Ammo, explosives seized from Trillanes house in QC

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) announced yesterday the discovery of ammunition and explosives in a compound in Novaliches, Quezon City reportedly owned by Navy Lt. (sg) Antonio Trillanes IV, one of the junior military officers who led the failed mutiny last July 27.

NCRPO chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco said this discovery would bolster the case of rebellion and mutiny the authorities have filed against Trillanes who denied that he owns the property.

"We are still investigating the case," Velasco told reporters, saying the cache was accidentally discovered by barangay tanod members last Thursday after a series of explosions occurred in the compound, located in Barangay Talipapa.

The two tanod members, Pablo Meca and Elmer Escantla, said they heard loud explosions that they traced to the enclosed compound. The tanods found that the explosives were apparently ignited by garbage being burned near them.

Police bomb disposal experts found some plastic explosives, 60 rounds of caliber .50 ammunition, blasting caps, light anti-tank weapons, a list of 24 soldiers apparently designated to occupy the compound and four armbands similar to that used by the soldiers who staged the failed mutiny.

Policemen also discovered an abandoned dump truck in the area, which they believe was used to transport the ammunition and explosives to the compound.

Velasco said police are checking with the Land Transportation Office under whose name the truck is registered.

As early as March this year, Trillanes was reported to have spent some time in the compound, Velasco said.

The cashiered mutineer supposedly filed a complaint, dated March 29, against a certain Anastacia Santarin for trespassing. Santarin, who is reportedly claiming the property, filed a complaint against Trillanes the same day for harassment.

Investigators also found that a certain Estrella Pabalan is the caretaker of the disputed property.

"We are still tracking down Pabalan to determine her association with Trillanes," Velasco said.

He added that the discovery of the ammunition and explosives showed that the soldiers who staged the mutiny were well-organized, contrary to their claim that the July 27 mutiny was a spontaneous action to air their grievances.

"Getting one’s message across doesn’t necessarily entail bringing in an arms cache. These weapons are not standard issue," Velasco said.

Trillanes’ lawyer Ruel Pulido branded the NCRPO’s report as "ridiculous," adding that neither Trillanes nor his wife Arlene Orejana-Trillanes, a professor at the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City, own any property. The couple shares a house in Baguio provided by the PMA.

"If these reports were true, then we can say the soldiers went to Oakwood to stage a coup d’etat and decided to leave their arms, ammunition and bombs in various safehouses such as this one. What a way to launch a coup," he added.

Pulido said the report was questionable, considering the government’s supposed track record of fabricating "evidence against my client."

"I am sure this is another fabrication. This is just like what happened when the government said the soldiers left high-tech and expensive gadgets in Oakwood, (but) this claim was strongly refuted by the Oakwood manager who said that when the soldiers left they took all their things with them," he said.

Pulido added, "this is just a convenient excuse to conduct a search without a warrant. (It is) another lame attempt to smear the reputation and credibility of my clients."

Noble Scores Trillanes

Meanwhile, Chief Superintendent Prospero Noble Jr., who was himself involved in several coup attempts in the 1980s, criticized Trillanes and other mutineers for their failure to strictly observe the pledge of loyalty, which is expected of every PMA cadet.

"As cadet officers, we recite the pledge of loyalty daily. Why can’t they apply it? How can they give commands if they themselves do not know how to obey orders?" said Noble, an alumni of PMA Class of 1974.

Noble is the chief of the PNP security detail for jailed former President Joseph Estrada at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.

He said Trillanes’ display of stubbornness and disobedience against the government disqualifies him from leading the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other organizations.

Noble said Trillanes could be sued for insubordination and conduct becoming of a public official.

He added Trillanes does not have the moral ascendancy to stop corruption in the AFP because he concealed his various properties in his statement of assets and liabilities. — With Pamela Samia