Betrayal begets betrayal

Disgruntled former military colleagues of ex-senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan betrayed the fugitive politician and provided information to the military and police that led to his arrest in Quezon City, military sources disclosed yesterday.

"Easily said, he was betrayed by some people whom he also betrayed earlier," said a source from the intelligence community who declined to identify the people who gave Honasan away.

After nine months in hiding, Honasan was nabbed at about 2:30 a.m. last Wednesday while trying to escape from a unit at the Enclave Townhouse in Greenmeadows subdivision, Quezon City, a posh residential area behind the Armed Forces headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo.

Sources said the information provided by the "assets" was the lead that resulted in Honasan’s arrest.

"These people were so close to the former senator (Honasan) before... they know of his movements and activities," another source told The STAR.

The sources said the disgruntled colleagues of Honasan included former soldiers who were dismissed from the service after joining Honasan in various coup attempts against then President Corazon Aquino in 1987 and 1989.

The ex-soldiers blamed Honasan for destroying the careers of promising junior officers that joined the coup attempts.

Sources said the breakthrough leading to Honasan’s capture

actually came in June, four months after the former senator went into hiding after he was again implicated in the foiled coup attempt that was supposed to be launched during the EDSA People Power anniversary celebration last Feb. 24.

Honasan’s warrant of arrest was, however, issued for the rebellion charges filed against him for his alleged participation in the Oakwood mutiny on July 27, 2003 in Makati.

The source said acting on the information provided by Honasan’s former associates, the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) immediately assigned two units from the Military Intelligence Group, MIG-21 and MIG-24 to track down the former senator.

After it was established that Honasan was regularly visiting a townhouse in Greenmeadows, an intricate trap was laid out to corner the fugitive.

The source added that military agents "planted" inside the subdivision also discovered that Honasan’s host at the townhouse where he was frequently seen was a woman in her late 40s identified as Ingrid Ramos.

Sources claimed that Ramos and Honasan are lovers and even had a child. The report, however, is not yet verified.

During the raid at the townhouse, the source claimed that it was Honasan, in fact, who was more nervous than Ramos.

"Mas worried si Gringo kaysa kay Ingrid," the source described the behavior of the two after the raid.

He added that Ramos was supposed to be arrested for harboring Honasan, a fugitive from the law, but "somebody" prevailed upon the military and police raiders.

Honasan’s capture was a result of human intelligence with some technical support both coming from the ISAFP and the Army’s Intelligence Service Group (ISG), the source said.

When everything was already in order and the actual trap would be executed, the ISAFP leadership decided to invite the police to join the operation and let them serve the warrant of arrest against Honasan.

"Efforts ng ISAFP lahat, invited lang sila (PNP)," said the source.

He said the military and police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) agents initially followed Honasan when he went out of his mother’s house at Industrial Valley subdivision in Marikina on board a maroon Toyota Revo, which cruised around Metro Manila before proceeding to Greenmeadows.

The source said the operation was a success because of the valuable information provide by the "assets."

"Without them he (Honasan) could be still on the loose until now," the source said.

He said the military is now working with the Philippine National Police for the release of the P5 million reward offered by the government to the informant who could provide leads resulting in the arrest of Honasan.

Prior to his arrest Honasan had been sighted outside Metro Manila, prompting police and military to send agents to investigate in Sorsogon, Masbate, Negros Occident, Davao and Iloilo.

CIDG agents were recently dispatched to arrest Honasan at the former senator’s ancestral house in Bulan, Sorsogon. Honasan was not there.

Follow-up raids were also conducted in Negros and Iloilo which turned out negative.

"It’s already Honasan’s style to feed false information about his whereabouts to confuse or shake off efforts to get him," the source added.

Repentant

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said Honasan appeared "repentant" after his arrest and even expressed willingness to help bring about political stability in the country.

"He was very subdued and I think of course understandably depressed. So I think he needs rest and I hope that his experience will convince him that violent methods to try to get power are really not the way to go," Puno said.

Puno said he checked in Honasan at the Asian Hospital in Muntinlupa City where the former senator will be under observation until today to ensure that he would not suffer any infection of the wound he sustained while attempting to evade arrest.

"I heard nothing from him but assurances of cooperation not just with the investigation and with his detention but he even... (appealed for dialogue) to help stabilize the political situation," he said.

Puno said there should be a sign of sincerity not just from Honasan but from his whole group that they would stop hatching coup plots.

He said the Cabinet members during their national security cluster meetings objected to any kind of compromise or deals with Honasan, "for as long as he was on the loose."

Puno said there is no reason to make any deal with Honasan since the Department of Justice and the courts would now handle his case.

Senior Superintendent Asher Dolina, chief of the CIDG-Metro Manila who handcuffed Honasan during his arrest, was himself a former supporter of the cause of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) which is also known as Rebolusyonaryong Alyansa Makabansa that the former senator and other idealist military officers organized.

Dolina was also charged and detained for one year and five months after he joined the Honasan-led coup against former President Corazon Aquino in 1989.

In a sudden twist of fate, Dolina found himself putting handcuffs on Honasan after his arrest at Greenmeadows.

"Wala namang emotional moment. Nakalimutan ko na yun at naniniwala ako na dapat harapin nya ang consequences of his actions in court," said Dolina.

After the coup attempts failed, the government offered amnesty and Dolina availed of the amnesty program and remained in the police force.

"Actually nag-sympathize ako dun sa mga sinabi nya nung 1989 kasi at that time mababa ang sweldo namin at walang promotion. My personal status at yung feeling na napabayaan were among the reasons that me and some of my colleagues supported his cause," Dolina told The STAR.

While in detention, Dolina said he realized that raising arms against the government was not a good way to address the problem in the system.

Dolina was also team leader of the CIDG when a joint team of the police and military agents arrested six fugitive members of the Magdalo soldiers in a rented house on 34 Adler street corner Doña Juliana St., Filinvest 2, Quezon City last July.

The arrest of six Magdalo soldiers –1st Lt. Sonny Sarmiento, 1st Lt. Angelbert Gay, 2nd Lt. Aldrin Baldonado, 1st Lt. Nathaniel Rabonza, 1st Lt. Patricio Bumidang and Navy Lt. Senior Grade Kiram Sadava, who took part in the Oakwood mutiny –should serve as eye opener to adventurist young soldiers pushing for change in the society by staging a coup, Dolina said.

Three of six Magdalo soldiers –Sadava, Dumidang and 1st Lt. Lawrence San Juan –have indicated their intention to cooperate with the government.

CIDG chief Director Jesus Verzosa maintained that the arrest of Honasan had no political color but was simple police work of arresting a fugitive wanted for rebellion. - Aurea Calica, Cecille Suerte Felipe