Military – Page 52 – ellen tordesillas

Pinpointing the guilty

Published by Ellen on August 7, 2007

Now military officials are talking.

Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, deputy commander of the Western Mindanao Command, is denying he ordered the recall of the three aircraft sent to give support to the embattled Marines that tragic day of July 10. Fourteen Marines died in that encounter with elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, 10 of them beheaded.

“Marines were dying, why would I stop (the air strikes)?” said Sabban, a battle-tested officer who also heads Task Force Thunder.

‘Amnesty Me’

Published by Ellen on August 5, 2007

The twin rejection by Makati RTC Judge Oscar Pimentel Court in a span of five days in cases where Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV is involved, gives credence to talks of an amnesty proclamation being worked out wherein Gloria Arroyo can ride on and ensure protection for herself for the crimes she has committed against the Filipino people.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia mentioned in one of his radio interviews last week about his plan to file a bill to grant amnesty to those who have committed political crimes. He has talked with Sen. Panfilo Lacson about filing a counterpart bill in the Senate.

Lacson’s advisers said the opposition senator is amenable to sponsoring a bill granting amnesty to those accused of political crimes but they said they would have to be careful about its coverage including the cut-off date. They said JDV and Lacson may not have the same definition of “political crimes”.

Joint panel finds military lapses in clash in Basilan

Published by Ellen on August 5, 2007

by Victor Reyes

What kind of military leadership do we have?

Update:Who gave order for aircraft to return without firing?

THE GRP-MILF ceasefire committee has found lapses on the part of the military that it said led to the encounter with MILF forces last July 10 in Al-Barka town, Basilan.

Fourteen Marines were killed. Ten were found beheaded the day after the encounter.

“It appeared there were lapses in coordination when the Marines conducted operations in Ginanta and other neighboring barangays in search for Fr. (Giancarlo) Bossi pursuant to the established mechanisms with the general cease-fire agreement entered into the by GRP and the MILF,” said a source quoting the findings of the investigation.

Sadya kaya?

Published by Ellen on August 5, 2007

Dumadami lalo ang mga katanungan sa paglabas paunti-unti ng mga detalya ng encounter sa Tipo-tipo noong July 10 kung saan 14 ang namatay na Marines. Sampo doon sa namatay at pinugutan.

Sinabi ni Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro na inorder raw ni AFP Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon na imbestigahan palpak na pagbigay ng radio frequency sa mga pilot na siyang dahilan kung bakit hindi nabigyan ng air support ang mga Marines.

Ayon sa report ng mga sundalo at ni Jun Veneracion ng GMA-7 na nasabak sa encounter, mga alas-10 ng umaga nangyari ang pananambang sa mga Marines ng miyembro ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front sa Al-barka, Tipo-tipo sa Basilan.

Court denies Magdalo petition to dissmiss coup d’etat case

Published by Ellen on August 3, 2007

Citing the “strong and sufficient evidence” presented by the Department of Justice, the Makati regional trial court yesterday denied the petition of members of the Magdalo group, including that of former Navy lieutenant-turned-senator Antonio Trillanes IV, seeking the dismissal of the coup d’etat case filed against them in connection with their short-lived mutiny in Makati.

In dismissing the petition, Makati RTC Judge Oscar Pimentel gave credence to the prosecution’s claim that the crime of coup d’etat was committed by the accused when they seized the Oakwood Premier Hotel on July 27, 2003.

“After considering all the evidence presented, the Court is convinced that there is sufficient evidence to strongly believe that the crime of coup d’etat was committed under Article 134-A of the Revised Penal Code,” said Pimentel’s 40-page ruling.

Marine officers probed

Published by Ellen on August 3, 2007

Update:Wrong radio frequency not true – Marine commander

Some Marine officers dispute report on radio snafu

Wrong frequencies prevented aerial bombing, strafing

by Victor Reyes

Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. has ordered a probe on the radio communications snafu that prevented bombing and strafing measures to aid a Marines contingent ambushed by secessionists in Al-Barka town, Basilan last July 10.

Fourteen Marines were killed, with 10 of them beheaded after the encounter.

AFP information chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said the probe would look into the administrative liability of the personnel involved in the snafu.

Radio snafu doomed Marines, probe shows

Published by Ellen on August 2, 2007

Wrong frequency forced gunships, bomber to hold fire

by Ellen Tordesillas, Victor Reyes and Raymond Africa
Malaya

Read this story in the Inquirer.

The military investigation on the Basilan ambush last July 10 has found that “miscommunication” led to the failure of aerial support for the embattled Marine soldiers.

A source privy to the investigation said the affidavit of a radioman to Maj. Nestor Marcelino, operations officer of Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT) 8, revealed “there was ‘no contact’ with the aircraft because the First Marine Brigade gave the wrong frequency to WestMinCom (Western Mindanao Command) which was later transmitted to the pilots.”

The battle which started at 10 a.m. and lasted until 6 p.m. resulted in the death of 14 Marines, 10 of them beheaded later.

Men of valor fight for decent trial

Published by Ellen on July 29, 2007

Brotherhood runs deep among the men-in-uniform.

That bond showed in last Friday’s court martial trial in Camp Capinpin when comrades in the battlefield found themselves on opposite sides of the courtroom.

When Col. Ariel Querubin exercised his right of peremptory challenge on Lt. Gen. Cardozo Luna during the court martial trial last Friday, he asked the general who had barely warmed his seat not to take it as a “personal affront.”

“I want to spare him from the mockery of sham proceedings,” Querubin, one of the only two living Medal of Valor awardees in the Philippine Marines, told the court.

When it was the turn of Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon, the other Marine Medal of Valor awardee, to challenge Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Sodusta, he said, “Though it breaks my heart, I confirm.”

Lastikong court martial

Published by Ellen on July 28, 2007

Scenes from last Friday’s hearing in Tanay

Nang paiba-iba na ang desisyon ng court martial panel sa hearing noong Biyernes ng kaso nina Maj. Gen. Miranda at 27 pang mga magigiting na opisyal ng military na sangkot sa Feb.2006 withdrawal of support kuno kay Gloria Arroyo, sabi ni Ces Drilon ng ABS-CBN, “para palang lastiko ito.”

No accuser, junk case,’ accused ‘plotters’ to ask SC

Published by Ellen on July 27, 2007

Malaya’s Victor reyes was in Tanay for yesterday’s court martial hearing. His report.

ABS-CBN’s story: Officers invoke right to peremptory challenge

by Thea Alberto
Inquirer.net

Camp Capinpin, Tanay – Saying there effectively no longer is an accuser against them, 28 military officers accused of plotting to unseat President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in February last year will ask the Supreme Court to junk the case against them.

“The most important point that we raised this morning is the fact that the charge sheet was signed by a certain Captain Armando Paredez who had, by the admission of the Judge Advocate [General’s] Office, already reverted to civilian status…in other words you have a charge sheet that can no longer be sustained because there is no accuser, the accuser has become a civilian and, therefore, already outside military jurisdiction,” said Francisco Chavez, legal counsel for Major General Renato Miranda, the highest-ranked accused.

Category: Military