Done deal

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

05/13/2008

It was evident, when a group of Magdalo officers changed their plea from not guilty to guilty, that a deal had been struck between then AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., and the rebel group, with the nod of Gloria Arroyo.

There was the usual zarzuela that was played out by both Esperon and the Magdalo group, with some of these officers claiming that no deal was forged, but that they will be begging for mercy from Gloria, and a pardon, even stating that they were willing to accept any punishment they will be dealt with, for the “sin ” they committed against Mrs. Arroyo.

Everybody knew that the pardon would come, just before Esperon would be retired, since the deal was forged with Esperon, but definitely with Gloria’s approval, because there is no question that Esperon himself cannot possibly make that decision by himself.

Not surprisingly, on the day that Esperon retired from the military service, the announcement that Gloria had granted pardon to these Magdalo officers came.

It was clear that part of the deal was for these rebels to plead guilty to the charge of coup d’ etat to ensure that Trillanes and his group would be convicted, as this other group had confessed to having mounted a coup d’ etat against Gloria.

But then, even without this group coming up with a guilty plea, there was also no doubt that a conviction would be forthcoming for the Trillanes group. This group’s only chance to be freed from detention is if a new president comes in by June 2010, grants an amnesty or, at a very late time, be pardoned, but only if this case goes all the way to the high court which will have affirmed the conviction.

Also, the pardoned rebel officers don’t have to worry about getting a job after they walk free, as they will probably be taken in by some government agencies, just as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency took in the other junior officers who had changed their plea before the military court and were “dishonorably discharged.”

There is also no longer any doubt that the reports of Esperon’s aides attempting to forge a deal with the alleged February 2006 “mutineers” were accurate.

The charges against Gen. Renato Miranda, Gen. Danny Lim and Col. Ariel Querubin, along with all the other junior officers, would be dropped in exchange of their guilty plea. This was rejected by the officers, pointing out that one, the pre-trial investigation report already showed that there was no crime of mutiny committed and two, that as they had not been arraigned within the prescribed period, they can no longer be prosecuted.

Still it needs to be asked why Esperon, who really made life difficult for these alleged mutineers all the time that he was the military chief, not to mention the time he was Army chief, was trying to forge deals with these officers.

Esperon, as a private citizen, will no longer have his usual bodyguards, which was probably composed of a battalion of soldiers. While he may continue to have some bodyguards, he may never be able to sleep well at nights, mainly because he fears that there may just be some of those whom he had wronged, who may wreak their revenge on him.

While it is almost certain that Esperon will be given a job in Gloria’s administration, even after retirement — in all probability either a civilian intelligence post or an ambassadorial post, which is more likely, he also knows that his official shelf life will end, at the latest, in 2010. And that’s when all these Arroyo loyalists will really start worrying, especially if an opposition victory in 2010 emerges.

All of these Arroyo officials who stood accused of some crime or other will have to face congressional investigations, not to mention facing several charges in court.

The Filipino people have been calling for a resignation of Gloria, and have thus far failed to get her out of Malacañang. They also failed in having her impeached, as she had bought off the House of Representatives. And the Filipino people have decided to just go for a leadership change through elections in 2010.

This, however, does not mean that, having waited until 2010 for a change in the presidency, all sins of the Arroyo administration are to be forgotten and forgiven. The people will be demanding from the new administration that they be made to account for their crimes committed against the Filipino people. And that’s when thier nightmares begin.

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