Visayas Military on Trillanes --3rd Week June 2007

Military execs in E. Visayas welcome Trillanes proclamation


By Joey A. Gabieta, David Israel Sinay
Visayas Bureau
Last updated 10:11pm (Mla time) 06/16/2007


TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte -- Military officials in Eastern Visayas welcome the proclamation of Antonio Trillanes IV as among the country's newly elected senators, although with reservations.

In Iloilo City, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. said that both the civil and the military courts should decide on whether or not allow Trillanes to hold office.

Gonzalez was reacting to queries on what will be the scenario should the opposition candidate assume office on July 1. "It depends," said Gonzalez who was in Iloilo City Friday.

"If he will be allowed to hold office, he should be released. If he will not be allowed, then he should be detained," said the justice secretary after administering the oath-taking of the public officials elected in Iloilo City.

He said the civil and the military courts should address the matter "because they have Trillanes under their jurisdiction."

Trillanes is facing rebellion charges in the military court while coup d'etat charges in the civil court, Gonzalez said.

"I do not know if it is possible for him to be allowed to hold office [at his cell] by the military regulation," Gonzalez said, noting that under the Articles of War, there is no bail for people charged in the military courts.

Gonzalez explained that Trillanes could not also avail himself of the immunity enjoyed by senators "because it only serves for cases with a crime punishable by imprisonment of not more than six years."

"The crime he committed is punishable by 30 years … he cannot be protected," he added.

Back in Leyte, Army officials said they hope that his election would pave the way for the reconciliation between him and the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

"While we respect the will of the people in electing him into office, we just hope that he will work for the interest and benefit of our people," said General Allan Ragpala, commanding officer of the 802nd Infantry Brigade, based in Ormoc City.

"He won and we have to give him the respect due his office," Ragpala added.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday proclaimed Trillanes the number 11th elected senator of the country in the May 14 elections. However, elections results in Eastern Visayas revealed that Trillanes only managed to rank number 15 in the region, with total votes of 396,972.

The former navy lieutenant garnered 11,138,067 votes, excluding the votes cast from Maguindanao.

The 35-year-old senator was the acknowledged leader of the Magdalo Group which staged a mutiny on July 27, 2003 against the Arroyo administration. The mutiny of about 300 young officers was later dubbed as "Oakwood Mutiny," referring to the tony hotel in Makati City which the group took over at that time. He is now detained in Fort Bonifacio on mutiny charges.

Lieutenant Colonel Mario Lacurom, commanding officer of the 43rd Infantry Battalion, based in Sogod, Southern Leyte, also said that while he personally welcomed the election of the Trillanes, he also hopes that the new senator-elect would focus his attention on "reconciliation" with civilian and military officials.

"It is a fact that we have a strained relationship with him. But we just hope that in the future, that reconciliation will happen between him and that of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and our government," Lacurom told the Inquirer.

The military official admitted that he has his own reservations with the election of Trillanes as a senator. "But he was elected by the people, so we have to respect that," Lacurom added.

"He was part and still is of the Armed Forces. I hope whatever differences or misconceptions he has with the leadership will be reconciled or settled," he said.

For his part, Captain Mario Jose Chico of the public affairs division of the 8th Infantry Division, which is based in Catbalogan, Samar and is under the command of Major General Armando Cunanan, said that he hopes that Trillanes would set aside his own personal interests.

"We just hope that he will use his office not for personal interests but that he will work for the good of the entire country," Chico said.

Chico had admitted that personally he has a strong reservation on Trillanes becoming a senator of the country.

"But we have to respect the decision of the people," he told the Inquirer.

All three Army officials stressed that during the absentee voting conducted in the region, there was no order for soldiers not to vote for Trillanes. "We gave them (soldiers) their freedom to choose whom they want to vote," Ragpala said.



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Copyright 2007 Visayas Bureau. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.







From Malaya June 19,2007 - Tuesday

Army division hails Trillanes victory
AFP: There’s no precedent on letting senator-elect out

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


BY GILBERT BAYORAN


BACOLOD CITY — The Army’s 3rd Infantry Division with troops stationed in Negros, Panay, Cebu and Bohol on Monday congratulated mutiny leader and Antonio Trillanes IV on his election as senator.

"The 3rd Infantry (Spearhead) Division, Philippine Army under the command of Maj. Gen. Jovenal D. Narcise pass on good wishes to Senator-elect Antonio Trillanes IV (for his) proclamation. We … are hopeful that the AFP bills unrealized in the 13th Congress will be studied for his and other senators’ consideration," Lt. Col. David Tan, spokesman of the 3rd ID, said in a statement titled "3ID, cheerful for Trillanes victory."

Tan said the statement reflected Narcise’s sentiment.

Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, chief of the AFP public information office, said: "This is only an indication that the soldiers would be respecting the mandate given to Senator Trillanes, the mandate given to him to become a senator."

"And on the other side, it is the call of the soldiers that hopefully the bills beneficial to the Armed Forces that have been sidelined would be pursued by Senator Trillanes… this greeting is on the spirit that Senator Trillanes would be a champion of the cause of the AFP," Bacarro added.

Asked if it was not awkward for the 3rd ID to welcome the victory of a rebel officer, Bacarro said: "The greetings given by the 3rd Infantry Division is in the context of showing that the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division are respecting the mandate given to Senator Trillanes. Like the (entire) AFP, we are respecting the mandate given by more or less 12 million who voted for him. We’re respecting that mandate."

Trillanes, a Navy lieutenant when he led the Oakwood mutiny in July 2003, is facing charges before a military and a civilian court.

While he was deemed separated from service when he filed his candidacy last February, the military retained jurisdiction over Trillanes because his offense % violation of Article of War 96 or conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman % was committed while he was in the active service.

AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon has said Trillanes’ election will not affect the charges against him.

Tan welcomed Trillanes’ statement that he will investigate forced disappearances of activists and the existence of "death squads" in the Armed Forces, which are said to be behind the killings of militants.

"We are open to it just like the Melo Commission," Tan said referring to the panel created by President Arroyo last year to look into the extrajudicial killings.

"We just hope that it will be done impartially and objectively and not merely as concession to militant groups which reportedly campaigned for him (Trillanes). We hope his advocacy will include the soldiers and policemen who were murdered by the NPAs (New People’s Army rebels)," Tan said.

Discussions are on-going on how Trillanes could perform his job as senator, particularly on whether he could be allowed to leave detention to attend Senate sessions.

Trillanes is detained at the Marines headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

Bacarro said Esperon might be held liable under the military law if he allows Trillanes to go out of his detention cell.

"This is the first time this happened wherein an elective official is expected to perform his mandate but he is subject to some restriction because there is still military jurisdiction over his person," Bacarro said.

He said the custodians of Trillanes cannot violate provisions cited in the Articles of War on the custody of detainees. Otherwise, they themselves could be subjected to general court martial proceedings.

"If this will be done by our chief of staff, he might be also liable for some violations of the Articles of War," he said.

However, Bacarro said there was still nothing definite on whether Trillanes would be allowed by the military to leave his cell.

Trillanes was thrice allowed to leave his cell when he filed his certificate of candidacy at the office of the Commission on Elections in Intramuros, when he voted on May 14, and for his proclamation last Friday.

Asked earlier why Trillanes was allowed to leave detention, Bacarro said the military leadership yielded to the clearance issued by the Makati City court where Trillanes is facing a coup d’état case.

On why the military is not yielding to the civilian court this time around, he said it is the call of the military.

A military lawyer on Sunday the AFP could prevent Trillanes from attending Senate sessions, citing the case of former Rep. Romeo Jalosjos.

Jalosjos was not able to attend congressional sessions because he was not allowed to post bail for his then pending rape case. A Makati court has denied Trillanes’ petition for bail more than two years ago.

Military lawyer Lt. Col. Jose Feliciano Loi also said there is no such thing as bail under military laws. . With Victor Reyes




...meanwhile





Palawan region with two provinces eyed


By Redempto Anda
Inquirer
Last updated 06:45pm (Mla time) 06/19/2007


PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines -- Palawan is launching an ambitious bid to break away from the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) Region and, by congressional action, become the first separate administrative region in the country designed along the lines of environmental protection.

Vice Governor David Ponce de Leon, acting Palawan governor, announced the plan Tuesday morning during a forum convened by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) as part of the 15th anniversary celebration of the Strategic Environmental Plan Law for Palawan.

The plan calls for the passage of a law that will create two new provinces out of the existing province, a scheme that local officials claim will speed up the development of the entire Palawan.

In an interview, Ponce de Leon told the Philippine Daily Inquirer they have started to draft a bill that will be sponsored in the House by Representatives Antonio Alvarez and Abraham Mitra representing Palawan’s two congressional districts.

The bill, he said, would essentially create two new provinces and convert the capital city Puerto Princesa into an independent city and form a regional entity to be called the Palawan Environmental Administrative Region (PEAR).

“We are fast-tracking this proposal and we will complete the process from our end as soon as we finish consultations with local government units and municipalities,” Ponce de Leon said.

Most Palawan mayors are expected to rally behind the bill and will initiate the clamor on the lower level, according to Agutaya Mayor Zosimo Zabalo.

“This is a welcome development. We all have supported the earlier proposal to create a new region. We will conduct the necessary moves in our municipalities,” Zabalo said.

He added that he would sponsor a resolution at the Palawan Municipal Mayors’ League to support the initiative.

Board Member Gil Acosta, one of the original proponents of a resolution calling for the creation of two new provinces, said he would refile his resolution at the provincial board “once I get the proper political signal from the villages and municipalities.”

Expected to be a contentious issue in the formulation of the bill is the natural wealth sharing scheme or how monies from existing and future royalties coming out of oil and gas development projects around Palawan will be divided among local government units.

“Our idea right now is to provide that the money will be received by the region and will be divided equitably among the provinces and the City of Puerto Princesa,” Ponce de Leon said.

He explained, however, that this would require careful formulation of the provisions so as to not conflict with the existing provisions for natural wealth sharing by local governments as described in the Local Government Code.

Currently, the issue of how shares from royalties derived by Palawan from the Malampaya gas project should be distributed throughout the province has caused quarrels among local officials, despite the money being in escrow with the bank pending the resolution by the Supreme Court on the question of Palawan’s right to claim royalty shares in the first place.

Palawan’s projected royalty shares are expected to rise in the coming years following recent discoveries of oil and natural gas from various exploration activities in oil and gas concession blocs around Palawan.



Copyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.