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THE
lawyer of fugitive Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon
expressed doubts that it was her client who was
interviewed on television, where he indirectly confirmed
the alleged involvement of Sen. Gregorio Honasan in the
Oakwood mutiny in Makati City in 2003.
Lawyer
Trixie Angeles said she does not believe that the man
that ABS-CBN television reporter-presenter Ces Drilon
interviewed on telephone on Tuesday was Faeldon, as “he
does not sound like” the junior officer.
“I don’t
think so…it’s my opinion that he [the man interviewed]
does not sound like him [Faeldon],” the lawyer told
defense reporters.
She said
the last time she spoke to Faeldon, who she represents
in the coup case pending before the Regional Trial Court
(RTC) in Makati City, was two months ago.
Faeldon
had been in hiding since he escaped from The Manila
Peninsula Hotel, also in Makati City, where he and the
other leaders of the Magdalo Group, including Sen.
Antonio Trillanes IV and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, former
First Scout Ranger Regiment commander, marched to from
the Makati RTC.
Faeldon
carries a P1-million reward for his arrest.
In his
interview with Drilon, Faeldon claimed that Magdalo
Group leaders have documents proving Honasan’s
involvement in the Oakwood takeover. He even addressed
the senator as “Kuya,” a codename which the military has
confirmed as that of Honasan.
Immediately after the Oakwood incident, the Armed Forces
tagged Honasan as the leader of the mutineers and filed
rebellion charges against him before the Department of
Justice.
The
charges were, however, dismissed by the DOJ after
Honasan made amends with the administration, paving the
way for his election as senator last year.
The
Armed Forces public information office chief, Lt. Col.
Bartolome Bacarro, said that if Faeldon and his
companions really have documents on Honasan in relation
to the 2003 mutiny, then they should bring them out.
In the
same interview, Faeldon even attacked Honasan for
joining the administration and abandoning the junior
officers.
But
Angeles said she doubted if Faeldon would reveal the
codenames of those who took part or were involved in the
Oakwood incident.
“If you
have an operation with somebody and you have codenames
for each other, you wouldn’t divulge codenames,” she
said.
During
the interview, Faeldon said he could not blame Caps.
Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo and the seven
other junior officers, who pleaded guilty, got convicted
and appealed for President Arroyo’s pardon, a plea that
was supported and even endorsed by Gen. Hermogenes
Esperon Jr., Armed Forces chief of staff, and Defense
Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.
But
Angeles said the lines uttered supposedly by Faeldon
were lifted from the web site of the officer, which have
been posted several months back.
She said
the interview could have been part of an elaborate
operation to flush out Faeldon and bag him.
Angeles
added that with the interview, the Marine captain would
be forced to come out and issue a denial and give a
chance to the military to trace his location. |
