DOJ set to subpoena 321 Magdalo soldiers

Their day in court nears.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will subpoena the 321 young soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines it charged with coup d’etat before the Makati City Regional Trial Court so these military personnel can file their counter-affidavits and attend a preliminary investigation into the case, Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño said yesterday.

This developed after the Makati City court tossed back to the DOJ the task of conducting a preliminary investigation to determine whether there is probable cause to warrant the prosecution of rebel soldiers from the Magdalo group in court.

The Magdalo group staged a failed mutiny on July 27, occupying the posh Oakwood Premier condotel amid a mesh of explosive booby traps laid by the mutineers around the adjacent Glorietta shopping complex and surrounding buildings in Ayala Center.

Makati RTC Branch 61 Judge Romeo Barza granted the motion of the Magdalo group’s lawyers asking the DOJ to conduct a preliminary investigation into the case before elevating it to the court.

Barza’s order also led to the cancellation of the arraignment of Navy Ltsg. Antonio Trillanes IV and Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala, two leaders of the failed mutiny.

"We did not object to the motion for preliminary investigation because what we conducted was an inquest and not a preliminary investigation and it’s a matter of right of the accused to have a preliminary investigation," Zuño told reporters.

In compliance with the order of the court, Zuño said the DOJ would immediately issue subpoenas to the 321 soldiers who were charged by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with coup d’etat.

These soldiers will be given 10 days to submit their counter-affidavits to the DOJ panel tasked with conducting the preliminary investigation.

Besides Trillanes and Gambala, other Magdalo leaders charged with violation of Article 134-A of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, were Army Capt. Laurence Luis Somera; Air Force 2Lt. Jigger Montallana; Navy Ltsg. Norberto Santiago Jr.; and Philippine Marines Capt. Edmar Sorioso.

The NBI accused the rogue junior military officers of leading other junior officers and enlisted personnel in the Oakwood siege, which ended peacefully after a 22-hour standoff with soldiers loyal to the Constitution and President Arroyo.

At the height of the failed mutiny, the Magdalo group demanded the resignations of the President and her Cabinet, particularly Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes.

They also sought the ouster of Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP) chief Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus, who resigned two days after the mutiny.

The DOJ was earlier accused of railroading the case, as state prosecutors did not conduct a preliminary investigation prior to filing coup d’etat charges before the Makati court.

But the DOJ said it was forced to turn down the request of Magdalo group lawyer Rafael Pulido seeking a preliminary investigation after the rebel soldiers refused to execute a waiver of detention and reserved the right to assail the legality of their detention.

Zuño said the hearing on the case is likely to be located at Camp Aguinaldo and Fort Bonifacio, where the mutiny leaders and their followers, respective, are detained.