Inquirer 03-24-06

20 officers in plot face court martial

THE Philippine Army has recommended court-martial proceedings against Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, the sacked Scout Ranger commander, and 19 other officers for allegedly participating in an aborted coup attempt against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last month.

The Army chief, Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, made the recommendation to Gen. Generoso Senga, Armed Forces chief of staff, said Maj. Bartolome Bacarro, the Army spokesperson.

The Army investigated 59 officers and 37 enlisted personnel in connection with the plan to withdraw support from Ms Arroyo during a rally commemorating the 20th anniversary of the People Power revolution on Feb. 24.

"The 20 officers recommended for general court-martial have varying degrees of participation in the foiled coup. However, the final decision will be up to the chief of staff," Bacarro said yesterday.

He said these officers, including Lim, could be charged with violation of three Articles of War -- mutiny, failure to suppress a mutiny, and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline.

Lim has denied the accusations. He has been relieved of his command of the elite First Scout Ranger Regiment and has been restricted to quarters since Feb. 24. This was after he and Marine Col. Ariel Querubin reportedly disclosed to Senga their plan to join anti-Arroyo rallies on the Edsa highway and announce a withdrawal of support for the President.

That day, Ms Arroyo, who has been hounded by allegations she stole the 2004 presidential election, declared a state national of emergency.

The President lifted her emergency decree a week later, saying she had quelled an attempt to unseat her by an alliance of communist guerrillas, rogue soldiers, opposition politicians and businessmen.

Lim, 50, a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, has been linked to previous coup attempts. In December 1989, Lim, then a captain, led rebel soldiers in taking over the Makati financial district in the bloodiest coup attempt against then-president Corazon Aquino.

Still, Lim's stock steadily grew. He received his star rank in April 2005, becoming one of the youngest officers to become a general.

Other officers probed

A number of Scout Ranger officers have either been detained or restricted to quarters while investigations are continuing on the coup attempt. They include Col. Nestor Flordeliza, Maj. Jason Aquino and Capt. Ruben Guinolbay.

Guinolbay was awarded the Gold Cross, the military's third highest combat award, for his exploits in the siege of a hospital in Basilan province by Abu Sayyaf insurgents in June 2001.

Querubin has not been restricted to quarters or investigated for the Feb. 24 plot.

He and other Marine officers are instead being investigated for the Feb. 26 standoff at their Fort Bonifacio headquarters. This was prompted by the sudden relief of Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda as Marine commandant.

Bacarro said the rest of the 39 officers and 37 enlisted personnel could face administrative or criminal charges at the Army level. Administrative charges are tried before the Efficiency and Separation Board (ESB).

Other cases

"The rest of the officers and soldiers will be handled by the Army. They will be charged, but I can't say for now what the charges will be," Bacarro said.

On Saturday, Esperon announced that he had submitted his recommendation to Senga that Lim and several other officers be charged in a court martial. Sources said 15 officers would be charged.

During the 109th anniversary of the Philippine Army on Monday, Esperon said he had withheld submitting his recommendation due to additional information.

No deadline was set for Senga to act on the Army's recommendation.

Senga has so far not acted on the guilty verdict handed down by a court martial on former Armed Forces comptroller, now-retired major general Carlos Garcia, in December last year.

Also pending action is a report submitted in January by a fact-finding board led by Navy chief Vice Adm. Mateo Mayuga on the "Hello, Garci" election fraud scandal that implicated a number of top military officials.

Execuive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz would submit the Mayuga report to President Arroyo today.