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Saturday, July 08, 2006
6 mutineers, 5 others captured
MANILA -- Government forces on Friday arrested three fugitive junior officers linked to the short-lived Oakwood mutiny in July 2003, three other companion officers, and five civilians following a raid of an apartment in Fairview, Quezon City.
Military officials believed the six junior officers were plotting to sabotage President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 24 at the Batasan Complex in the city with the recovery of the building's blueprint from the suspects.
Arrested were Army Captain Nathaniel Rabonza and First Lieutenants Sonny Sarmiento and Patricio Bumidang. The three, along with First Lieutenant Lawrence San Juan, escaped from an Army detention facility on January 17. San Juan was arrested in Batangas on February 21.
Also arrested were First Lieutenants Angelbert Gay and Aldrin Baldonado and Navy Lieutenant Kiram Sadava. Gay and Baldonado are suspected to be members of the mutinous Magdalo Group, who went absent without official leave (Awol) early this year.
The raiding team also arrested lawyer Christopher Belmonte, who was earlier arrested along with San Juan in an operation in Batangas. He has posted bail for a charge of harboring a fugitive.
Belmonte was also charged with rebellion, along several other personalities, in connection with the failed plot to overthrow the Arroyo government. A warrant has yet to be issued against him for the rebellion case.
The raiding team also took into their custody the owners of the apartment, Michael Yangson and his mother Bettina Balderama, and minors Michael and Mathew Berris.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Generoso Senga, new National Police Chief Oscar Calderon, and Philippine Army (PA) Chief Hermogenes Esperon presented the six officers and Belmonte, all clad in shorts and orange t-shirts, to media at the PA Headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Makati City.
Senga said the raid at the residence inside the Filinvest Subdivision was covered by a search warrant issued by Manila City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Executive Judge Antonio Eugenio Jr. for illegal possession of firearms.
Confiscated from the possession of the officers were three armalite M16 rifles, one M14 rifle, one M653 rifle, seven grenades, C-4 explosives, laptop computers, and some documents, including a blueprint of the Batasan Complex.
He said some of the officers tried to escape during the raid but were subdued. He said some of the officers, including Sadava, suffered injuries as they tried to run on bare foot and climb the fence.
Prior to the arrest, Senga said they received intelligence information that the officers had rented in the apartment about three weeks ago and stayed there. He said the troops swooped down on the apartment when the information was confirmed.
Calderon, for his part, said information on the whereabouts of the officers was provided by informants. Rabonza, Bumidang, and Sarmiento each has a P500,000 cash reward for information that would lead to their arrest.
He said the informants may now claim their rewards before the Office of the PNP Directorate for Intelligence. "Our director for intelligence is ready, will be ready to give that (reward) to the informants," he said.
"We already knew when they rented the apartment. We later conducted surveillance. Our operatives monitored the apartment without letup for three nights, they did not withdraw until they (renegade officers and Belmonte) incidentally met," he added.
On why the owners of the apartment were also taken into police custody, Calderon said they were also in the area at the time of the operation. He said the apartment owners face possible charges like obstruction of justice, harboring fugitives, and illegal possession of firearms.
"As a matter of rule, general principles of law, whoever is inside the apartment, everybody is equally liable for harboring fugitives, obstruction of justice, and illegal possession of firearms until we can prove who are really the owners of these firearms," he said.
Senga hinted that the arrested officers may have been planning to sabotage the President's Sona with the recovery of the high explosives and the blueprint of the Batasan Complex.
"If you'll arouse your interest, why would they rent a house at this point in time, then we found this blueprint," said Senga, who however refused to categorically say if there is indeed a plot to mar the Sona.
"It's early to jump to some conclusions but we are looking at this bits and pieces of information and we are trying to put them together. The explosives that we recovered are C-4, there are hand grenades, and course these rifles and ammunition," he said.
Without elaborating, Senga said security forces have foiled plans by the officers, who would be placed under the custody of the Army chief in Fort Bonifacio, to sow terror activities in unspecified areas.
"With the arrest of these officers and Belmonte, we believe that we have prevented possible conduct of terror actions as revealed by their plans that we have unmasked earlier in pursuit of continuing efforts to destabilize the government," said the AFP chief.
Calderon said police bomb experts would compare the bomb parts recovered from scenes of recent blasts in Metro Manila to the explosives recovered from the six officers. Authorities earlier said the Magdalo Group could be involved in the bombings.
President Arroyo lauded the police and military for the arrest.
"The AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) already held a press conference to present their accomplishment. Congratulations to all of them," said Arroyo in her opening statement at the joint meeting of her Cabinet and the Regional Development Councils (RDCs) in Cebu.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said they would leave the investigations and prosecution of the arrested officers to the police and military to handle "in accordance with the military justice system."
Bunye, who is also the Presidential spokesman, said despite the involvement of the military in the plot, the administration remains confident of the "loyalty of the men in uniform to the flag, the chain of command, and the Commander-in-Chief."
Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr. said the arrest was a result of the renewed focus on the campaign against internal security threats and counter-insurgency operations.
Cruz said he had already ordered the recall of military officers deployed in the anti-kidnapping, anti-smuggling, and anti-illegal logging operations "so that they can focus on their primary mandate which is to focus on internal security threats."
He said documents seized from the fugitives are now being declassified and the results would be made public as soon as they have them.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the blueprints and the explosives give the idea that there are really some "plans" but this would become clear once the investigations are completed.
Ermita reiterated that the recapture of the fugitives and seizure of explosives and other materials further prove that the plot against the administration was true and the recent declaration of a state of national emergency was justified.
He said the recent events would also help convince the public, particularly the administration's critics, that there was basis for Proclamation 1017 and had it not been issued the country would already be under a different government.
He added that after the arrest of the remaining Magdalo fugitives, government authorities would now focus on going after former senator Gregorio Honasan who is facing rebellion charges.
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said the government is determined to put an end to all destabilization moves and armed struggles. He said they would not stop until they are 100 percent sure that all destabilization efforts are defeated.
Gonzales said there would be more arrest in the coming days, citing supposed protectors and financiers of the fugitives. He said at least one of the supposed protectors had already been arrested when the fugitive officers were captured in Quezon City.
With the arrest of the fugitive officers, the public could expect a "calmer Sona" on July 24, he added.
Meanwhile, the justice department said new charges will likely be slapped against the recaptured soldiers who are already facing coup d' etat and rebellion charges.
Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon said the arrested junior officers could also be charged with illegal possession of firearms and violations of the Articles of War.
"All that the arresting officers have to do is turn them over to the court, surrender them to the court, considering that there were warrants for Rabonza and Sarmiento's arrests. I do not know what the circumstances are of the arrest, but there could be, depending on the referral of the arresting officers, additional charges filed against them," he said.
On the other hand, Fadullon said Bumidang, Gay, Baldonado, and Sadaba may be released as no standing warrants have been filed issued for their arrest. However, there is pending criminal information against them for rebellion in connection with the February 24, 2006 attempted coup.
The rebellion case stemmed from allegations of an unholy alliance between the rebel soldiers and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) to overthrow the Arroyo administration.
"If there is no warrant against them, then there is no basis in detaining them," Fadullon said.
He said the prosecution panel will wait for the arresting officers to determine what possible additional charges will be filed and the agency would just determine if there's probable cause for filing auxiliary charges.
"Don't preclude the possibility of new charges. The Judge Advocate General's Office (Jago) can take care of any violations to the Articles of War but the justice department will handle the criminal aspect. We will just wait for the police's referral and whatever evidence that they have to back it up," he said. (VR/JMR/ECV/Sunnex)
(July 8, 2006 issue)
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