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SEN.
Antonio Trillanes IV and his group admitted to courtroom
misbehavior on Tuesday as they apologized to the judge
for walking out of the hearing of the coup charges
against them on November 29, prior to taking over the
Peninsula Manila Hotel.
They hinted that they would not do it
again.
“[The] accused most respectfully and
humbly beseech the apologies of the Honorable Court and
the Honorable Presiding Judge as well as the lawyers and
other parties present during the hearing on November
29,” the group said in the pleading submitted to Judge
Oscar Pimentel of Branch 148 of the Regional Trial Court
(RTC) in Makati.
“Herein accused would like to place on
record that they have a very high regard for the
honorable court and the honorable presiding judge
because of his fairness and equanimity. It was not their
desire and it was never their intention to show
disrespect for the Honorable Court and the Honorable
Presiding Judge when they did what they did during the
hearing,” Trillanes and company added.
Aside from Trillanes, those who begged
for forgiveness were Navy Lts. James Layug, Eugene Louie
Gonzalez, Manuel Cabochan, Andy Torrato and Arturo
Pascua, Capt. Gary Alejano and 2Lt. Jonnel Sanggalang of
the Marines, and former Navy Petty Officers Julius Mesa
and Cezari Gonzalez.
Senior State Prosecutor Richard Anthony
Fadullon said Pimentel accepted the apologies of the
soldiers, who returned to the court for the continuation
of the hearing of their case.
Fadullon said that the judge warned
Trillanes and the Magdalo Group members that another or
a similar act would be dealt with severely.
The rebel soldiers said their
contemptuous action was “prompted and was intended to
call the public’s attention to the massive anomalies” by
the Arroyo administration, and it “was compelled by
their passion, zeal and fervor for their cause.”
Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, who took part in
the walkout, was also in the courtroom to continue his
testimony for Trillanes.
Meanwhile, the National Police chief,
Director General Avelino Razon Jr., has identified the
six other members of the Magdalo Group who took part in
the Peninsula siege, as police released their pictures
along with that of another fugitive, Marine Capt.
Nicanor Faeldon, who carries a P1-million reward for his
arrest.
They are Army MSgt. Elmer Colon, Marine
SSgt. Noel Aggalut, Marine Cpl. Jerson Alabata, Marine
Pfc. Monchito Lusterio, Josil Regulacion and Abraham
Apostol.
Razon said posters bearing the pictures
of the fugitives would be placed in public areas to
speed up their capture.
“We will place these posters in places
where people tend to go,” he said, adding that the
posters would be scattered around the country.
During the hearing, the military and the
police deployed more than 1,000 men to guard the rebel
soldiers and the vicinity of the
Makati City Hall
in order to prevent a repeat of the walkout that
culminated in a rebellion. |
