It’s still a doublecross

The radio commentators have been calling the GMA Administration’s refusal to honor the commitment of its own government panel of negotiators, led by no less than Ambassador (and former Armed Forces Chief of Staff) Roy A. Cimatu, which led to the peaceful surrender of the Oakwood mutineers or putschists, a "doublecross".

In Filipino or English, you all know what a "doublecross" means.

As Cimatu, the other negotiators, and this writer have been reiterating, what was pledged in exchange for the surrender of the 256 officers and men holed up inside the Oakwood luxury apartments was trial under military justice. It was imperative to convince them to lay down their arms, and defuse or disconnect all the explosives and bombs with which they had mined the surrounding area, from the Glorietta, Rustan’s, the parking lot, the edge of the Inter-Continental Hotel, and Shoemart. And so it was offered by Cimatu and our group was that the putschists would be tried under the "Articles of War".

In unequivocal terms, what was promised was court martial and submission to the military justice system.

The President sent yesterday a Cabinet member to me to discuss the issue, and the line I was given was that the charge being filed in a Regional Trial Court didn’t violate that pledge, because, as the gentleman argued, "There’s a law that requires rebellion, attempted overthrow of the government, and coups, to be tried by civilian court." Sanamagan. This is hair-splitting, double-dealing, reneging on a pledge – and, sad to say, downright disheartening.

The argument advanced for the switch was that the Oakwood mutineers had not been promised that their offense would not be tried in addition elsewhere, not just under the "Articles of War" – would you believe?

* * *

In those tense hours when it was a matter of "live or die", and when the military rebels had their fingers on the detonators, switches and tripwires that, conceivably, could blow up the most visible part of the Makati business district (including themselves – and us who were inside – of course), and were brandishing all their machineguns, automatic weapons and other ordnance, why didn’t the President send in the lawyers from the Department of Justice into the building, carrying copies of the revised statutes, and declaring: "And by the way, you scum, we’ll also try you in the RTC for rebellion, planning to assassinate the President, et cetera, so surrender now!" I suspect, the irritated and already desperate putschists might have riddled those brave prosecutors with holes, just to express their indignation.

It’s so easy to wave the statute books and make sanctimonious noises after rebels have surrendered their weapons and explosives, and a bloody firefight has been avoided between already impatient government troops and armor outside and entrenched rebel defenders, which might have turned the area into shambles that Sunday, July 27.

The government negotiators, headed by Cimatu, who had the express authorization of Malacañang, did what it could to avert that tragedy. The agreement was that the mutineers go "back to barracks" and be tried under the "Articles of War". Susmariosep. Now that they’re in prison, they’re being doublecrossed. And the government negotiators are being doublecrossed, too.

The government is right to throw the book at the putschists, mutineers, rebels, or whatever you may call them, but it has to do so under the Articles of War, as was pledged to them. This is the basis on which they gave up. Why not, indeed, court martial? The possible penalties are not light – they include long-term imprisonment, or, in the extreme, death by firing squad.

The government can go after their so-called "sponsors", backers, funders, masterminds, or any individuals implicated in the alleged coup d’etat by charging them in the civilian justice system all it wants – and it must – since those plotters, conspirators, whoever they may be, weren’t covered by that July 27th surrender agreement in the Oakwood.

This is the vital distinction.

But let’s not doublecross the surrendered rebels of the Oakwood, please.

I don’t believe the President wants her government to be known, and remembered, as a government of doublecrossers.

* * *

I was astonished yesterday afternoon to hear that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is insisting on trying the detained officers and men in Regional Trial Court Branch 13.

DOJ’s Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño appeared on ANC television’s "Top Story" to declare that the procedure would be to issue a commitment order and inquest.

What he said next astounded me completely. When asked about the question of "double jeopardy", he said that if it is instituted, the military Court Martial should not try the case of "mutiny" because this should be done by the RTC! What about the pledge made by the government negotiators at Oakwood to the mutineers that they would be tried under the Articles of War? Zuño scoffed at the idea. He asserted that the DOJ had nothing to do with that agreement because, he claimed, and I quote verbatim, it was "a military to military negotiation".

Dead wrong. Mr. Prosecutor Zuño. It was never a military to military negotiation. The head of the negotiating panel, who had expressly been sent into the Oakwood by Malacañang, was a civilian. This is Ambassador Roy A. Cimatu. Sure, he is a retired general and former Armed Forces Chief of Staff, but since he retired he has been a civilian. Undersecretary (USEC) for Special Concerns Abraham Puruganan, although he is a former Major, has been a civilian for many years. I am a civilian. True enough, many of the negotiating group are still serving officers, but it wasn’t a military negotiation.

We simply wanted to get the putschists to surrender without bloodshed. And Ambassador Cimatu and his almost impromptu fellow negotiators accomplished that undertaking.

Some wiseguy might crack that, if Cimatu is already a civilian, and indeed given diplomatic rank as Ambassador by the President so he can supervise the welfare and evacuation of overseas Filipinos living and working in war-endangered areas, why is he usually referred to, still, as "General"?

In response, I guess, I’ll have to recount what happened to Evita "Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina" Peron, whose fame was renewed worldwide by the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical on Broadway, and the subsequent movie, Evita, starring Madonna.

Evita Duarte Peron (1919-1952), clawed her way up from abject poverty through steely determination, and the increasingly unscrupulous use of her beauty. She hopped up the ladder from one influential lover to another, until she lucked out with General Juan Peron – and used her own personal charisma to help propel him to power, well, by a coup supported by her masses of descamisados or workers.

The Iron Lady from Buenos Aires, at the height of her powers, was sent by her husband on a tour of Europe to win friends for Argentina. Although she met adulation in some places, she was booed and reviled in others. When she got to northern Italy, as she was chauffered through the streets of Milan, escorted by a retired Admiral, she was angered when the crowds shouted, "Whore! puta! prostitute!"

Furious, Evita turned to her escort: "They are calling me a puta!"

"Don’t be offended, please," the retired Admiral remarked soothingly. "That’s all right. I haven’t been to sea for fifteen years, yet they still call me Admiral!"

I didn’t make this story up. It came from The Little Book of Anecdotes, edited by Clifton Fadiman (Little, Brown & Company, Ltd., Canada, 1985).

* * *

Why does the administration sound so vehement about forcing the trial of the failed mutineers or putschiats into the Regional Trial Court? Perhaps, with the DOJ under Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong and the Department of Interior and Local Government under the very zealous DILG Secretary Joey Lina, it will be more convenient to rope in and include the military rebels suspected masterminds, sponsors, godfathers, etc., and expand the thing into a case of alleged armed rebellion launched to overthrow President GMA – and, as some of the zealots have already been dark insinuating, "assassinate" the Chief Executive.

Now comes Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus, returning from Seoul, to allege that the premature discovery of the power grab had aborted the arrival of bigger forces of rebels set to arrive in Manila, and thus compelled the 300 or so soldiers to move earlier than scheduled and seize only the Oakwood. (Corpus claimed the original target date had been August 2).

Judging from poor Victor’s previous record of unsuccessfully trying to "prove" through all-out media attack the other year, the existence of hundreds of millions of dollars in narco-funds stashed away in US banks by Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, and the complete turn-around of one of his key witnesses, Ador Mawanay (of "cellphones by the thousands" notoriety), let’s see what happens to his latest revelations. If a conspiracy exists, it must be exposed and crashed. Those of us who were prisoners and victims of "irrevocable recognition." However, I suppose Corpus’s Marcos martial law have no stomach of fondness of military juntas of dictatorships, from the post of chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) was merely cosmetic. For, it seems, he’s today working even more closely with Malacañang – having lost none of his power – as a member of the President’s security team. Tsk, tsk. So much for the much-publicized great "resignation."

And, of course, the convenient weapon of a Presidentially-declared "state of rebellion" (smells like "martial law" in a different perfume bottle), can be utilized in many clever ways.

As for me, I’ve been used for many years to having my telephones tapped, but now my Deep Threat informs me there’s increased tapping, and surveillance on all my movements. My, my, what a compliment. Since they did this to me during almost a decade of the Marcos "martial law" hegemony, it feels, actually, like a happy homecoming. Bring in the clowns.

* * *

Defense Secretary Angelo T. Reyes, through his pals and supporters, appears to be fighting a desperate battle to show he’s got the full support and confidence of The Establishment, both civilian and military. Especially "military," since he was one of the targets of the young officer putchist’s grievances – they had demanded his resignation or removal.

His chief boosters, classmates from Philippine Military Academy 1966, still working with him or with the Department of National Defense (DND) are trying to get the members of PMA Class ’66 to sign a "manifesto" declaring all-out support for Reyes.

Retired Rear Admiral Ed Varona (who’s currently Director of the AFP Arsenal, the agency which issues the bullets and weapons), Vice-Admiral Louie Fernandez (a former Vice-Chief of Staff) and retired Commodore Artemio Arugay, for example, are trying to round up the 60 or so former classmates of ’66 to attend an urgent "signing" session in Camp Aguinaldo tomorrow night, Saturday, at 7 p.m. How many or how few will come? Let’s see.

According to a number of classmates, half the class seems to be reluctant to sign. The PMA ’66 class president, retired Lt. Gen. Victor Mayo, former Vice-Chief of Staff, earlier sent word he was ill and wouldn’t go to sign, but the "committee" too the proposed manifesto to the hospital and got his signature.

Give them "A" for effort. But why such a great effort?