BY ASHZEL HACHERO

THE Department of Justice will welcome a presidential pardon for the nine junior military officers who were convicted of coup d’état last Tuesday by a Makati court for the 2003 Oakwood mutiny.

Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon said: "They have already shown remorse and have apologized for their actions. They respect the rule of law when they let themselves go through the whole process and have accepted the guilty verdict."

Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon on Wednesday said a presidential pardon is possible because of "mitigating" circumstances, such as that the mutineers returned to barracks peacefully from the Oakwood hotel that they seized on July 27, 2003; they have become staunch advocates against military adventurism; they have behaved well in confinement; and they have shown remorse.

The nine, led by Captains Milo Maestrecampo and Gerard Gambala who were sentenced to life imprisonment, changed their plea to guilty last week. They were among mutiny leaders who in 2006 issued a manifesto of support for President Arroyo.

Esperon has belied talks that pardon was dangled before the officers to change their plea.

Twenty-two other Oakwood leaders, including Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, are still undergoing trial.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano, who is assuming the post of AFP chief next month, declined to further comment on what he said was a "political issue."

Defense counsel Ernesto Francisco has said the change of plea was "part of the script" of the Arroyo administration to secure the conviction of Trillanes’ and the rest who remain opposed to the administration.

‘CRISIS, NOT COUP’

Trial resumed yesterday with Gen. (ret.) Narciso Abaya, former AFP chief, taking the witness stand.

Francisco said Abaya confirmed the grievances raised by the mutineers in 2003.

He said government is addressing these based on the recommendations of the Feliciano Commission which was tasked to study the roots of the incident.

Abaya’s testimony was sought by the defense to bolster its claims that the mutineers decided to seize the Oakwood hotel after their call for reforms in government and the military went unheeded.

According to Francisco, Abaya was asked if there was a coup, and the latter replied there was a "crisis" inside the hotel because of the presence of the armed soldiers."

"Malinaw na sinabi niya na hindi coup d’état ang nangyari kundi isang krisis. Kung coup d’état ito, dapat sinabi niya sa cross-examination," he said.

The media is not allowed inside the courtroom.

DEFENSIVE POSITION

Francisco also said Abaya confirmed an arrest order against the junior officers prior to the Oakwood incident because of an alleged plan to overthrow government.

He said Abaya confirmed that the mutinous soldiers, because of the arrest order, took a "defensive position" when they went to Oakwood and placed explosives around the hotel and positioned snipers on the building’s rooftop.

Francisco also raised the issue of the bombings in Mindanao that were supposedly perpetrated by the government. He said this was among the reasons for the mutiny.

Fadullon said Tolentino’s testimony "is far remote" from the Oakwood incident.

"The testimony is irrelevant and immaterial to the case that’s why we didn’t even bother to conduct a cross examination on him except for a few questions," he said.

RELEASE ORDER

Fadullon also said Judge Oscar Pimentel has ordered the Armed Forces to release from detention Magdalo member 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan after posting a bail bond of P100,000.

Four other Magdalo members, 1st Lts. Warren Lee Dagupon, Von Rio Tayab, Audie Tocloy and Rex Bolo are also set to post bail, he said.

Fadullon said San Juan is already undergoing processing of documents and medical exams prior to his release.

In 2006, two of San Juan’s co-accused, former Navy Petty Officer 3 Julius Mesa and Cezari Yasser Gonzalez, were released from detention after they posted bail.

But the two were detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center after they participated in last year’s standoff at Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City.

San Juan’s motion for bail was granted by Pimentel in July 2004 on the ground he was a mere participant in the mutiny. But the military refused to release him because he still had to face court martial proceedings.

Pimentel had denied the bail motions of Trillanes, Gambala and Maestrecampo after the Department of Justice established they were leaders of the mutiny. – With Gilbert Bayoran