Thursday, July 13, 2006
Recaptured rebel soldier confirms switching sides
MANILA -- One of the junior officers involved in the short-lived Oakwood Mutiny in July 2003 and in the failed plot to overthrow the Arroyo government last February said he is now cooperating with the government.
Army Chief Hermogenes Esperon earlier said 1st Lieutenant Lawrence San Juan has agreed to name all the civilians involved in the Oakwood Mutiny, which the mutineers said was in protest of corruption in government.
"I am confirming the announcement of the CG, PA (commanding general, Philippine Army) that I will be giving my full cooperation to the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines)," said San Juan in a note given to television station GMA 7 on Tuesday.
"My statement will be a way for me to clear everything that happened. This is also a way for me to rectify the mistake that I made," said San Juan, who was recaptured last February 21 in Padre Garcia town in Batangas.
San Juan was among the four Magdalo Group officers who escaped from a detention facility inside the Army headquarters last January 17, along with Captain Nathaniel Rabonza and Lieutenants Sonny Sarmiento and Patricio Bumidang.
Rabonza, Sarmiento and Bumidang were arrested last Friday by joint military and police operatives in a rented apartment in Filinvest subdivision in Fairview, Quezon City, along with three officer-companions and two civilians.
Shortly after their escape, San Juan and his companions called for the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He was charged with rebellion in connection with the failed power grab last February.
The case is on top of the coup d'etat case he and 20 other officers and men of the Magdalo Group are facing, which is pending before the Makati City Regional Trial Court in connection with the Oakwood rebellion. (VR/Sunnex)
(July 13, 2006 issue)
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