Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Journalist testifies on Oakwood mutiny
A REPORTER of a major television network took the witness stand during Tuesday's resumption of the coup d'etat trial of detained Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and other Magdalo soldiers before the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC).
Alvin Elchico, reporter of ABS-CBN and a close friend and kababayan (town mate) of Magdalo leader Army Captain Milo Maestrecampo testified before the sala of Makati RTC Branch 148 Judge Oscar Pimentel for more than an hour as a defense witness.
In his testimony, Elchico narrated to the court that he was at the Oakwood Hotel Premiere that the mutinous soldiers has seized from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 27, 2003 and that he conducted several interviews on Magdalo leaders, particularly Trillanes, who was then a Navy lieutenant senior grade.
Under examination by defense lawyer Ernesto Francisco, Elchico said during the interviews and the subsequent press conference, the junior officers were expressing grievances against the government while calling for the resignation of then defense secretary Angelo Reyes, then Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and former Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) chief Victor Corpus.
He also said he never heard the soldiers plan to takeover the government or attack government troops and even Malacañang and they did not threaten nor intimidate the civilian employees of the hotel.
Likewise, he told the court that he did not saw any explosives inside the hotel the entire time he was there.
Francisco said the witness' testimony proved beyond doubt their arguments that the Oakwood incident was no coup d'etat and they were just expressing their grievances against corruption in the government and military.
"Their going to Oakwood was only to expose irregularities in the AFP including the sale of weapons and ammunitions to rebels and the military offensive at the Buliok Complex in Pikit, North Cotabato as well as corruption in the government," Francisco said.
He added that the group did not call for the resignation nor the overthrow of the duly constituted authorities led by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
But the prosecution belittled Elchico's testimony saying it has no bearing on the case.
"The testimony of the witness has no bearing whatsoever on our case. The defense could even present their case without him since we had already agreed to stipulate that there was no violence during the Oakwood mutiny," said State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera.
He said the threat and intimidation was leveled by the mutinous soldiers not against the civilian employees of the Oakwood Hotel Premiere but rather at the government.
"It is precisely why the case of coup d'etat was filed against them. The threat and intimidation were directed at the duly-constituted authorities," Navera said.
The prosecutor also questioned the intention of the Magdalo group, saying during Elchico's cross-examination, he admitted that Trillanes was adamant against negotiation.
"He (Elchico) told the court that Trillanes was against negotiation and that he almost throw the telephone when he give it to the latter to talk to Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye," Navera said.
"If their going in to Oakwood was just to raise soldiers' grievances why then he (Trillanes) refused to negotiate," he added.
Trillanes was among the core leaders of the Magdalo group along with Marine Captains Gary Alejano and Nicanor Faeldon, Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade James Layug and Army Captain Gerardo Gambala and Maestrecampo.
Gambala and Maestrecampo were recently released from detention after they were pardoned by Arroyo.
The two, along with seven other pardoned junior officers, were earlier convicted of the coup d'etat by the court.
In a related development, Francisco asked the court to reset the testimony of former social welfare secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman to June 26 since she will be in the United Kingdom from June 16-24.
Soliman is set to testify about the evacuation and the government's response to the displacement of about 300,000 residents who were affected by the February 2003 military offensive at the Buliok Complex against the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang.
The defense lawyer also asked the court to schedule hearings next month for the testimony of Army General Cardozo Luna, former AFP chief Generoso Senga, Lieutenant General Ferdinand Bocobo, Marcela Rafanan of Malacañang and Antonio Barros of the Senate. (AH/Sunnex)
