Esperon denies influencing preliminary trial of alleged coup plotters

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. belied rumors that he pressured a military probe body into recommending court-martial proceedings against 38 officers linked to the alleged Feb.24 coup plot.

Esperon stressed that the military investigators headed by Col. Al Perreras were given a free hand in determining whether there was prima facie evidence to justify a military trial for the accused. Perreras is the deputy chief of the Judge Advocate’s General Office or JAGO.

"They were free in the panel," Esperon said, dismissing reports that he had ordered the original report of the pre-trial investigators (PTI) revised.

On Wednesday, AFP Public Information Office (PIO) chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro announced the submission of the PTI report to Esperon.

The 38 officers are detained at Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal and at the Marine custodial center in Taguig City.

"Whatever was given to me (by Col. Perreras) as the PTI report was the final product. Whatever happened before, would be his (Perreras’) own doing,’’ Esperon said.

Sources from the military said Esperon even threatened to fire the entire panel if it failed to revise its original report.

But Esperon denied this, saying that if indeed there were revisions made, it was done by Perreras’ panel because of the voluminous documents that needed a thorough review.

The accused officers led by former Army Scout Rangers commander Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, may face a military trial for "attempting to begin or create a mutiny."

"If there were revisions or, just like in any report we have to make some corrections, for sure that is entirely their (investigators’) own. Entirely their own. I respect their caliber as lawyers," he said.

The review of these documents explained why the PTI failed to meet several deadlines originally set for mid-September by Esperon himself, Bacarro earlier said.

On Friday, Esperon announced the final report is now under review by his office and hinted that some of the accused officers might not be held liable.

As military chief, Esperon is the convening authority of the General Court-Martial. He also has the power to overrule or approve any PTI report submitted to him for his action.

He said that next month, or three days from now, he would be ready to decide on the fate of the accused officers, headed by Lim and Miranda.

Miranda was Esperon’s classmate at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1974 while Lim was considered one of Esperon’s trusted officers when the AFP chief was still the commanding general of the Army’s Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

Lim then was the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR) commander, an elite Army unit under SOCOM.

In one of the past interviews on the supposed involvement of Lim in the alleged oust-Arroyo move, Esperon declared that Lim was his man, directly reporting to him on matters involving national security.

Meanwhile, some of the accused officers said they felt betrayed by their superiors’ backtracking on their promise to spare them from prosecution in exchange for a peaceful resolution of the Feb. 26 standoff.

"There was no coup then but the tension at the Marine headquarters could have gone out of control had it not been for the gentleman’s agreement forged between the group of Gen. (Nelson) Allaga and the group of protesting Marines headed by Col. Querubin,’’ one accused officer said.

Tension rose at the Marine headquarters at Fort Bonifacio on Feb.26 after heavily armed Marines, supported by armored vehicles, barricaded themselves in front of their headquarters in protest of the unexpected sacking of Miranda as their commandant.

The accused officer said then incoming Marine commandant, now Maj. Gen. Nelson Allaga and Querubin had a "heart-to-heart’’ discussion after which they had a "gentleman’s agreement" to settle the crisis peacefully.

One of the conditions for ending the standoff was for Querubin to acknowledge Allaga as the new Marine commandant.

Also reportedly agreed upon was for Allaga to keep Querubin and his men from being charged, unless Allaga himself was included in the charges.

"Marines are honorable men, they don’t just break promises. That’s why they felt betrayed,’’ the accused officer said.