DOJ witness tags Honasan as brains behind Magdalo

An Army captain who confessed to joining the Magdalo group of officers in a blood ritual has directly accused former senator Gregorio Honasan of forming the organization to overthrow the government.

Army Capt. Manuel Darius Ressuello testified in open court yesterday that he had been attending a "meeting" somewhere in San Juan on June 4, 2003 and saw Honasan presiding over the gathering with several members of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of ’94.

Ressuello said the meeting was supposed to be a discussion of Honasan’s "National Recovery Program" but later turned into the night of Magdalo’s birthing.

He claimed Honasan led the blood compact that involved the signing of a manifesto in his own blood.

The manifesto supposedly detailed the radical change in the political system and establishment of a revolutionary government under the "National Recovery Program" as espoused by Honasan.

Ressuello said Magdalo members, including him, were made to swear under oath to use force to bring down the government.

The Army captain was presented as a witness by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the hearing of the coup d’ état case against Honasan before Makati City regional trial court (RTC) Branch 148 Judge Oscar Pimentel.

Government lawyers led by Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon said Ressuello is among the 16 "explosive" witnesses lined up against the former senator, now subject of a nationwide manhunt for allegedly masterminding the failed mutiny in July 2003.

The Magdalo officers led some 300 of their men in seizing the Oakwood Premier Ayala Center in Makati City to highlight their grievances against President Arroyo and the military’s top brass they accused of high level corruption.

During yesterday’s hearing, Ressuello answered each and every question thrown to him by State Prosecutor Juan Navera.

The direct examination gave the Army officer the opportunity to narrate in detail how he was allegedly forced into joining the Magdalo.

According to Ressuello, he was tricked by his colleague and classmate Capt. Alvin Ebreo into coming to Manila to meet Honasan.

Ressuello, who served as operations officer of the Army’s Special Forces School in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija from November 2002 to August 2003, said he left for Manila with Ebreo and went into a house "with high fences somewhere in San Juan" at around 11 p.m. on June 4, 2003.

Upon arriving, they proceeded to the second floor of the house and into a room where he saw some 30 junior military officers in a meeting presided by Honasan.

Ressuello identified some of those present as Navy Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV and Marine Capt. Gerardo Gambala, the core leaders of the Magdalo group which launched the failed rebellion.

"The meeting was being presided, sir, by Senator Honasan," Ressuello told the court.

He even quoted the former senator as saying it was a "necessity (to) use force to overthrow the government."

Another witness, Army Maj. Perfecto Rahil, claimed Honasan even warned the group that members "who commit treachery" would be "eliminated," and everyone was asked if they were "in or out."

Ressuello claimed he initially hesitated when he was personally confronted by Honasan.

The former senator and Army colonel then turned to Ebreo to think things over before trying to convince him to join the group after a dinner, he said.

After eating, they went back to the room where Honasan and the rest of the Magdalo soldiers were waiting for them and asked Ressuello the same question.

Using a knife, Honasan demonstrated how to do the blood ritual and so slit his left arm near the armpit to make an "I" and had the wound mark a white flag which looked like the Philippine flag, Ressuello said.

He then claimed signing a manifesto by a thumbmark using his own blood as ink.

He said everyone in the room was told by Honasan to raise their left arm and clench their fist while reading aloud the contents of the manifesto.

After the ritual, Honasan taught each member the secret handshake which makes use of both arms with the right hand holding the mid-part of the other’s arm and the left hand holding the other person’s right elbow.

Ressuello said the special handshake was to be a "reliable method of identifying members" as explained by Honasan who adjourned the meeting around 2:00 a.m. the following day.

Going against the tide

Ressuello, now assigned at the Army’s 901st Infantry Battalion based in Daraga City in Albay, claimed he did not join the Oakwood mutiny on July 27, 2003.

Despite being a bonafide member of Magdalo, he went against supporting the group by coming to Manila and helped in securing Camp Aguinaldo from the security threat.

Defense lawyers led Roel Pulido and Theodore Te objected to the testimony made by Ressuello by claiming Honasan had nothing to do with the Oakwood mutiny incident.

Despite the objections, the prosecution was allowed to proceed with the direct examination of the witness who is expected to be grilled by the defense at the next hearing set for March 28.

Pulido and Te insisted Ressuello’s testimony is not relevant to the case and should be scrapped.

On the other hand, the other members of the Magdalo group who attended the hearing did not issue any statement.

They gave no reaction to claims made by Ressuello implicating Honasan in the Oakwood mutiny.

Honasan, who is still at large, has yet to present his side of the story.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Tristan Kison said the arrest of Honasan has become their top priority since the former senator is also linked to the foiled coup attempt last month.

Kison said the military is now building its case against the former senator.

"Our priority now is (to capture former) Colonel Honasan. The warrant is already out," Kison said. "We would like to get him."

Kison claimed the entire AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are now on alert for Honasan’s arrest.

Honasan, founder and leader of the now defunct Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), led several failed coup attempts against former President Corazon Aquino in the 1980s.

Following the issuance of the warrant for his arrest last month, Honasan has gone into hiding and has never been seen in public.

Honasan earlier denied his involvement in the failed Oakwood mutiny and the recent attempt to bring down the government.

But Kison said that based on evidence, the military "strongly believes" that the former senator had a hand in the failed mutiny.

"We identified Colonel Honasan as head of the Magdalo group. He was positively identified by some military members," he said.

Kison said soldiers involved in the 2003 uprising, and even some PMA cadets had claimed they were recruited by Honasan. — With Jaime Laude