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Monday, September 20, 2004
Cebuano mutineer hopes to live normal life again
By GRECAR NILLES
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE only regret felt by those who joined the Oakwood mutiny last year was that nothing has changed and nothing apparently has been done to address their concerns, said the lone Cebuano official who participated in the revolt.
All the group got was a criminal case for coup d’etat now pending in a civil court, and a case with the military tribunal for conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman, said 27-year-old 1Lt. Francisco Ashley Acedillo.
While waiting for their hearings and to fight boredom, Ashley and his fellow Air Force detainees make their time productive by making hammocks (duyan) and sell them to friends to earn a little.
Ashley also proudly said that all 11 of them now know how to cook.
The group usually wakes up around 7 to 8 a.m. and spend the morning reading at least two national newspapers.
In the afternoon, they play basketball and table tennis, make hammocks, read paperbacks by various authors or workout using makeshift fitness equipment.
Evenings are spent watching television and playing cards and chess. They call it a night around 11 p.m.
Just last Saturday, a marriage ceremony was held inside their detention center when one of his co-detainees exchanged vows with his girlfriend.
“Love indeed blooms amidst the strangest of places,” Acedillo said.
Realization
But Ashley’s greatest realization while in jail was that one has to live with the choices he make, no matter how hard and unpopular they may be.
“We keep our honor not by being popular or being liked by everyone, but we become honorable men when we stick to our principles and fight for what we believe in,” Ashley said.
Ashley and 11 other Air Force officers who took part in the mutiny are detained at the Villamor Air Base since they seized Oakwood Hotel last July 27, 2003.
Mutiny leaders Antonio Trillanes, Gerardo Gambala, Milo Maestrecampo and three others are still detained at the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces.
The Army personnel are detained at Fort Bonifacio, the Navy are locked in at Fort San Felipe, while the elite Swag and Navy Seals are housed in Sangley Point detention center in Cavite.
But like any other person being incarcerated, Ashley also hoped for their release and wished they could live a normal life again.
He said that if he were to be invited again to join another mutiny, a big “no” would be his ready answer.
“If given the chance, I really think I can still be of service to the country. I want to return to what is normal,” Ashley told Sun.Star.
Ashley’s sister, Odessa, said their family started to understand now what spurred him to rebel against the government.
“We are sad but we are also proud of him for making a remarkable stand that time. Some members of the family used to wonder why he joined in,” Odessa said.
The case
Ashley and the other officials did not enter a plea during their arraignment last April before a Makati Regional Trial Court.
Their case before the military tribunal, however, has been deferred until the resolution of their case with the civil court.
Recalling that fateful day, Ashley said he went to Manila without any inkling of achieving a strategic tactical victory or success.
“The move was purely to make a moral stand, hoping to get a moral victory. Indeed, we achieved a moral victory. There was a call to make a stand at that time. I made a stand and I have to face the consequence of my action,” Ashley said.
He said that they still hope to see things that they have been hoping and the conviction they espoused for when they joined the rebellion.
“Cebu and the Cebuanos always have a special and distinct role in shaping the nation’s future. I urge all Cebuanos to always keep God first in their lives, put the nation and the Filipino people’s interest at heart in whatever they do, and always aspire for better things – not to be contented with what is there,” Ashley said.
(September 20, 2004 issue)
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