Following are scenes from today’s preliminary investigation of 51 persons, both military and civilian, accused of rebellion against Arroyo’s bogus presidency.
MGen. Renato Miranda. To his left, partly hidden is Col. Ariel Querubin
Today, the Department of Justice will start the preliminary investigation on military officers and civilians accused of rebellion in connection with the February 24, 2006 activities.
The hearings will be at 10 a.m at the DOJ Multi-purpose building.
Among those accused are 21 military officers, two police officers, six retired military officers, 21 civilians and several John Does.
Included in the list are Brig. Gen. Renato Miranda; Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim; Col. Ariel Querubin; Col. Orlando de Leon; Col. Januario Caringal; Ct. Col. Armando Bañez; Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon; Lt. Col. Achilles Segumalian.
Also included amoing the accused are former Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan , and former UP President Franciso Nemenzo, whom they erroneously listed as “Prudencio ‘Dodong’ Nemenzo” apparently mixing him up with former president of the Polytechnic of the Philippines, Nemensio Prudente.
Nemenzo issued the following biting statement on today’s investigation:
The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported today that Col. Januario Caringal, former deputy commander of the 2nd Marine Brigade, is in a critical condition after falling ill while in detention at Fort San Felipe in Cavite City.
Marine Spokesman Ariel Caculitan said Caringal was rushed to the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center (former V. Luna Hospital ) in Quezon City on Nov. 3 and transferred to the hospital’s intensive care unit on Nov. 6. Doctors found him to be suffering from acute hepatitis B and hypertension.
Caringal with five other marine officers namely Col. Ariel Querubin, Col. Orlando de Leon, Lt. Col. Armando Bañez ,Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon, and Lt. Col. Achilles Segumalian were transferred to Fort San Felipe from the Marine Custodial Center in Fort Bonifacio past midnight of Oct. 29 upon orders of AFP Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon who cited intelligence reports of a plan to spring Querubin from prison.
Why Nonong Cruz resigned, according to Malaya:
BY VICTOR REYES AND DENNIS GADIL
DEFENSE Secretary Avelino “Nonong” Cruz decided to resign because he could “no longer guarantee” that the military would not be used to cheat in the mid-term elections in May, a defense official said yesterday.
The official said Cruz planned to tender his resignation in December, but the Supreme Court junking of the people’s initiative to amend the 1987 forced his hand.
Cruz handed over his resignation paper, which takes effect Nov. 30, to Arroyo on Sunday. He did not say why he was tendering his irrevocable resignation.
Naintindihan ko na ang pagka-sekreto ay mahalaga sa military. Ngunit alam ko rin na bawal sa military ang paglabag ng karapatang pantao. Kahit pa sa mga nakakulong.
Ano kaya ang kinatatakutan ni AFP Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon na sinigurado niyang walang media na makakita ng paglipat ng anim na Marine colonels, kasama si Col. Ariel Querubin, sa Cavite noong Lunes.
Ang lima pang opisyal ay sina Col. Orlando de Leon, Lt. Col. Armando Bañez (birthday niya noong Martes), Lt. Col. Custodio Parcon,Lt. Col. Achilles Segumalian, at Col. Januario Caringal.
Is AFP Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon laying the ground for a more vicious and sinister plot against the six Marine officers transferred to Cavite in the darkness of the night first hour of Monday?
Navy Spokesman Giovanni Carlo Bacordo had said that intelligence reports uncovered a plot to spring them out. He specifically mentioned the bemedalled Col. Ariel Querubin.
But there are also talks that Esperon is merely laying the ground for the elimination of Querubin.
“They’ll make it appear that he was shot while escaping. The over-used script, you know,” a source said.
While we rejoice over the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the fake People’s Initiative initiated by Malacañang, the honorable men in uniform who are detained at…
A junior navy officer has been detained in the Philippine Marines Brig for almost a month for allegedly distributing compact discs of former President Estrada’s life story and about cheating in the 2004 elections.
Navy 1Lt Artemio Raymundo, Jr. was ordered confined by Navy Major Danilo Luna,commanding officer, last Sept. 25 in connection with his “alleged involvement on (sic) the distribution of CD’s containing Erap’s documentary.”
Last October 2, Raymundo’s lawyer, Juanito I. Velasco of the Lazaro Law firm, wrote the staff judge advocate of the Philippine Marine Corps that “Under Article 70 of the Articles of War, a person subject to military law, charged with minor offenses, ‘shall not be placed in confinement.’ “
Medyo mahina talaga pa lang umintindi itong mga opisyal ng militar na nasa pwesto.
Sabi ni Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, spokesman ng Armed Forces of the Philippines, na pagkatapos batuhin siya ng itlog at putik sa University of the Philippines noong Biyernes, sinabi raw ni AFP Chief Hermogenes Esperon, “Siguro yung mga nambato galit sa akin dahil hindi ako nagku-coup at ang AFP.”
Hindi ba niya narinig ang sigaw ng mga estudyante na “Pasistang militar, singilin, singilin!?” O nagbibingi-bingihan lang siya.
This is Malaya’s account of the egg-and- mud-pelting of AFP Chief Hermogenes Esperon at UP Friday.
What happened to Esperon is a form of “social boycott” that the citizens of this country, outraged by Gloria Arroyo and her minion’s blatant trampling of our democracy, are resorting to. It happened to Gloria Arroyo at the Cavite State University when Maria Theresa Pangilinan booed her during the commencement exercises. It happened again at the UP-PGH when students unfurled “Oust Gloria” banner when she inaugurated the Opthalmologic Center.
Esperon, like his master, Gloria Arroyo, must must grown callous or have become out-of-touch of the people that they thought with their powers they can run roughshod on the people’s sensitivities.