BY VICTOR REYES

A LAWYER of officers facing court martial for an alleged overthrow attempt in February 2006 yesterday said Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon has sent a member of his staff to make "overtures" to the accused.

Trixie Angeles said Maj. Cristobal "CJ" Perez has approached the officers twice since last week, asking them what he could do for their pending cases, particularly those of the junior officers.

But Esperon said the accused asked to see Perez. "I did not send him there... They (Perez and the accused) talked with each other but I have not authorized anything."

"I am not entertaining that idea to open up with them. To me, it’s trial," he also said.

Perez said: "One of them called me and asked me to visit them. What we did was to talk about purely personal things. I have no ulterior motive and I was not sent as an emissary. I went there as an upperclassman, company mate, fellow cavalier. Some of them worked with me in Basilan."

Angeles, lawyer for Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, the highest ranking of the 28 accused, said the first overture was Thursday last week after court proceedings in Camp Aguinaldo.

She said Perez told the junior officers he was sent by Esperon to talk to the court’s president, Maj. Gen. Jogy Leo Fojas.

"His exact words were he was sent by General Esperon to speak to General Fojas, and asked Fojas what General Fojas can do for – he was specific to the junior officers. So it appears that General Esperon is directing General Fojas what could be done for the officers charged."

Ten of the 28 accused are junior officers – Captains James Sababan, Montano Almodovar, Joey Fontiveros, Ruben Guinolbay, Isagani Criste, William Upano, and Dante Langkit, and 1Lts. Ervin Divinagracia, Jason Cordero and Belinda Ferrer.

Angeles said if Perez was telling the truth, Esperon is interfering with the court.

Angeles said the second overture was inside the officers’ detention quarters at the Intelligence Service of the AFP, also in Camp Aguinaldo.

"Major Perez also visited them in their detention. The overtures were the same, asking them what can be done on their court martial... He talked to all them but I think he was more particular about nolle prosequi for the junior officers, the captains and down," she said.

Nolle prosequi ("I will not prosecute") may be declared by the AFP chief upon review of the documents of the case.

The accused are facing several charges before the military court, including mutiny.

"They (accused) are not sure if the offer is being made because of the strength of their defense or really there is overture in view that the general is retiring May," Angeles said.

Angeles said Esperon is attempting to divide the accused.

"What they forgot is that his group is united by his circumstance. By the fact that they were jailed together, he (Esperon) was himself the one who created this unity. Now, he is having problems because they are a united force," she said.

Angeles said it was not clear why Esperon was making the overtures. A number of the junior officers worked with Esperon when he was a brigade commander and commander of the Army’s Special Operations Command.

"All they have is these offers, so we don’t know his objective," said Angeles.

It was not also clear what the camp of Esperon wants in return from the accused senior officers for the possible non-prosecution of the junior officers.

On why the junior officers are the target, Angeles said: "Maybe because they were successful with the nine, because they were captains and below."

Angeles was referring to the nine Oakwood mutineers who changed their plea to guilty last week and were convicted Tuesday by a Makati court of coup d’état.

Esperon has said a presidential pardon is possible for the nine.

Angeles said: "It’s also possible that since they are junior officers, they can still have a future in the AFP, they can still be mainstream so they might think that that must be the soft spot, if he is to dangle them with reinstatement in exchange for whatever, loyalty or you know, silence, things like that."