GMA wants maximum penalty for July 27 mutineers

President Arroyo said yesterday she will push for the "maximum penalty" for those who planned, led and carried out the alleged coup attempt against her administration last July 27.

The President said she was for "total justice based on due process" as officials said dozens more rebel soldiers and civilian conspirators involved in the plot will be prosecuted.

"The secondary aim of the mutineers if they did not succeed in toppling the government is to weaken national leadership," she said in a statement.

"We shall prove them wrong. We shall seek the maximum penalty for those who planned, led and executed this misadventure," she said.

Senior figures in the alleged plot could face life imprisonment if found guilty.

Mrs. Arroyo, however, assured the people that the government is prepared to deal with "greater understanding" for the mutineers "who are proven to have been simply deceived or misled" by the leaders of the failed coup attempt.

This statement is a clear departure from those the President issued during the past several days, when she vowed to bring down the full force of the law on the mutineers, a move recommended by the defunct Davide Commission, which investigated the failed coup attempts against former President Corazon Aquino.

Mrs. Arroyo also reiterated her guarantee of "due process" for the 321 mutineers led by Navy Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV, who will undergo court-martial proceedings as well as face charges of coup d’etat, a crime stated under a special law in Article 134-A of the Revised Penal Code, filed against them before the Makati Regional Trial Court.

"This government is strong enough to guarantee due process for everyone, weak or strong. This will be observed in all institutional hearings and investigations," she said.

The President earlier said that all those accused in the July 27 mutiny, including opposition Sen. Gregorio Honasan — who was implicated as one of those who plotted and instigated the siege — now have three fora in which to present their side.

These three fora, she said, are the ongoing legislative inquiries in the Senate and House of Representatives, the court-martial proceedings and the trial in civilian courts, and the investigation being conducted by a six-member independent fact-finding commission created by the President to look into the July 27 mutiny.

Retired Supreme Court associate justice Florentino Feliciano chairs the commission, which will use the Davide Commission’s report as a point of reference for their own "in-depth" investigation.

"The wheels of justice will not stop until it has disposed of the full breadth of this conspiracy. Once and for all, we are resolved to end military adventurism and its root causes," the President vowed.

She also promised to "consolidate and tie up all the executive, legislative and judicial actions that will bear upon this threat, and resolve it once and for all."

Mrs. Arroyo made these statements in her speech after a meeting with Ambassador Roy Cimatu, a retired Armed Forces chief, who served as the chief negotiator with the mutineers.

In a press briefing yesterday, Cimatu confirmed that the mutineers agreed "to return to barracks" to peacefully end their mutiny and to "face the full consequences" of their actions. The mutineers, particularly the five "core" group members led by Trillanes, agreed to be charged under the Articles of War for their mutiny.

"The followers will be treated with leniency under the Articles of War as circumstances warrant," he said.

Cimatu added that leniency will not be seen until after court-martial proceedings are completed.

"Let the process start first… if they find circumstances that are mitigating or aggravating, the leniency will apply to their cases," he said.

The leaders of the siege, having been charged in civilian courts, accused the President of "betrayal" for not complying with commitments made by her chief negotiator. Cimatu, however, said "there was no discussion on civil court proceedings and therefore no agreement was reached on this matter."

Thirty-eight more soldiers will be charged with coup d’etat in civilian courts, in addition to 321 indicted earlier for their participation in the July 27 military uprising.

The mutiny swiftly fizzled out after failing to rally wider support, but the government maintains it was part of a larger plot allegedly led by Honasan to unseat and possibly assassinate the President and replace her with a 15-member junta.

It brought the total number of soldiers detained for the mutiny to 359.

Armed Forces Inspector General Librado Ladia on Wednesday recommended separate court-martial proceedings against 45 military officers involved in the siege.

Cimatu added that it should be the Department of Justice (DOJ) which should explain why the mutineers were now being charged in civilian courts. — With AP, AFP