The prosecution in the court martial trial of 28 officers accused of mutiny in February 2006 said they were “trapped” into giving out their evidence which were “hypothetically” accepted by the defense as true. The defense is going to use the prosecution’s evidence as basis to ask the court to dismiss the case because they cannot sustain the charge of mutiny.
More of this in my column Monday.
Malaya’s report:
Mutiny lawyer to file motion to dismiss
by Victor Reyes
The defense panel in the court martial of 28 Army and Marine officers linked to the alleged attempt to overthrow the Arroyo government in 2004 yesterday renewed its bid for the military tribunal to dismiss the mutiny charges against the accused.
Vicente Verdadero, counsel for former Scout Ranger Regiment commander Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and several other accused, informed the court that he is filing a formal motion to demurrer. “It’s like a motion to dismiss,” Verdadero told reporters. “The evidence cannot sustain the charge of mutiny.”
Verdadero, however, declined to elaborate on the supposed weakness of the evidence of the prosecution headed by Col. Jose Feliciano Loy. “I do not want to telegraph my punches to Col. Loy.”
Defense lawyers have filed similar motions to dismiss in the past but these were denied by the military tribunal, now presided over by Army Maj. Gen. Jogy Leon Fojas.
The military court started trying the accused officers in December 2006 for their alleged plan, subsequently thwarted, to march to the Edsa Shrine in February 2006, join the anti-government demonstrators there, and publicly withdraw their support from President Arroyo.
The defense yesterday continued marking its evidence with Rogelio Butch Bagabugo, lawyer of former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, one of the accused, offering the sworn statement of his client and 11 other officers, including then AFP deputy chief of staff for intelligence now AFP deputy chief Lt. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang.
Miranda’s evidence included the pre-trial investigation report that recommended the dropping of the case of mutiny against the accused for lack of merit. The recommendation was reversed by a pre-trial advice that was approved by then AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon.
The prosecution in turn presented its issues to the court, to wit: whether the court has jurisdiction over the accused officers; whether there was conspiracy; and whether the accused indeed committed mutiny.
The defense panel’s issues included whether there was conspiracy to commit mutiny, whether the prosecution evidence is enough to overcome the presumption of innocence of the accused; and whether the prosecution can convict the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Captions:
1. Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, Mrs. Aloy Lim, Col. Ariel Querubin
2. Aty. Rogelio Bagabuyo (partly hidden),Lt. Col. Ed Malabanjot, Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, Col. Orlando de Leon
3. Lt. Col. Nestor Flordeliza, Lt. Col. Achilles Segumalian, Capt. Allan Aurino
4.Maj. Francisco Domingo Fernandez with wife Ann and son Nikko
5. Lt. Jacon Cordero and wife Mazenith
6.Lt. Col Custodio Parcon with wife Gay. Busy with friend chicken is Capt. Eric Sales
7. Col Orlando de Leon, Maj. Jason Aquino, Atty. Trixie Angeles
8. Maj. Francisco Domingo Fernandez, Col. Januario Caringal, Col. Armando Bañez
9. Capt. James Sababan
I congratulate the defense for the grandmaster move. Hope that will promptly conclude the case for a renewed steam and goals of their clients.
Yehey, naisahan ang prosecution! Korek, don’t ever telegraph your punches to Loy, let him make kapa in the dark!
The Tanay boys are looking good, looking good!
Yano should end this kadramahan and kapritso ni Gloria, he knows there’s no case. Ang tagal mo na dyan Yano, ano ba?! Gamitin mo na ang iyong balls for the sake of truth and justice.
Nov. 7 is Marines Day. Jose Miguel wants to send this message to the patriots in the Marines:
From where the enemy sails,
Through the sea of Jolo or the beaches of Zamboanga,
him the Filipino Marine tails.
The enemy cancels his trails
in the jungles of Lamitan or the hills of Tugas
at his flanks, the Filipino Marine scales.
On the summit of his successs the enemy sits.
Right between his eyes, the Filipino Marine hits.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FILIPINO MARINE!
Naa-awa ako talaga sa mga magigiting na mga militar na kahit wala namang ginawang masama sa mga taongbayan na ang nasa lang naman nila ay yong tanggalin yong isang mandaraya at magnanakaw “in short” Huwad na Pangulo na hanggang ngayon nagbibigay problema sa ating bayan. Pero yong mga Generals na nagnanakaw sa kaban ng Bayan ay malaya at pilit pang pinagtatakpan ang mga pinaggagawa. Kakapal talaga ang mukha ng mga Generals na ito.
Happy Marines Day, everyone!!!
I believe they are the Last Hope for an effective regime change – be it on or before 2010.
Congratulations to the true Soldiers of the People!
Happy Marines Day to all! God Bless.
Maraming Salamat sainyong mga pagbati. Hurraahh Marines!!!
Happy Marines Day sa inyong lahat…Mabuhay! and May God Bless you all!
…Noong araw mayroon kaming tinatawag na “boogie woogie” marine style..at kung mahina ang tuhod mo hindi mo kakayanin..just like all the marines kung mahina ang loob mo..hindi mo kakayanin..pero sa mga gaya nila Gen. Lim they really are stout hearted men..who will fight for the rights they adore..remember that song…Stout Hearted Men? ma nga bata ba nga kayo!
…I salute you all but I salute your wives and families more!
Anong klaseng mga prosecutor ba meron ang Pilipinas ngayon under a criminal? Trapped by the defense lawyers daw? How idiotic an argument! Ang bobo naman! Sa kasusunod doon sa mag-asawang inutil, naging mga inutil na rin! Yuck! Ang sarap kutusin sa totoo lang.
To the defense lawyers, good luck!
Matalino man daw and matsin, napaglalamangan din! The defense knows thay do not have a “mutiny” case. Did General Lim and Col Querubin go against Senga’s orders? Nope. Case closed! Just like the MoA of the rotten asspweron, this “mutiny” trial is another blunder! mamundok ka na lang asspweron! SCUM BAG YOU! Wala kang silbi as in inutil, sipsip at walang sinabi! Yano should stop this charade now and drop all the charges against these incarcerated officers. Tama na ang pagmamalupit! Let these officers go home to their families this Cristmas. Even hardened criminals like Jalosjos and the like are freed, eto pa kayang mga sundalo natin na walang hangad kundi ang malaman ang katotohanan ng pandaraya ni “bansot” ang hindi mapakawalan? WHAT AN INJUSTICE INDEED!
Hang on some more patriots! If there is a positive side to all these, it would be that you were not used by this corrrupt regime to destroy the constitution like that of asspweron’s MoA or salt money like that of de la Paz or even worse, fight the MILF war that was triggered by the evil bitch and her ever loyal dog asspweron!
Off topic:
Mukhang malabong makakuha ng puesto si Miriam sa ICJ, matindi ang laban!as of this hour laglag siya sa pang-lima
Hindi siya makapasok sa Magic 5
It’s a sad note that Sen. Miriam Santiago failed to get the last seat for the International Judicial Court. Let’s all extend our condolence.
The news can be found here:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28847&Cr=icj&Cr1=
From the start, it was a pipe dream, dahil may dalawang Asian incumbents – from China, and Japan.
Mag-judge na lang siya sa impeachment.
Is she frothing in the mouth yet?
CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama spoke by telephone Thursday with the leaders of nine US allies to express thanks for their fulsome messages of congratulation, an aide said.
Obama returned calls to the leaders of Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico and South Korea, according to Stephanie Cutter, spokeswoman for the Democrat’s transition office.
America’s next leader was “thanking them for having called to express congratulations on his election earlier this week,” she said in a statement without elaborating.
…Why didn’t Obama call Gloria Arroyo who tried three times unsuccessfully? Well, Malacanang said GMA was the 10th leader Obama called but it so happened Gloria was in the bathroom.
Tanong lang … ito bang ating magigiting na sundalo na nakakulong ngayon ay sumu-suweldo pa?
Valdemar Says:
“I congratulate the defense for the grandmaster move.”
So true. ha ha ha…
That is the classic Aikido principle – use a little of your force, and the full force of your enemy to defeat them.
Brilliant!!!
Di daw tumatanggap ng brenda sa ICU.
Tatawag din si Obama when he groups the well wishers from the section of most corrupt areas.
On the occasion of the Marines’ 58th Birthday, please allow me to share to you our MARINE HYMN. This is dedicated to all Marines, most especially to our fallen comrades. Your sacrifices from the shores of Appari to the shores of Tawi-Tawi will never be forgotten. UWAAHHH!!!!
MARINE HYMN
We are the Philippine Marines
A common sight in the fighting scene
Our salty boots are never dry, and people never ask us why
Until they hear our battle cry.
We are the Philippine Marines
Pitted against the toughest fiends
For once we are provoked to fight
They better keep out of our sight
As we unleash our strength and might.
Patrolling shores and seas
Within our country’s bounds
We are the fighting bees, we are the sleepless hounds
We chase the renegades, up the hill, down the rough and rugged roads
Exchanging blows and sharpened blades
Until they are lying dead and cold.
Sa 2010 pa magkaroon ng linaw ang kaso nitong mga sundalo.Nagdadama pa lang ang defense lawyer at mga prosecutor.Draw ang laban pagdating ng 2010 kapag iba na ang pangulo.
Kaya ng nasa military pa ako ay iisang tao lang ang sinusunod ko,iyung kumander ko.Kesehodang mga star general na iyan,hindi ko sila sinusunod dahil hindi naman iniutos ng kumander ko na maniwala ako sa kanila babarilin ko pa sila kapag may order ang kumander ko.Hehehehe!
Ngayon talo si Brenda sa ICJ. Humanda ka Sec.Puno ! Gagawin kang Pang-gatong ni Brenda…
It appeared, according to the pictures shown above the accused officers/soldiers of mutiny are having a great time and perhaps being treated well as detainees. Anyway, they’re look to me all in great shape, life must be good in prison. How long it has been, are they still getting their regular govt paycheck while being detained? Does anybody know, I’m just curious. Are their any pictures will show that the accused are being mistreated? What happen to Trillanes, a Senator elected to the office, is he still around? And what is he up to lately? It would be safe to say that wh*re Gloria won the argument with Trillanes. Such as a waste of votes!
I suppose, this case will be just the like the rest, that when it’s over, if ever going to be over, there won’t be no clear winner. Talking about keystone cops, what a way to run an army.
Here is one for the road, wh*re Gloria Arroyo and her illegal administration has no right to prosecute the accused. It’s not a legitimate govt. Furthermore, Philippines govt is dead, it died eight years ago when the wh*re Gloria and pimp hubby Mike went on the street with the mobs, by force, overthrew a mandated govt. If anybody legally deserve to be prosecuted, its the wh*re and the pimp. At least, the evidences against those two are fail-proof, there are videos available to support that the wh*re and the pimp were clearly guilty of mutiny. Million dagdag/bawas question, why the wh*re and pimp are not being prosecuted?
I believe, the attention of mutiny should be re-directed to both wh*re Gloria and hubby pimp Mike, if we’re going to have a fair justice in the land. Or else, Philippines will never get out of the rut that the country is now in, for the longest time. Yesterday, long before, was a long over due, wh*re Gloria must pay for the crimes against the people, justice must prevail, those gets in the way of justice, must also be prosecuted. But, the down side, who got the will to do it? Again, that’s another one million dagdag/bawas question that need to be answered. We, at least, are never short in rhetorical, and our voices behind the screen are much louder than the action requires. Oh well……….
Comment made, “Naa-awa ako talaga sa mga magigiting na mga militar na kahit wala namang ginawang masama sa mga taongbayan na ang nasa lang naman nila ay yong tanggalin yong isang mandaraya at magnanakaw….” Does the accused not guilty of the mutiny? We might not like wh*re Gloria, but lets put everything in proper perspective. The wh*re has the power, money and army, an unbeatable combination to prosecute anyone she wishes, also the wh*re has the uncheckable power that no one able to question, and the wh*re is the Philippines messiah, so it gives her, right or wrong, to prosecute or terminate anyone she want, all it takes is a brown bag for life. In the Philippines, the accused has already found guilty by the unwritten laws of the wh*re since day one, when the accused were captured. What is now happening with the accused, if you haven’t notice, all accused are now serving their time in captivity, wh*re Gloria’s way of saying, you all have been found guilty of the charges of mutiny. Hence, the accused are now out of commission and wh*re Gloria once again won the case. Just can’t fight he city hall, as they say, as least not in the Philippines when odds are overwhelimg. So, to answer the question, the accused are guilty, in the Philippines they all are.
One more for the road, this case against the accused is nothing but a big joke. Why would the prosecutors prosecute the accused when you ignored the wh*re Gloria’s major crime of coup d’etat? Double standard! It seemed to me, the accused can cite wh*re Gloria’s succesfull coup d’etat in comparison to the charges against them. There are no different.
Trapped daw ang prosecution by the defense. That’s not true. The Rules of Court does provide for a motion to dismiss by way of demurrer to evidence. The prosecution was trapped by the own bumbling. This case should not have been filed at all.
A motion to dismiss by way of demurrer to evidence can best be described by the title of a Lino Brocka film – Tinimbang Ka Nugnit Kulang.
Lady Justice is always portrayed as blindfolded, with a weighing scale in her hand. Parties load evidence on the weighing scale, and the one with weightier evidence will make the scales tip to his side, and Lady Justice will know who wins.
By weightier evidence, we do not mean greater quantity of witnesses and testimony. We are talking of figurative weight here – which evidence is more believable, which is more logical. So, between the testimony of your brother that you are an honest man, and the testimony of your business rival that “He is an asshole, but he is an honest man”, the testimony of your rival is more believable.
Similarly, between physical evidence (DNA, fingerprints, etc.) and oral testimony (I saw him do it, or I did not see him), physical evidence is more believable.
Now in a criminal case, the scales of Lady Justice do not start out empty. The Constitution puts an initial weight on the side of the accused – the presumption of innocence. The prosecution must put sufficiently weighty evidence on their side to overcome the weight put by the Constitution, for them to win a conviction.
In this case, the prosecution has already rested – they have already loaded all their weight onto the weighing scale. They have submitted all their evidence.
The Defense, essentially, is saying, “So what”?
Kulang ang ebidensya mo. Have you proven all the elements of the offense? Mukhang hindi, so we do not need to put weight (evidence) on our side of the weighing scale, because you have not overcome our initial weight – the presumption of evidence.
Paki-dismiss po. This was a waste of time. Kung bubunot ka ng espada, sigurohing kaya mong manalo. Otherwise, do not unsheath your litigation sword.
Kapag na-dismiss ito, walang appeal, because that would be double jeopardy. Kung denied naman, yes, puwedeng mag-appeal ang mga kawal.
The Senators feel sad that Miriam Santiago did not get the ICJ post. They don’t want her in the Senate.
Presidential daughter Evangelina Lourdes “Luli” Arroyo, the most private among the members of the First Family, drew inspiration from the “Sex and the City” movie for her wedding.
Fr. Joaquin Bernas, who officiated the wedding of Luli and former investment banker Jay Aloysius Luigi Bernas on Wednesday in Tagaytay City, revealed this to reporters Friday.
….So, the rumor about Luli being pregnant before the wedding was true. She had sex in the city (no mention of what city) with her boy friend before marriage. That’s pre-marital sex.
Santiago threatened to run for the Philippine presidency in 2010 if she fails to get a seat in the ICJ.
She also said that she does not care to be in the Senate.
….Let’s see if she makes good her threat again!
Susmaryosep! Presidency ba ang puntirya ni Brenda sa susunod? Please, tigilan na. Huwag nang paloloko ang mga pilipino, puede ba?
MANILA, Philippines–(UPDATE) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo heard mass shortly before midnight on Friday amid what a Catholic bishop and a non-government organization described as a “destabilization” plot.
“We support you, the President, in the middle of this destabilization plot,” Lucena Bishop Emilio Marquez said shortly before he gave his final blessing.
Marquez said it was “not true” that calls from Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Angel Lagdameo for a new government reflected the stand of the group.
….Bishop Marquez was among those who received the white envelope last year.
Tawag diyan BE, “Sipsip”! Buti na lang umalis ako sa poder ng Catholic Church. I never regretted leaving that church as a matter of fact. Mahirap ang namumulitikang simbahan sa totoo lang. Graft and corription ang labas!
atty 36252,
paano kikita ang court of appeals kung dina paabutin ang kaso doon. Di bale siguro ang mga caso tulad nila jocjoc dahil may pauna na doon kahit nadismis sa lower court.
Jose Miguel, your message reached the Marine officers you want to greet. One of them said:
TC,
Of curse they are still getting their pay and even their mess cuts. And leave pay later. May per diem at transportaion allowance din mga courtmembers at military witnesses over and beyond their regular remunerations and unmentionables here. What a life!
Tony Cuevas, if the officers have not been broken by almost three years of imprisonment, it’s not because prison condition is good. It’s because of the strength of character.
The issue here is they should not be in prison for even a day because they did not commit any crime against the Filipino people.
Which cannot be said of their original jailor, Esperon, who connived with Gloria Arroyo to thwart the will of the people in the 2004 elections.
Susmaryosep, na-trap daw! Ibig bang sabihin niyan, kung sino pa ang nasa kulungan siya pang nakahuli dun sa nasa labas? Paki-kutusan nga!
Tounge, I will transfer the above comment of yours to the latest post. Nakakatawa talaga.
Valdemar,
Payag akong ibigay sayo lahat ng leave balance ko at mess cut….Pakulong ka lang.