Senga orders probe of news leak
July 6, 2006 | 12:00am
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Generoso Senga ordered yesterday an investigation into the leakage of information from the adhoc investigation committee report on the involvement of several military officers in the failed Feb. 24 coup.
Senga tasked AFP Inspector General (IG) Rear Admiral Rufino Lopez, chairman of the fact-finding board, to determine the group or individuals responsible for the leakage of the report to media.
"I tasked Rear Admiral Lopez to investigate the leakage," Senga told ABS-CBN "Bandila" news anchor Ces Drilon in an exclusive interview in Tiaong, Quezon Tuesday afternoon.
At Camp Crame, Senga said the focus of the investigation is to identify those who leaked the draft report so that corresponding appropriate actions may be taken: "What I am asking (Lopez to) investigate is who leaked the draft of the report, which fell into the hands of some news media outfit. We do not even know if it’s really the draft. We will find that out, then we will take the appropriate actions."
He said the people or groups behind the leakage may be charged with breach of military discipline and conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman.
Senga said that when showed a copy of the report, he was almost sure that it was a draft because it was a typewritten manuscript: "There was no heading. There were no appropriate markings to indicate that it was an official report."
He added that the report also bore no signatures of the committee chair and members.
A copy of the report obtained by The STAR was a typewritten, 33-page document with the adhoc committee stamp indicating that the report was completed on June 16.
Senga’s statements contravened earlier statement made by Lopez before Camp Aguinaldo reporters that the board did not have the report yet.
Lopez, accompanied by AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Jose Angel Honrado, also said there was no leakage: "We have not completed the report. We are still finalizing it."
The report in question recommended that 38 Marines and Scout Ranger Army officers along with 27 Army enlisted personnel face court martial for their involvement in the failed Feb. 24 military-civilian power grab.
Two of the three most senior officers recommended for court martial proceedings were former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, erstwhile Army Scout Ranger chief Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and former Marine 1st Brigade Commander Col. Ariel Querubin.
Lim earlier denied involvement in the failed coup d’etat, while Miranda and Querubin have declared their readiness to face trial.
Miranda said the board’s recommendation will give him the opportunity and the venue to clear his name while expressing his sadness over the inclusion of other Marine officers in the snafu.
"The buck stops with me," Miranda said, adding that the others implicated were "good officers," one of them a female aide-de-camp.
In a related development, Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz said a video clip of Lim declaring his withdrawal of support from President Arroyo only confirmed military reports that some misguided elements in the uniformed services attempted to break from the chain of command on Feb. 24.
"It clearly shows that there was an attempt to break from the chain of command," Cruz said, referring to the highly critical period from Feb. 19 to Feb. 24, during which Lim was monitored to be planning to withdraw his support to the Arroyo administration.
The video clip, as Lim himself admitted before Senga during their Feb. 23 meeting at Camp Aguinaldo, was pre-recorded for airing live the following day on selected television stations when he and his supporters were supposed to have joined mass protest actions at the EDSA Shrine during the 20th people power I anniversary celebration.
As shown in the leaked Lopez report, Lim was to be joined by Miranda, Querubin and Special Action Force chief and police Chief Superintendent Marcelino Franco and other officers and men from the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment, Philippine Marines Corps and SAF at EDSA.
In the video, Lim is seen flanked by several officers while reading his group’s withdrawal of support from the President.
Cruz said Lim’s video-captured pronouncements violated the Articles of War. He said the defense establishment is now leaving the matter of Lim’s punishment up to the military justice system.
He also said the official Lopez report will be released in a week’s time: "I was told by Rear Admiral Lopez that he is going to complete his report within a week."
Marine Col. Januario Caringal reportedly confirmed that he will attend the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)’s inquiry set on Friday morning to shed light on the Lim videotape.
NBI-Special Task Force (STF) regional director Reynaldo Esmeralda said Caringal’s emissary called him and confirmed that Caringal will be present at the inquiry.
Caringal was reportedly one of the military officials positioned behind Lim as Lim read a statement withdrawing support from the President.
"I was told that Colonel Caringal is presently a battalion commander in Iligan province in Mindanao. Someone called me up and told me that Colonel Caringal would honor the subpoena on Friday," Esmeralda said.
Caringal reportedly pledged to be present at the NBI even if he has not yet formally received the subpoena. The NBI is still waiting for confirmation of attendance at the inquiry from Lim.
The NBI-STF sent a subpoena for Caringal through the commandant of the Philippine Marines. Lim’s copy of the subpoena was coursed through the Office of the Commanding General, Philippine Army Headquarters, both located within Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.
Lim and Caringal will be asked by the NBI "to shed light on the videotape showing your withdrawal of support against President Arroyo." The subpoena for Caringal was received by a certain Sgt. Bernardo, while a Sgt. Cedeno signed receipt of Lim’s copy.
Esmeralda said they intend to learn the identities of the other military officers present during the videotaped withdrawal of support from Caringal: "We just want a confirmation."
He also said the NBI has not received any information indicating that Caringal was involved in previous coup attempts.
Meanwhile, sources said Lim’s camp reportedly produced 10 copies of the videotapes wherein one person was in charge of nine copies, while the remaining copy was in possession of another person.
When Lim’s group aborted its alleged coup d’etat plans, they destroyed the nine tapes and only a single copy was preserved.
"The tapes were supposed to have been distributed to all the television stations wherein they would be aired all at the same time," the source said.
Esmeralda also said the NBI may file perjury charges against Lim for allegedly lying in his sworn statement. The videotape allegedly contained Lim’s withdrawal of support for President Arroyo, thus contradicting his March 8 sworn statement before the NBI.
Lim’s statement said, "I wish to inform you that I did not conspire with any one against the President."
"His denial was under oath and we have a legal case against him — perjury," Esmeralda said, adding they must study the case evidence further before they file a case against Lim.
Sen. Rodolfo Biazon believes the leak of the Lopez report was intentional and meant to "test the waters."
In a briefing yesterday, Biazon said Lopez’s denial that a report on his findings was completed prompted him to come up with the theory of the trial balloon.
He said such a report is very confidential in nature and any leak could only come from within the investigating board. He added that the leak serves to provide the AFP leadership with an indication of how the AFP rank and file will react to the possibility of seeing ranking officers subjected to court martial proceedings for alleged involvement in an attempted coup.
"This probably is the basis why the so-called report had been leaked to the public: To test the waters so that they will be guided accordingly as to whether to push through with the filing of charges or whether all will be charged in court martial or only selectively or drop the charges altogether," Biazon said.
He said the AFP leadership has to be very cautious in the actions it will take because of the presence of disgruntled personnel among its rank and file and officers.
Biazon said he has heard that some members of the Marine Corps, which he once commanded, questioned the recommendations in the Lopez report.
Citing the sentiments of the Marines he talked to, Biazon said the report’s recommendations were in violation of an agreement reached during a meeting of senior Marine officers after the Feb. 26 standoff at the Philippine Marine Corps headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
"Some of the (Marines) are saying that this is a violation of the agreement. I don’t know what the agreement was," Biazon said,
advising the AFP leadership to be very careful in handling the situation and to weigh the reactions of all the major service commands.
"I think, if there were no reaction at all from the rank and file, then they would push through with their intention to file charges against many members of the AFP suspected to have participated in those events," Biazon said, adding that the AFP should be very clear about the charges to be filed against the officers who will face court martial.
Biazon also said Lim’s videotaped withdrawal of support has yet to be considered as an offense, because if Lim will be charged for his actions on video, the Arroyo administration should also consider the events that took place in 2001.
He was referring to the Edsa II mass revolt that led to the ouster of former President Joseph Estrada. During this uprising, then AFP chief of staff Angelo Reyes and Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo withdrew their support for the President.
Biazon posited this question: "If it’s indeed an offense, meaning that call for withdrawal of support, would President Arroyo be held liable, Secretary Reyes be held liable, for their acts on January 19 of 2001?"
"If this is our standard of justice, standard of interpretation of what the law provides, then we will expect some future time, similar actions, similar events to occur," he said.
Malacañang vowed to pursue the case against the Feb. 24 coup plotters to the end, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said, adding that these military personnel will "have to face up to the situation" because the government has a strong case against them.
"You can be very sure this administration of President Arroyo will have the full resolve to see this through to a successful conclusion," Ermita said, adding that the Palace is leaving the matter in the hands of the military courts.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Lim was obviously used by "power-hungry politicians" who later abandoned Lim when the putsch plot was nipped in the bud: "We sympathize with Gen. Lim that he was apparently used by self-serving politicians, then abandoned by the roadside. Nevertheless, justice must take its course. We must continue to insulate the AFP from politics."
Meanwhile, Army chief, Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon hinted yesterday that the Army officers linked to the failed Feb. 24 coup plot would be detained in a facility built specifically for coup plotters inside an Army training camp in Tanay, Rizal. This detention facility was reportedly along the lines of the United States’ Guantanamo Bay military prison.
"Well, we will see how things go. That was meant to house some violators or people who violate the articles of war," Esperon said, referring to the military prison built inside the headquarters of the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Capinpin in Tanay.
The Tanay Army detention facility is considered as the most modern detention facility the Philippine military has ever constructed. It can accommodate 125 detainees, is highly secure with triple-walled structures topped by barbed wire and tower posts.
The facility sits across Estrada’s rest house, where the deposed president is under house arrest.
After attending the Philippine Air Force (PAF) anniversary celebration yesterday, Esperon hinted that Lim and the rest of his group may be detained in the new prison facility, though he is still awaiting the Lopez report before making moves to transfer Lim and his men to Tanay.
"We will not preempt the results of the fact-finding board under (Lopez), but I understand the report will be coming out in a week or two and it will have to be reviewed by the (AFP) Chief of Staff before it goes to the Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAGO) for the conduct of pretrial investigation," Esperon said.
He also said it is only after Senga approves the pre-trial investigation that the General Court Martial (GMC) will commence. — With Evelyn Macairan, Paolo Romero and Marvin Sy
Senga tasked AFP Inspector General (IG) Rear Admiral Rufino Lopez, chairman of the fact-finding board, to determine the group or individuals responsible for the leakage of the report to media.
"I tasked Rear Admiral Lopez to investigate the leakage," Senga told ABS-CBN "Bandila" news anchor Ces Drilon in an exclusive interview in Tiaong, Quezon Tuesday afternoon.
At Camp Crame, Senga said the focus of the investigation is to identify those who leaked the draft report so that corresponding appropriate actions may be taken: "What I am asking (Lopez to) investigate is who leaked the draft of the report, which fell into the hands of some news media outfit. We do not even know if it’s really the draft. We will find that out, then we will take the appropriate actions."
He said the people or groups behind the leakage may be charged with breach of military discipline and conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman.
Senga said that when showed a copy of the report, he was almost sure that it was a draft because it was a typewritten manuscript: "There was no heading. There were no appropriate markings to indicate that it was an official report."
He added that the report also bore no signatures of the committee chair and members.
A copy of the report obtained by The STAR was a typewritten, 33-page document with the adhoc committee stamp indicating that the report was completed on June 16.
Senga’s statements contravened earlier statement made by Lopez before Camp Aguinaldo reporters that the board did not have the report yet.
Lopez, accompanied by AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Jose Angel Honrado, also said there was no leakage: "We have not completed the report. We are still finalizing it."
The report in question recommended that 38 Marines and Scout Ranger Army officers along with 27 Army enlisted personnel face court martial for their involvement in the failed Feb. 24 military-civilian power grab.
Two of the three most senior officers recommended for court martial proceedings were former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, erstwhile Army Scout Ranger chief Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and former Marine 1st Brigade Commander Col. Ariel Querubin.
Lim earlier denied involvement in the failed coup d’etat, while Miranda and Querubin have declared their readiness to face trial.
Miranda said the board’s recommendation will give him the opportunity and the venue to clear his name while expressing his sadness over the inclusion of other Marine officers in the snafu.
"The buck stops with me," Miranda said, adding that the others implicated were "good officers," one of them a female aide-de-camp.
"It clearly shows that there was an attempt to break from the chain of command," Cruz said, referring to the highly critical period from Feb. 19 to Feb. 24, during which Lim was monitored to be planning to withdraw his support to the Arroyo administration.
The video clip, as Lim himself admitted before Senga during their Feb. 23 meeting at Camp Aguinaldo, was pre-recorded for airing live the following day on selected television stations when he and his supporters were supposed to have joined mass protest actions at the EDSA Shrine during the 20th people power I anniversary celebration.
As shown in the leaked Lopez report, Lim was to be joined by Miranda, Querubin and Special Action Force chief and police Chief Superintendent Marcelino Franco and other officers and men from the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment, Philippine Marines Corps and SAF at EDSA.
In the video, Lim is seen flanked by several officers while reading his group’s withdrawal of support from the President.
Cruz said Lim’s video-captured pronouncements violated the Articles of War. He said the defense establishment is now leaving the matter of Lim’s punishment up to the military justice system.
He also said the official Lopez report will be released in a week’s time: "I was told by Rear Admiral Lopez that he is going to complete his report within a week."
NBI-Special Task Force (STF) regional director Reynaldo Esmeralda said Caringal’s emissary called him and confirmed that Caringal will be present at the inquiry.
Caringal was reportedly one of the military officials positioned behind Lim as Lim read a statement withdrawing support from the President.
"I was told that Colonel Caringal is presently a battalion commander in Iligan province in Mindanao. Someone called me up and told me that Colonel Caringal would honor the subpoena on Friday," Esmeralda said.
Caringal reportedly pledged to be present at the NBI even if he has not yet formally received the subpoena. The NBI is still waiting for confirmation of attendance at the inquiry from Lim.
The NBI-STF sent a subpoena for Caringal through the commandant of the Philippine Marines. Lim’s copy of the subpoena was coursed through the Office of the Commanding General, Philippine Army Headquarters, both located within Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.
Lim and Caringal will be asked by the NBI "to shed light on the videotape showing your withdrawal of support against President Arroyo." The subpoena for Caringal was received by a certain Sgt. Bernardo, while a Sgt. Cedeno signed receipt of Lim’s copy.
Esmeralda said they intend to learn the identities of the other military officers present during the videotaped withdrawal of support from Caringal: "We just want a confirmation."
He also said the NBI has not received any information indicating that Caringal was involved in previous coup attempts.
Meanwhile, sources said Lim’s camp reportedly produced 10 copies of the videotapes wherein one person was in charge of nine copies, while the remaining copy was in possession of another person.
When Lim’s group aborted its alleged coup d’etat plans, they destroyed the nine tapes and only a single copy was preserved.
"The tapes were supposed to have been distributed to all the television stations wherein they would be aired all at the same time," the source said.
Esmeralda also said the NBI may file perjury charges against Lim for allegedly lying in his sworn statement. The videotape allegedly contained Lim’s withdrawal of support for President Arroyo, thus contradicting his March 8 sworn statement before the NBI.
Lim’s statement said, "I wish to inform you that I did not conspire with any one against the President."
"His denial was under oath and we have a legal case against him — perjury," Esmeralda said, adding they must study the case evidence further before they file a case against Lim.
In a briefing yesterday, Biazon said Lopez’s denial that a report on his findings was completed prompted him to come up with the theory of the trial balloon.
He said such a report is very confidential in nature and any leak could only come from within the investigating board. He added that the leak serves to provide the AFP leadership with an indication of how the AFP rank and file will react to the possibility of seeing ranking officers subjected to court martial proceedings for alleged involvement in an attempted coup.
"This probably is the basis why the so-called report had been leaked to the public: To test the waters so that they will be guided accordingly as to whether to push through with the filing of charges or whether all will be charged in court martial or only selectively or drop the charges altogether," Biazon said.
He said the AFP leadership has to be very cautious in the actions it will take because of the presence of disgruntled personnel among its rank and file and officers.
Biazon said he has heard that some members of the Marine Corps, which he once commanded, questioned the recommendations in the Lopez report.
Citing the sentiments of the Marines he talked to, Biazon said the report’s recommendations were in violation of an agreement reached during a meeting of senior Marine officers after the Feb. 26 standoff at the Philippine Marine Corps headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
"Some of the (Marines) are saying that this is a violation of the agreement. I don’t know what the agreement was," Biazon said,
advising the AFP leadership to be very careful in handling the situation and to weigh the reactions of all the major service commands.
"I think, if there were no reaction at all from the rank and file, then they would push through with their intention to file charges against many members of the AFP suspected to have participated in those events," Biazon said, adding that the AFP should be very clear about the charges to be filed against the officers who will face court martial.
Biazon also said Lim’s videotaped withdrawal of support has yet to be considered as an offense, because if Lim will be charged for his actions on video, the Arroyo administration should also consider the events that took place in 2001.
He was referring to the Edsa II mass revolt that led to the ouster of former President Joseph Estrada. During this uprising, then AFP chief of staff Angelo Reyes and Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo withdrew their support for the President.
Biazon posited this question: "If it’s indeed an offense, meaning that call for withdrawal of support, would President Arroyo be held liable, Secretary Reyes be held liable, for their acts on January 19 of 2001?"
"If this is our standard of justice, standard of interpretation of what the law provides, then we will expect some future time, similar actions, similar events to occur," he said.
Malacañang vowed to pursue the case against the Feb. 24 coup plotters to the end, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said, adding that these military personnel will "have to face up to the situation" because the government has a strong case against them.
"You can be very sure this administration of President Arroyo will have the full resolve to see this through to a successful conclusion," Ermita said, adding that the Palace is leaving the matter in the hands of the military courts.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Lim was obviously used by "power-hungry politicians" who later abandoned Lim when the putsch plot was nipped in the bud: "We sympathize with Gen. Lim that he was apparently used by self-serving politicians, then abandoned by the roadside. Nevertheless, justice must take its course. We must continue to insulate the AFP from politics."
"Well, we will see how things go. That was meant to house some violators or people who violate the articles of war," Esperon said, referring to the military prison built inside the headquarters of the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Capinpin in Tanay.
The Tanay Army detention facility is considered as the most modern detention facility the Philippine military has ever constructed. It can accommodate 125 detainees, is highly secure with triple-walled structures topped by barbed wire and tower posts.
The facility sits across Estrada’s rest house, where the deposed president is under house arrest.
After attending the Philippine Air Force (PAF) anniversary celebration yesterday, Esperon hinted that Lim and the rest of his group may be detained in the new prison facility, though he is still awaiting the Lopez report before making moves to transfer Lim and his men to Tanay.
"We will not preempt the results of the fact-finding board under (Lopez), but I understand the report will be coming out in a week or two and it will have to be reviewed by the (AFP) Chief of Staff before it goes to the Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAGO) for the conduct of pretrial investigation," Esperon said.
He also said it is only after Senga approves the pre-trial investigation that the General Court Martial (GMC) will commence. — With Evelyn Macairan, Paolo Romero and Marvin Sy
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