Faeldon defies ISAFP interrogators

Now back in the custody of the military, Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon remained tightlipped yesterday after more than a month on the run in which he dared the government to find him.

Clamming up to military investigators, Faeldon was forced into solitary confinement, hopefully to make him more willing to talk.

"He (Faeldon) is now in jail. Matigas, ayaw pa ring magsalita (He is a tough nut to crack. He still would not talk)," a military intelligence official said.

The official said interrogators from the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) had been trying but failed to get Faeldon to recount his "misadventures" during his 44 days as a fugitive.

The ISAFP is also trying to determine who might have financed Faeldon’s call for the overthrow of the government and forceful removal of President Arroyo from office.

Faeldon escaped from military custody on Dec. 14 and was recaptured Friday night while driving a car in Malabon City with Capt. Candelaria Rivas — a prosecution lawyer with The Judge Advocate General (TJAG) office of the AFP.

AFP information office chief Col. Tristan Kison refused to speculate on any possible relationship between the two officers.

But he said Rivas could be charged with being an accessory or conduct unbecoming an officer, undermining "good order and discipline" in the military and violating the legal code of ethics.

Kison said several fake driver’s licenses and identification cards bearing Faeldon’s pictures — with different names — were found in the car during the arrest.

After escaping last December, Faeldon taunted authorities by issuing media statements urging Mrs. Arroyo’s ouster, and by posting Internet pictures and video footage showing him freely moving around inside military camps across the country and the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City amid a nationwide manhunt.

Faeldon even posted a statement on his website challenging the AFP to come after him, saying that no ordinary soldier would turn him in because they were on his side.

"(His) arrest was a result of information provided by military personnel and civilians, dispelling reports that Capt. Faeldon and his group enjoy both military and civilian support," Kison said.

President Arroyo commended the AFP and the ISAFP for the arrest, saying "it demonstrates the strength of the AFP chain of command and its full adherence to the rule of law."

Presidential Spokesman and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Faeldon would be tried fairly.

Malacañang, however, stressed the possibility that Faeldon and the other four fugitive Army officers were being aided and financed by political backers.

"We are confident that the investigations will expose all shadowy cabals and financiers behind the destabilization," Bunye said.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said it was only a matter of time before the four other fugitives were recaptured.

Ermita also expressed hopes that Faeldon’s arrest would help ease fears of destabilization and coup plots.

Faeldon and the four escaped renegade officers led some 300 of their men in occupying the ritzy Oakwood Premiere Ayala Center in Makati City’s central business district on July 27, 2003.

They rigged the area with bombs, but surrendered peacefully after about 20 hours.

The government said the mutineers’ action was part of a larger coup conspiracy, but the officers said they were only demanding the resignation of President Arroyo and other officials over alleged corruption.

Access denied

After learning of Faeldon’s arrest, lawyer Roel Pulido immediately went to the ISAFP headquarters to confer with his client but was denied entry.

Pulido claimed that an ISAFP officer informed him that Faeldon was not detained inside but "somewhere."

"He (Faeldon) is under ISAFP custody, but he is not here," Pulido quoted the ISAFP official as telling him.

Pulido expressed his fear that Faeldon might have been tortured since he was denied access to counsel during interrogation.

"They (interrogators) can do many things. They can make him confess to many things. There can also be physical and psychological torture," Pulido pointed out.

Rivas was also taken in for questioning and detained for possible complicity.

"Military lawyers are talking to her right now. She has been allowed to see her relatives," another ISAFP official disclosed.

After the two officers were taken in, Rivas reportedly agreed to cooperate with military lawyers.

Even Rivas’ colleagues at TJAG, who were surprised over the developments, proceeded to the ISAFP to see her, the official added.

Sources said ISAFP chief Brig. Gen. Marlu Quevedo is just awaiting a commitment order from the AFP top brass for Rivas.

Damage control

With his capture of Faeldon, lawmakers called for his immediate prosecution and for him to identify those who aided his escape.

Malabon-Navotas Rep. Federico Sandoval II said Rivas should also be charged as an accomplice for violating her duties as a military prosecutor.

"She (Rivas) connived with and hid a fugitive. She should be discharged from the service with Faeldon," Sandoval said.

"So should the others, civilian or not. They must be identified and made to pay under the law," he said.

Sandoval though lauded the military for the capture, saying Faeldon’s arrest "sends a strong signal to these coup plotters within and outside the military that the AFP leadership and our government can thwart and punish them."

Davao City Rep. Vincent Garcia, on the other hand, taunted Faeldon.

"Faeldon had his recapture coming because law enforcers have seriously been pursuing him. Now he knows that law enforcement works. We should give credit to the AFP for relentlessly seeking his arrest despite the skepticism by some sectors," he said.     

Garcia noted the military took 44 days to recapture Faeldon.

"This was understandable because the operation was dangerous and complicated," he said.

"It’s good that Faeldon didn’t resist arrest. We are still fuming at how he taunted the government through his website and his court to expedite the resolution of his case," Garcia said.

Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella said the military should now zero in on the coup plotters.

"The list could be short. The AFP should concentrate on those personalities and groups that have been calling for the President’s ouster, especially those who do not subscribe to constitutional means to remove her," he said.

Once these personalities are identified, Puentevella said the government must act to freeze their assets and accounts. "Otherwise, they will continue funding not only destabilization but also power grab attempts," he said.

Retired general Salvador Mison, for his part, bewailed the "politicization" of the military and called on active officers with political ambitions to leave the military service and "engage in partisan activities to their hearts’ content."

Mison, chairman of the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association (PMAAA), claimed adverse reactions to promotions and assignments within the military hierarchy were triggered by political connections.

"The power brokers who arrange undeserved promotions and assignments require compliance to demands even if the means to satisfy these demands are patently unconstitutional and immoral," Mison said at the annual membership meeting of the PMAAA yesterday. — Jaime Laude, Aurea Calica, Delon Porcalla, AP, AFP