Feb ’06 – Page 5 – ellen tordesillas

Trapped

Published by Ellen on November 9, 2008

I think Col. Feliciano Loy’s tantrum near the end of last Friday’s court martial hearing of the mutiny case against Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and 27 other officers was more panic than anything else as reality dawned on him that what he has is a losing case.

“We believe that the prosecution has been trapped, We will have to withdraw from the pre-trial,” he said eliciting surprise, disgust, anger and amusement from the defense lawyers.

Col. Loy is the head of the prosecution team implementing the order of former AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon to have the 28 officers convicted for allegedly planning to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo in February 2006 following the revelations in the “Hello Garci” tapes that she cheated in the 2004 elections.

BGen Danny Lim has a blog

Published by Ellen on October 31, 2008

Gen. Lim’s blog is back. Click to:www.dannylim.org At this time when unprincipled pragmatism has become the ticket to success it’s good to be able to…

Yano’s “no action”

Published by Ellen on October 23, 2008

Last Monday, Trial Judge Advocate Col. Feliciano Loy told the court martial trying the 28 officers accused of mutiny in connection with the February 2006 alleged plan to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo following the revelation of the “Hello Garci” tapes, that had AFP Chief of Staff Alexander Yano approved their recommendation, the accused would have been very happy.

That was unusual because as head of the prosecution panel, it’s Loy’s job to make life difficult for the accused. And he performed that job well in the almost three years of trying the case, which is now in the pre-trial stage. The minor cases of conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline have been dropped after two years without arraignment of the accused.

But it turned out that beneath Loy’s belligerent demeanor is a desire to correct injustice brought on the officers who only did what they have sworn to do as a soldier.

Prosecution recommends dropping of mutiny charges

Published by Ellen on October 20, 2008

by Victor Reyes

THE chief prosecutor in the court martial of 28 military officers implicated in the supposed plan to overthrow the Arroyo government in February 2006 yesterday said he has recommended to AFP chief Gen. Alexander Yano the dropping of the mutiny charges against almost half of the accused.

At the resumption of the trial against the officers, chief prosecutor Col. Jose Feliciano Loy however said Yano did not approve or deny the recommendation. He did not say when he made the recommendation or exactly how many officers he recommended for “nolle prosequi.”

“I made a lengthy communication to the convening authority (Yano). Had the convening authority approved it, the charges against half of the accused would have been withdrawn at this point. But the recommendation was returned without action,” said Loy.

Danny Lim and Our Lady of Peñafrancia

Published by Ellen on September 20, 2008

Last Saturday, as Bicolanos celebrated the feast of the Virgin of Peñafrancia something stirred the curiosity of those who joined the “traslacion”, the procession transferring Ina, as they call image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia , from the basilica to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Naga City.

Around the city, there were several streamers that proclaimed “Viva la Virgen de Peñafrancia”. Below was the name and photo of Brig. Gen. Danny Lim, who is now in detention for allegedly planning to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo in February 2006 following the expose of the Hello Garci tapes and in November 2007 following more scandals the most bewildering of which is the NBN/ZTE deal.

Let the trial begin

Published by Ellen on August 26, 2008

Former AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon will be the first to take the witness stand when the court martial of 28 officers accused of mutiny in connection with the February 2006 alleged coup attempt starts.

At the pre-trial conference yesterday, Col. Feliciano Loy, head of the prosecution panel, told the court that he will be presenting 20 witnesses who executed affidavits on the alleged plan of the officers to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo following the” Hello Garci” expose that showed her masterminding the manipulation of the results of the 2004 election in Mindanao in her favor.

Esperon was then army chief. His affidavit submitted to the panel that investigated the incident related the meeting with then AFP chief Generoso Senga the night of Feb. 23 where the accused officers talked about the restlessness in the military over the loss of confidence on Arroyo.

Hope for justice restored

Published by Ellen on June 22, 2008

Statement from AFP Spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres:

1.We recognize the wisdom of the court and respect its decision. The decision is neither a victory for the defense nor the prosecution. It was a triumph of the rules as upheld by the court;

2.It should be noted that the decision to prescribe some of the charges was reached not based on the merits of the case but on mere legal technicalities. Hence it will not in any way affect the conduct and outcome of a separate trial for a graver charge of mutiny;

3. We will consistently allow the due process of law to take its course. And with the current development, we are optimistic that we will soon finally get to know the truth surrounding the events that took place in February 2006.

Marine lieutenant Belinda Ferrer said she was praying all the while that Col. Marian Aleido was reading the decision on whether the minor charges against them have prescribed and therefore,dropped.

It was the longest ten minutes of her young military career, she said adding that her fellow detainees were in the same nervous state as she was. After two years of being on the receiving end of unfavorable decisions by the court, the only female detainee in the whole armed forces said she prepared herself for the worst.

Minor charges vs Miranda et al dismissed

Published by Ellen on June 20, 2008

You can see and feel the joy in their happy faces.

Applause and jubilation erupted when law member Marian Aleido declared, “Therefore, the motions of the accused are hereby granted and the questioned charges are dismissed.”

Miranda’s proposal to Yano

Published by Ellen on June 12, 2008

AFP chief Alexander Yano breezed through the powerful and oftentimes irrational Commission on Appointments last Wednesday.

With his confirmation, Yano is now expected to sort out the mess that his predecessor, Hermogenes Esperon has burdened the armed forces with, especially the cases of the detained officers who did not steal any money from the government but simply made a stand to stop the degradation of the armed forces.

Yano orders probe of violations of rights of detained ‘plotters’

Published by Ellen on June 12, 2008

by Victor Reyes
Malaya

Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano has created a board that will look into allegations of violation of the rights of military officers detained for alleged involvement in a power grab attempt in February 2006.

The board of inquiry held its first meeting yesterday in Camp Aguinaldo with the wives of some of the detainees in attendance. It is headed by Lt. Gen. Ferdinand Bocobo, AFP inspector general, and includes as member Lt. Col. Benedicto Jose, chief of the AFP Human Rights Office.

Category: Feb ’06