Thursday, May 22, 2008 Reyes set to testify on Magdalo coup raps
ENERGY Secretary Angelo Reyes will testify on Thursday as a defense witness during the resumption of the trial of the coup d'etat case against detained Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and other Magdalo soldiers before the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC).
Makati-RTC Branch 148 Judge Oscar Pimentel summoned Reyes to testify after defense lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr. said he wants the former military chief to shed light on the circumstances that led to the 2003 Oakwood mutiny.
"Secretary Reyes will be asked to testify on many issues especially the concerns raised by the Magdalo soldiers when they go to Oakwood. We're going back to the reason behind the incident," Francisco said.
"I have many questions on him (Reyes). I will surely have a long presentation," the lawyer added.
Reyes was the defense secretary when about 300 junior officers and enlisted men seized the Oakwood Hotel Premiere (now Ascott) on the early morning of July 27, 2003 in protest they said of corruption in the government and the military.
Aside from corruption, the mutinous soldiers also alleged that the series of bombings in Mindanao, particularly in Davao and Cotabato, was conducted by the military as part of "Oplan Greenbase" to warrant the imposition of martial law, a charge denied by the authorities.
The Magdalo group claimed that the military offensive conducted in February 2003 at the Buliok Complex in Pikit, North Cotabato against the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was just a cover-up for the implementation of the Liguasan Marsh Development.
The development covers an oil exploration contract between the Philippine National Oil Corporation-Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) and the Malaysian firm Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd.
Francisco said the energy chief would be required to bring copies of the geophysical survey and exploration contract between the PNOC and the Malaysian-based mining company.
He said the Buliok operation and the alleged abuses that resulted from the operation prompted the junior officers to occupy the Oakwood hotel.
He added that the said officials and their documents requested will prove that the act of the junior officers who led about 300 enlisted personnel in seizing the Oakwood Hotel was not an "attack on duly constituted authorities' nor intended 'to seize or diminish state power' but, rather, was a legitimate expression of grievances to focus public attention on corruption in the government,"
During the previous hearing of the case, the prosecution asked the court to junk the defense's bid for Reyes testimony saying the defense failed to cite the energy secretary as a "hostile witness."
The court said Reyes is one of the subjects of the soldier's grievances and has even resigned after the Oakwood incident.
The defense lawyer said he was surprised by the court's decision not to issue a subpoena against Reyes adding that he cannot be considered a "hostile witness."
Aside from Reyes, the court has also summoned former social welfare secretary Corazon Soliman but Francisco said they would re-schedule her appearance since she was still abroad attending a conference.
Former military intelligence chief Victor Corpus was likewise asked to testify but he could not be located.
As former DSWD secretary, Francisco said Soliman would testify on the effects of the military's Buliok offensive in February 2003 that led to the evacuation of more than 300,000 residents.
The offensive also resulted in the death of hundreds of combatants on both sides, including 161 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which the military said was offering sanctuary to criminal elements.
Corpus, on the other hand, will testify on the reasons why he was in Davao City during the Sasa Wharf bombings. (AH/Sunnex)
