Absurdities in Magdalo case
After four years in jail, Army 2Lts Ceasar Daen nd Percival Alcanar, walked free this morning and returned to regular duties after the court martial admitted that the evidence against the two young officers was “manifestly weak.”
The panel hearing the case on the Oakwood mutiny said “it is with deep sense of justice” that they were dropping charges against Daen and Alcanar, who were never near Oakwood on July 27, 2003.
Why it took them almost four years to find that out reflects the inhumanity and stupidity of the military under the Arroyo administration.
It was also revealed in this morning’s hearing that Ensigns Ronald Paras and Cesar Pangan Jr. were moved two months ago from Fort San Felipe in Cavite to the naval Intelligence Unit in Fort Bonifacio in Rizal. The reason cited was “confidential”.
When their lawyer, Edgardo Abaya, asked for the reason, Trial Judge Advocate Pedro Davila said the two offered to be state witness. All the accused officers didn’,Gucci Handbags;t believe Davila. They said how can Paras and Pangan be state witness when they were never in Oakwood? “What will you tell them about us?” the other officers kidded Paras and Pangan, who just smiled.
The other officers suspect the miltiary leadership will work on Paras and Pangan to turn against colleagues like resigned Ltsg Antonio Trillanes IV, who is running for senator under the Genuine Opposition.
Fifty-four officers struck a plea bargain with the court. They pleaded guilty to the lesser crime of “conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline” in exchange for the dropping of foru serious charges of mutiny and others. The young oficers, who have been in detension for almost foru years, will serve for another 10 months. They are expected to be freed jan. 27, 2008.
Seven officers refused to plead guilty.
Here’s a more complete report of Victor Reyes of Malaya:
54 Magdalo officers who pled guilty in plea bargain free by January
————————————————,Mulberry Handbags;——————————–
A MILITARY tribunal yesterday ordered the dishonorable discharge of 54 junior officers involved in the short-lived Oakwood mutiny and their continued detention up to January 2008 after a plea bargain agreement.
The court ruled unanimously that the 54 members of the so-called Magdalo group were guilty beyond reasonable doubt and imposed on them a prison term of seven years and six months. Since they have been detained since July 28, 2003, the accused would just have to serve an additional three years and some eight months.
But the court also granted the defense request to reduce the sentence by another three years, or by one year for every mitigating circumstance to wit: the surrender of the accused, the change in their plea to guilty, and their long years in detention.
The mutineers claimed they went to Oakwood to protest corruption in government.
The 54 officers pleaded guilty yesterday to violation of the Articles of War 97 (conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline) in exchange for the dropping of four more serious offenses against them.
The four offenses dropped during plea bargaining were AW 67 (mutiny), AW 96 (conduct unbecoming), AW 63 (disrespect to the President, Vice President and Defense Secretary) and AW 64 (disrespect towards superior officers).
Lt. Col. Ana Escarlan, in reading the verdict, said the sentence reflected the “seriousness” of the officers’ offense. The court said the 54, mostly first and second lieutenants, “brought great dishonor to the noble profession of arms to which we belong and to the Armed Forces establishment as a whole.”
The 54, who showed no obvious reaction to the verdict, will be formally discharged after completing their sentence and upon the approval of President Arroyo as AFP commander-in-chief. The court said the question of whether the convicted officers will continue to draw salaries until they are formally discharged will depend on the President.
The court said the accused will serve their remaining prison terms in their previous places of confinement – at the Marine brig in Fort Bonifacio, at the Army headquarters also in Fort Bonifacio, and in Fort San Felipe in Cavite City.
An officer who is dishonorably discharged is not entitled to benefits, except the cash equivalent of his unused leaves and the refund of the contributions made to military financial institutions.
Five other Magdalo officers –,Louis Vuitton Belts; 2Lt. Junebert Tubo, 2Lt. Edwin Tuwitao, 2Lt. Jason Panaligan, 2Lt. Christopher Orongan and 2Lt. Alcuin Canson – did not join the plea bargaining agreement.
Ensigns Ronald Paras and Cesar Pangan deferred their decision on the plea bargain since they had signified their wish to turn state witness.
The court earlier cleared four other junior officers – 2Lts. Percival Acanar, Gerald Daen, 1Lt. Edmun Bandilla, and 1Lt. Marcelino Mendoza – on the recommendation of the military leadership which cited the Special Adjudication Board finding of lack of probable cause. The four will be restored to full duty status after some administrative matters are ironed out and after counseling.
The request of a fifth officer – Capt. Francis Balan – to be absolved by the Special Adjudication Board was denied by the military body because he had committed a new offense – went absent without official leave. Defense lawyer Trixie Angeles said the accused entered into the plea bargaining agreement “because they are already tired” and that “their career may not be as promising as before.”
She added that while the 54 decided to plea bargain, “there is no surrender of their ideals.”
The plea bargain does not cover the 29 mutiny leaders, including resigned Lt. Antonio Trillanes IV who is facing a coup d’etat case before a Makati City court. Trillanes’ group is facing a single charge of violation of AW 96 before the military court. –
Other articles:
Tags: Mulberry Handb
This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 1:03 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.