Yano belittles Esperon’s tale

Esperon insists on coup plot report; Yano dismisses it as “very insignificant”.

Below are the two reports:

Army chief belittles coup reports

By Joel Guinto
10/03/07

Army Chief Lieutenant General Alexander Yano has played down as “very insignificant” and “raw” reports of a new plot to topple government, and added that there was no need for worry.

Yano expressed confidence that the “very few” soldiers who were the targets of the alleged recruitment would resist the overtures of anti-government forces as they remained loyal to the chain of command.

“There’s nothing really very significant about it. That’s why I told you, these are raw reports, and very insignificant,” Yano said in a television interview, when asked about the alleged recruitment for the new destabilization attempt.

“There are some reports of recruitment going on but what is good about it is that the personnel, the very few of them, have reported such recruitment to the authorities,” Yano said.

“We feel [that] the loyalty of these people being recruited is with the government and the Armed Forces so there is not much worry,” he said.

In visits to troops in the Zamboanga provinces last week, the Army chief cautioned his men against joining coup plots, saying they should never regard themselves as “saviors” or “messiahs.”

On Monday, Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said cases were being built up against four officers, who were reported to have been recruiting soldiers for the alleged fresh coup plot.

The military chief said the recruiters were using corruption controversies in government, including bribery allegations surrounding the $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) project to agitate the troops.

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Esperon: Military preparing to file coup raps vs 4 officers

By Joel Guinto
10/01/2007

The military is building up a case against four officers who remain under surveillance for allegedly recruiting fellow soldiers for a supposed plot to topple government, the Chief of Staff, General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said Monday.

“We will build a case [against the officers]. We will haul them to court, to [a] general court martial once we get all the evidence. That’s why they are now subject to surveillance,” Esperon told reporters in Camp Crame.

Esperon remain tight-lipped on the identities of the four officers, whom he said all held the rank of lieutenant.

“We will not tell you what units are involved for operational security,” he said.

Esperon corrected his earlier statement that six junior officers had been reassigned on suspicion of recruiting soldiers for a coup plot, saying, “Actually, I said it was close to six.”

The military chief also criticized Maria Flor Querubin, the wife of detained Marine Colonel Ariel Querubin, who is among 28 officers facing court martial for mutiny over the botched February 2006 coup.

Mrs Querubin had said in a television interview that the military leadership was given additional funding each time the chief of staff disclosed an alleged coup plot.

“What’s this? We have intelligence funds to use for such purposes, but not P60 million per report [of destabilization] like what the wife of an officer claimed. I don’t know where she got the P60 million figure,” he said.

“We don’t make up information to get funding,” he said.

Sought for comment on the military chief’s statement, Mrs Querubin said in a text message “Please tell General Esperon to tell that to the Marines.”

Esperon shot back, saying it was coup suspects who were earning from alleged destabilization efforts.

“We know these destabilizers. There are groups that are funding them,” he said, adding, some officers linked to past coups have pledged soldiers for the plot in exchange for money.