Remembering an act of betrayal Ramon J. Farolan Philippine Daily Inquirer
April 14, 2008
MANILA, Philippines - Last Tuesday, nine of the finest young men of our country were sentenced to various jail terms under the Arroyo criminal justice system. They were accused of taking part in a failed coup attempt against the government by seizing the Oakwood hotel in Makati on July 27, 2003.
Let me make a few comments.
Under the Arroyo criminal justice system, former Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos has not been charged with any crime resulting from the P1.3-billion poll automation scandal which was described by the Supreme Court as “illegal, imprudent and hasty” and which “not only desecrated legal and jurisprudential norms but also cast serious doubts upon the poll body’s capacity to conduct automated elections.” And so we had “Hello, Garci”!
Under the Arroyo criminal justice system, the Filipino farmer lost P728 million in fertilizer funds which Agriculture Undersecretary Joc Joc Bolante masterminded into the pockets of politicians prior to the 2004 elections. He was allowed to leave the country, avoiding Senate hearings on the scandal. And now we are in the midst of a rice crisis with our people—for the first time in many years—queuing up to buy limited quantities of this basic commodity!
Under the Arroyo criminal justice system, it is Rodolfo Lozada who is being harassed by the authorities for his revelations on the ZTE-NBN project, alleged to have been overpriced by as much as $150 million. Her own officials, Secretary Leandro Mendoza and Assistant Secretary Lorenzo Formoso, were to the very end praising the project as aboveboard. And now we have executive privilege so that we will never know what actions she took when Romulo Neri told her that Abalos had offered him P200 million for the blessings of Neda on the project! She did go to China to witness the signing of an agreement on the ZTE-NBN deal.
But I bring up the case of these idealistic officers for other reasons. Allow me to refresh our memories.
On July 27, 2003, some 300 officers and enlisted men, took over the Oakwood hotel in Makati City. They denounced corruption in the military service and called on President Macapagal-Arroyo to step down. Their leaders or, more correctly, the more prominent among them were Navy Lt. (now Senator) Antonio Trillanes IV, Capt. Gerardo Gambala, Capt. Milo Maestrecampo, Capt. Garry Alejano, and Navy Lt. James Layug.
After some 20 hours of negotiations with a government-appointed panel headed by former AFP chief of staff and now special envoy to the Middle East, Gen. Roy Cimatu, it was agreed that the rebels would be allowed to return to barracks, give up their arms upon arrival at Fort Bonifacio and surrender under the Articles of War. This was made clear to the media and the general public.
I was not around to personally witness and listen to the negotiations but the late Max Soliven, publisher of the Philippine Star, who was one of the negotiators, wrote about it in his column of Monday, Aug. 4, 2003.
Soliven said: “What bothers me is that the mutineers or rebels whatever may be tagged on them, are being double-crossed. Nobody intends to glorify them as heroes or justify their deed, certainly not this writer. But since I was in there with the negotiating group, I’ll have to speak out about what was agreed. . .
“Being charged in civilian court was rejected by the mutineers. They surrendered themselves to military justice, under the Articles of War—in sum, court martial ...
“Military justice is what they were unanimously pledged by the government panelists—not prosecution in the regular justice system. Otherwise, they might not have surrendered. And you know the consequences of a firefight and the detonation of the explosives they had planted all over the place.
“Was anything written down? A surrender agreement? Of course not. But we must consider that an individual’s ‘word of honor’ is supposed to be as binding as a piece of paper. Palabra de honor was what was invoked in the end. Gen. Cimatu pledged himself as an officer and a gentleman, and so did the rest of the government panel ...
“Are rebels, putschists or mutineers ‘scum,’ not worthy of being given such pledges? Nonsense. Word of honor binds those who give them, not the accused or the imprisoned. Cimatu and the government officers and officials involved should honor this deal.
“Why is it so important for the President and her government to honor this commitment? Because if it is not upheld, who knows, what real trouble will be provoked among the far bigger number of men ‘outside’ who did not participate in the so-called coup or mutiny? I kid thee not, they are there, waiting to see whether reforms are instituted and whether heads upstairs will roll ...
“The Chief Executive and Commander in Chief must at least show sincerity under what was stipulated in the final agreement, the Articles of War. What about Lina’s filing of cases? Perhaps, this even falls under double jeopardy, not just a double cross.
“I repeat: the Oakwood Five leaders asked for leniency for their men and even full reinstatement for their followers ‘without hitches.’ This was not conceded in the final public announcement. But the deal on the Articles of War was clearly and unequivocally announced to the media and the general public ...
“The military is out there, watching. Are we indignant that the military is so politicized? It’s too late for tears. The truth is that the military was politicized by Marcos. (As Ninoy Aquino had said when we were prisoners in the Fort Bonifacio stockade, ‘there’s no way the toothpaste can be squeezed back into the tube.’) We will have to live for this generation with that stark reality.”
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I sympathize with the officers who changed their plea to “guilty” and who now seek pardon, mercy and grace. I understand their individual concerns, particularly those with families to provide for and children to raise. They have my respect, my affection and my prayers.
I also salute those who continue the fight against an administration that no longer recognizes palabra de honor among men.
As I said in earlier columns, this nation has two sets of laws—one for rebels and another for rapists and henchmen of people in power.
