Army officer turns down Noy amnesty

MANILA, Philippines - An Army Scout Ranger major who was among the 29 officers arrested and charged in connection with the reported February 2006 failed plot to oust then president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has turned down the Aquino government’s offer of amnesty saying he intends to prove his innocence before the military court.

Maj. Jason Aquino, former operations officer of the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment based in San Miguel, Bulacan and member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of ’91, said he was confident of being exonerated eventually.

“He submitted himself to the legal processes and he intends to complete these processes with an end view that he will be exonerated,” Aquino’s civilian lawyer Trixie Angeles said. The officer is not related to President Aquino.

Aquino, his lawyer said, had chided the President for placing the careers of the accused junior officers on the line because once they avail of the amnesty, they could no longer return to the service.

The President’s amnesty proclamation only allows enlisted personnel involved in the past three attempts to topple the Arroyo government in 2003, 2006 and 2007 to be reintegrated back in the military service and not their officers.

“He has submitted himself into the process to prove his innocence and if he will avail the amnesty now, it will be an admission of guilt for his part even if he has not committed a crime. Also, he will be discharged from the service by the virtue of an amnesty. Are they fooling us?” Angeles said.

Aquino was the first Scout Ranger officer subjected to solitary confinement for seven months in Tanay, Rizal along with his immediate superior then, ex-Scout Ranger commander, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim in connection with the alleged February coup plot.

Aquino had been singled out by the previous military leaderships for being vocal about his call for reforms and changes not only in military leadership, but in the entire Arroyo government as well.

Angeles also noted that most of the senior officers charged and later cleared by the military are now back in the service.

She stressed that it would be unfair for Aquino to avail of the amnesty plan and end up jobless, considering his innocence.