THE Armed Forces chief of staff, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., is trying to strike a bargain with some of the 28 military officers accused of mutiny over still unknown reasons, a defense lawyer said on Thursday.

Trixie Angeles, lawyer of Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and Army Capt. Ruben Guinolbay, said the bargain was relayed by Esperon through one of his staff members, Maj. CJ Perez.

Miranda was the Marines commandant during the 2006 foiled coup attempt.

Angeles said Perez, on alleged order of Esperon, visited twice the officers, who are the targets of the offer, at their detention cells at the Intelligence Service, Armed Forces headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

While the overtures have been made, Angeles said they (the detained officers) do not know why Esperon was making the effort, as Perez did not say what the chief of staff or the military will get in return.

“There is a suspicion that it was being made out of fear...that he would soon be out of power,” the lawyer said of Esperon, who is set to retire on May 9.

She said Perez talked to all the junior officers (those having the ranks of captain down to lieutenant), but skipped the senior officers. Three of the senior officers, aside from Miranda, are former Army Scout Ranger Regiment commander Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, and Marine Cols. Ariel Querubin and Achilles Segumalian.

All of the 28 officers are facing mutiny and other lesser charges, including conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, as a result of their alleged involvement in the February 2006 foiled coup attempt.

All of the lesser charges have already prescribed, as the two-year period for the officers to be arraigned has already expired.

Angeles said Esperon might be following his successful move in having the nine members of the Magdalo Group plead guilty to participating or launching the 2003 coup attempt.

The nine officers, including Capts. Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo, were sentenced early this week by the Regional Trial Court in Makati.

Gambala and Maestrecampo were sentenced to a maximum of 40 years, while the others received six years to 12 years’ imprisonment.

In his talk with the junior officers, Angeles said that Perez allegedly brought out the idea of “no prosecution” against them, which will lead to the dismissal of the charges owing to lack of evidence.

The absence of prosecution was already orally filed by defense lawyers last week before the court martial, a move which was not opposed by military prosecutors.

Instead, the trial judge advocate (prosecution) asked for a period of more than two weeks from the court to study the motion and go over the records of the case.

Angeles said Perez also approached Maj. Gen. Jogy Leo Fojas, president of the court martial, right after the hearing last week and relayed the same message from Esperon.

She said Esperon, through his staff, asked what Fojas can do for the officers.

“His [Perez’s] exact words were, he was sent by General Esperon to speak to General Fojas and asked what General Fojas can do for the junior officers,” Angeles said.

The defense lawyer said Esperon’s move confirmed that he was really behind the proceedings.

“He is the convening authority. He is the reviewing authority and along the way, he is directing the proceedings,” she said.

Angeles wondered whether Esperon’s offer could work out as she noted that all of the 28 officers were charged together, and with the same offenses, which means the court cannot declare a “no prosecution” against the junior officers and proceed with the charges against the senior officers.

The lawyer also suspects that the move was meant to divide the officers.

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