual bases" to charge the 38 with "Attempting to begin or create mutiny" (Article of War 67).
The report endorsed to Esperon the trial of 18 officers - led by Miranda, Lim and be-medalled Marine Col. Ariel Querubin - for the lighter offense of violations of Article of War 96 (conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman).
The panel, headed by Col. Al Perreras, also recommended the filing of additional charges against Querubin and Marine Lt. Col. Achiles Segumalian for violation of the AW 97 (conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline).
On Monday, Esperon appeared in a press conference where he announced his order to conduct a court martial against 30 of the officers for violation of AW 96 and AW 67 (mutiny).
Querubin will be tried for an additional case of violation of AW 65 (assaulting or willfully disobeying a superior officer).
Lim, the alleged leader of the plot to overthrow the administration last February who was caught on videotape calling President Arroyo a bogus president, has an added case of violation of AW 63 (disrespect toward the President, Vice President, Congress and Secretary of National Defense), AW 65 and AW 97.
Of the 30 officers who face trial, 11 are from the Marines while the 19 others are from the Army, mostly from the First Scout Rangers Regiment.
The other indicted Marine officers are Medal of Valor awardee Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon; Colonels Orlando de Leon, Januario Caringal and Armando Bañez; Lieutenant Colonels Valentin Hizon, Romulo Gualdrapa, and Achilles Segumalian; Maj. Francisco Domingo Fernandez; and 1Lt. Belinda Ferrer.
The other Army officers are Lieutenant Colonels Nestor Flordeliza and Edmundo Malabanjot; Majors Jason Aquino, and Jose Leomar Doctolero; Captains James Sababan, Montano Almodovar, Joey Fontiveros, Ruben Guinolbay, Isagani Criste, William Upano, Dante Langkit, Allan Aurino, and Frederick Sales; and First Lieutenants Ervin Divinagracia, Jacon Cordero, Homer Estolas, Sandro Sereno and Richiemel Caballes.
Cleared due to insufficiency of evidence were Marine Lieutenant Colonels Reynaldo Ocsan and Martin Villasan, Army Maj. Oriel Pangcog, Capt. George Malones, and First Lieutenants Antonio Timbal, Jerald Reyes, Mario Bautista and Michael Cuarteros.
Asked if the PTI panel indeed recommended to him the dropping of the mutiny charges against the officers, Esperon said: "There are two reports that came in to me. One is the pretrial investigation report of the pretrial (investigation) panel and the other one is the pretrial advice of my staff judge advocate."
The PTI panel forwarded its report to the AFP chief last Oct. 25. Esperon had the recommendation reviewed by his staff judge advocate, Lt. Col. Pedro Davila, who submitted his PTA to Esperon on Nov. 7.
"They (PTI and PTA reports) are the basis for my decisions in directing the court martial of the 30 officers," he said.
"I will not comment on the contents of the PTI report and the PTA. I will not tell you the contents. Suffice it to say that they are my references. Whatever are their contents, they served as my references in arriving at my decisions."
"I do not have to abide by the PTI report and by the PTA. They are my basis (in coming up with the decision). I could refer to them as my basis for my decisions," he said.
SUB JUDICE
Asked whether he still maintains an earlier statement that there exists strong evidence to try the officers for mutiny, Esperon said: "I will not talk about the merits of the case. It’s sub judice. As I said, I’m not testifying."
Asked if the unsigned PTI report posted on the internet (ellentordesillas.com) is an authentic copy of the report, Esperon said: "I have not seen a copy of that. (But) what I must tell you is that the PTI report is a signed report and there is only one copy of that original report," he said.
Esperon said he forwarded the original copy of the PTI report to the office of the Judge Advocate General Col. Nemesio Dabal.
"So anything that you see in the internet is not the PTI report," he said.
Esperon said he may convene the general court martial that will try the 30 offices in five days after AFP deputy chief of staff for personnel Maj. Gen. Horacio Tolentino submits to him the names of those who will compose the court.
COURT MARTIAL IN DEC.
Esperon said trial may start in December.
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel urged Esperon to follow the recommendation of the PTI panel to dismiss the charges.
Pimentel said disregard of the recommendation of the JAGO panel would create the impression that the officers are being persecuted.
"(It) will only stoke the fires of discontent in the military ranks," he said.
Pimentel said Esperon’s decision to pursue the charges against the soldiers was "a sign of a military mind in action."
"It is very authoritarian in its decision-making so that no matter what a duly constituted review panel has found out in the matter of investigating, Gen. Miranda, et al., is no deterrent to a predetermined course of action by the AFP chief of staff," he said.
Pimentel added: "This kind of authoritarianism that is being applied in handling the case against the alleged mutiny participants is not good for the rule of law." – With a report from Dennis Gadil
posted by brodkaster43 at Miyerkules, Nobyembre 22, 2006
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