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Monday, August 14, 2006
'Garci generals' out to kill ex-Rangers chief: group
MANILA -- An anti-government group said Sunday that the so-called "Garci generals" are out to eliminate erstwhile First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR) commander Danilo Lim, who is accused of taking part in a failed power grab last February.
The "Sundalo, Tagapag-tanggol Ng Pilipino," a rightist group composed of active and retired military and police officers, issued the warning quoting an alleged intelligence report received by the FSRR based in Camp Tecson in San Miguel, Bulacan. The unit is headed by Colonel Reynaldo Mapagu.
"The Scout Rangers have received intelligence reports that 'GMA's Garci Generals' and their mercenaries are out to eliminate by any means (Brigadier General Danilo) Lim," the group said in its website (www.sundalo.bravehost.com).
The group said the "Garci generals" want to eliminate Lim "to once and for all remove the leader, the role model, the inspiration and the rallying figure of the Scout Rangers, junior officers and soldiers who are fighting for reforms."
Lim and 37 other Army and Marine officers are undergoing pre-trial proceedings, preparatory to the conduct of a court martial, for allegedly plotting to march to the Edsa Shrine last Feb. 24 and subsequently withdraw their support from the President.
Rizal facility
Lim and his co-accused in the Army are detained in a facility in Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal. On the other hand, accused Marine officers are under the custody of Navy Chief Mateo Mayuga.
Of the four so-called "Garci generals," two are still in the active service - Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Hermogenes Esperon and Southern Command Chief Gabriel Habacon. The two others -- former Southern Command chief Roy Kyamko and former First Marine Brigade chief Francisco Gudani -- are already out of the service.
The controversial "Hello Garci" reportedly linked Esperon, Habacon and Kyamko in the alleged rigging of the 2004 presidential elections to ensure President Arroyo's victory. Gudani, according to the tapes, supported an opponent of the President.
Gudani, along with his former subordinate Alexander Balutan, appeared before the Senate last year and detailed how he witnessed the elections were rigged by allies of the President in Lanao provinces.
Sought for a comment, Mapagu denied that the FSRR received the intelligence information mentioned by the rightist group.
"That could be a mere propaganda by the communists or the rightists. That is not true," he said.
He said the morale of FSRR officers and men is high, unlike in February. "Our focus now is counter-insurgency, we have been scoring against the communists. We are doing what we are supposed to do," he said.
For his part, Army spokesman Ernesto Torres assured the safety of Lim and the other detainees at Camp Capinpin noting that the facility, which used to house former President Joseph Estrada, is a well-secured place. (VR/Sunnex)
(August 14, 2006 issue)
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