‘Feb. 24, Feb. 26 events part of coup’

The Feb. 24 failed coup d’etat and the tense six-hour standoff at the Philippine Marines headquarters at Fort Bonifacio on Feb. 26 were both part of one grand plot to bring down the Arroyo administration, a military report said.

The document, which forms part of the ad hoc investigation committee report submitted to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Generoso Senga, concluded that the military events from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26 were deliberate and were "not born out of spontaneity."

Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, erstwhile commander of the 1st Army Scout Ranger Regiment and Col. Ariel Querubin, former commander of the 1st Marine Brigade, were the key players in all these anti-government moves, the document said.

According to the document, the six-hour standoff was part of the Feb. 24 plan where Lim and Querubin intended to bring their men to the EDSA Shrine in Mandaluyong City to show military support for civilians at the celebration.

"If the military was not able to join the civilians, then it was the civilians that will converge for the military," the document claimed.

This scenario was similar to the military-backed EDSA I uprising, wherein outnumbered rebel soldiers led by then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and former Philippine Constabulary chief Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos were saved by civilians from forces loyal to the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Querubin, left alone after Lim’s arrest, tried to create a spark by barricading the PMC headquarters with troops loyal to him while calling for civilian support.

"I will wait for the all the people to really come here and protect us and we will cross the bridge when we are there," Querubin told the media during the standoff.

First to heed Querubin’s call were top opposition leaders, members of religious groups and leftist personalities.

Querubin has maintained that the Feb. 26 exercise was not for anything else, least of all to topple the government, but only a protest over the unceremonious sacking of their commandant, Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda.

Miranda himself had claimed that there was no coup and that the Feb. 26 standoff in the Marine headquarters was not related to the reported plan to grab power.

But the military report said the mere presence of civilians when Querubin spearheaded the standoff showed otherwise — "it was an old trick employed by Enrile and Ramos in toppling Marcos."

"The civilian personnel present during the standoff were no austere personalities but known members of the opposition," the document said.

Among those who heeded Querubin’s call from would-be "aggressors" were former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, former President Corazon Aquino, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, Rep. Imee Marcos and lawyer Argee Guevarra.

Also around to show their support to Querubin were men wearing shirts with Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) logo.

Businessman Iñigo Zobel also showed up but said his presence was of no importance as he only wanted to talk with Querubin, whom he claimed to be a close friend.

"At that juncture, the slightest aggravation could have escalated and ignited the otherwise volatile situation to immeasurable proportions," the military paper said.

At the forefront of all these destabilization acts were Querubin and Lim, who are presently detained at their respective quarters, according to the document.

The document also described Lim and Querubin as military officers who "gained notoriety for their participation in previous coup d’etat and other acts of destabilization."

To avoid a repeat of the failed power grab, the ad hoc investigation committee recommended that the military leadership punish all officers and personnel who participated in the botched government takeover.

The punishments include charging the errant officers and personnel in civil and military courts.

While awaiting trial, the accused military personnel should also be made to face the Efficiency Separation Board (ESB) of their respective mother units to determine if they are still fit to be in the service.

The ad hoc committee also recommended that all officers linked to past coup d’etats should not be assigned or given key position in all of the military’s special and elite units such as the Marines, the Army’s Special Forces, Scout Rangers, the Navy’s Special Warfare Group (SWAG), and the Air Force’s Special Operations Wing (SPOW).

"These special units are not the problem in itself but the officers of messianic characters who command them," the ad hoc committee concluded.

Some officers assigned to these special units have been linked to the failed coup d’etat last Feb. 24 and Feb. 26 as well the 1986 successful military revolt and the bloody 1987 and 1989 uprisings.

Meanwhile, the AFP belied reports that the Scout Rangers regiment, particularly those formerly under Lim, have been under close watch.

These reports were only meant to create dissension within the ranks, Army commander Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said in an interview over radio station dzBB.

"There is no longer any question as to where the loyalty of the Scout Rangers lies," he said.

Esperon said the military leadership fully trusts the Scout Rangers and that the reports are a figment of the imagination of groups out to destabilize the government.

He said some 19 Army officers and 37 enlisted personnel who allegedly connived with Lim have been restricted to quarters and are being investigated.

Most of the Scout Rangers who have undergone the probe have been transferred to the Northern Luzon Command or recalled to their mother unit, the Army.

Esperon also denied that the Scout Rangers, an Army special unit, will be disbanded due to their group’s link to the failed Feb. 24 coup attempt.

Lim’s successor, Col. Rey Mapagu, said his men remain intact under the chain of command and are not the subject of any monitoring.

He added that the group’s sense of loyalty was further solidified by the release of the four-minute, 43-second video footage showing Lim declaring his withdrawal of support from the President.

"The video made the members of the Scout Ranger regiment realize the importance of adhering to the chain of command," Mapagu said. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe