Scout Ranger official denies mutineer’s mosque bombing yarn

The battalion commander of the 4th Scout Ranger Battalion based in Mawab in Compostela Valley, denied "baseless and unfounded allegations and accusations" of mutiny leader Capt. Milo Maestrecampo that he had given the order to bomb a mosque in Davao City on April 3.

In a sworn statement, Army Maj. Rene Glen Paje said he was "categorically and specifically" denying and contradicting accusations by Maestrecampo who had accused him of ordering the rogue soldier "to throw a hand grenade at a Muslim mosque."

However, Paje described as "unusual" the "unannounced and uncoordinated visit" of Sen. Gregorio Honasan on April 4 at the headquarters of the 16th Scout Ranger Company – which was the company of Maestrecampo – wherein the legislator talked about his "National Recovery Program and the problems of the nation." The government has implicated Honasan in the July 27 Makati siege led by Maestrecampo and several other junior military officers.

"Prior to the unannounced and uncoordinated visit of Sen. Honasan (on April 4), on 02 April 2003, Col. Obaniana, my brigade commander (701st Brigade) telephoned me with instructions to prepare some troops to conduct special operations in Madaum area (in the outskirts of Tagum City)," Paje said in his statement. Obaniana emphasized that the troops "should be prepared immediately," he said.

"I explained that a raid would be conducted on a suspected keeper of arms and explosives, possibly linked to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. I also stressed that the go-signal for the operations would come from the Brigade Commander and that I would personally relay that go-signal to them," he said.

"At about 2 a.m., the Brigade Commander summoned us (Maj. Adalin and I) and told us that the planned special operation was called off because the casing and surveillance yielded negative results. I returned to my own headquarters. As a standard operating procedure, I knew that the operating elements would not move without specific instructions, so as not to rouse them from their sleep, I relayed the news to Capt. Maestrecampo at about 8 a.m.," Paje said.

He said he could not "see the reason why Capt. Maestrecampo is now accusing me of ordering him to throw a hand grenade at a Muslim mosque."

"His allusions that I was ordered by my superiors to relay to him ‘to throw a hand grenade at a Muslim mosque’ was only a product of his wild imagination bordering (on) a complete lie. His declarations on national television, in the newspapers and other fora were all allegations unsupported by convincing and concrete evidence."