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SAYING
the “prosecution was able to establish beyond reasonable
doubt that all the accused committed the crime of coup
d’etat,” the Makati Regional Trial Court found nine
Magdalo mutineers guilty and sentenced two of them to 40
years’ imprisonment and the rest with varying degrees of
incarceration, after five years of trial.
Sentenced to reclusion perpetua were Capts. Gerardo
Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo for being two of the
leaders who led at least 300 troops in seizing the
Oakwood Hotel in the central business district of Makati
on July 27, 2003. Judge Oscar Pimentel said the rest
are “mere participants.”
Army
Capts. Albert Baloloy, John Andres, Laurence Luis Somera
and Alvin Ebreo and 1st Lts. Florentino Somera, Cleo
Dongga-As and Kristopher Bryan Yasay were sentenced to
prison mayor or imprisonment ranging from a minimum of
six to eight years to a maximum of 10 to 12 years.
All nine
had changed their plea to guilty from not guilty last
week. This was considered a mitigating circumstance by
the court.
“Considering that Capts. Gerardo Gambala and Milo
Maestrecampo were proven to be leaders of coup d’etat,
the penalty that may be imposed upon them is the penalty
of reclusion perpetua. Thus, even with a mitigating
circumstance, the court cannot order the penalty of
reclusion temporal as recommended. Thus, the penalty is
reclusion perpetua,” said the judge in his ruling.
Assistant State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon,
head of the panel of prosecutors, said, “The decision
really caught us by surprise due to the penalty imposed.
It’s harsher than what we expected. We recommended
lighter penalties owing to their change of plea.
However, the judge has his own reasons for his decision.
The penalty he meted out is within the law,” Fadullon
said.
The
prosecution had recommended 17 to 20 years’ imprisonment
for Gambala and Maestrecampo and 10 to 12 years for the
others.
The
mutineers had demanded the resignation of President
Arroyo and defense and military officials over
allegations of corruption.
Malacañang’s reaction was quick, with Deputy
Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez remarking, “We hope
they learn their lesson well. . .those who committed
crimes against the government and the Filipino people
must pay the price for their anarchic actions.”
His
colleague Deputy Presidential Spokesman Lorelei Fajardo
said the conviction “is a victory of the justice
system.”
Pimentel
said all the accused, who belonged to the Scout Rangers
and the Special Forces, elite units of the Army, will
have their detention while on trial credited as time
served in their sentences.
The
court ordered that they remain incarcerated at the Army
headquarters in Fort Bonifacio instead of the National
Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.
None of
the convicted officers showed any emotion as the
dispositive portion of the 127-page decision was read by
a court staff.
State
prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, who conferred with the
convicted officers at the personnel office of the court
while they were waiting for a copy of the decision, said
the latter felt “relieved” at the decision.
“They,
especially Maestrecampo, even expressed their thanks for
having a closure on the case. They said they were
relieved that the case is over, but he said that they
find it difficult to [find] that there are people who
are not ready to accept the verdict,” said Navera.
Still on
trial are Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who was a leader of
the Magdalo at the time of the Oakwood incident, and the
rest of the 31 accused junior officers did not join the
nine officers’ change of plea.
Defense
lawyers Reynaldo Robles and Ernesto Francisco had said
the plea of guilty of the nine should not have an effect
on the case of the rest of the accused, but the
prosecutors said they believe otherwise.
Armed
Forces chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said on
Tuesday, in reaction to the ruling, that the decision
only reinforced the AFP’s stand that adventurism has no
place in the military.
AFP
information office chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro
noted that the convicted military officers have still 15
days to appeal the decision.
Trixie
Angeles, one of those defending the other officers still
on trial, said she expects President Arroyo to pardon
the convicts, considering their earlier owning up to the
charges and apologizing to her. “It would be normal for
us to expect pardon.”
Asked
about such a presidential pardon, Fajardo said, “Subject
to existing rules on pardon, all convicts may apply for
pardon if they are qualified.” |
