BY VICTOR REYES

NINE junior officers who have been meted prison terms by a Makati court for the 2003 Oakwood mutiny yesterday asked for forgiveness for their misdeeds as they said they are seeking "mercy" from President Arroyo.

The nine, led by Capt. Gerardo Gambala, faced the media in a press conference in Fort Bonifacio for the first time since the promulgation of their sentence last Tuesday.

Gambala said he and the eight other officers drafted the letter seeking pardon from Arroyo after the promulgation of their sentence. The letter is now with their lawyer.

Gambala and Capt. Milo Maestrecampo were sentenced to life imprisonment after Judge Oscar Pimentel found them guilty of coup d'état.

The seven others, with ranks of captain and lieutenant, were sentenced to six to 12 years in prison.

The nine last week changed their plea to guilty.

Twenty other officers and two enlisted personnel are undergoing trial.

After their change of plea to guilty, defense counsel Ernesto Francisco said the move was "part of the script" of the Arroyo administration to secure the conviction of former Navy lieutenant and now Sen. Antonio Trillanes and the rest who remain opposed to the administration.

AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon has said a presidential pardon is possible for the nine. On Thursday, government prosecutors said they would not object if the nine would apply for pardon.

Gambala said they are not filing a motion for reconsideration.

"There is nothing I can do right now. I have accepted my verdict. The only thing I can do right now is to ask for mercy and grace from God and the authority. I am asking for mercy and I can give nothing in return but my purest intention," he said.

If he is denied pardon, Gambala said, he would continue to "knock and ask for mercy and grace."

"What I'll do is I will apply for pardon, I will ask for pardon everyday, every week, every month, every year until I will be given my freedom. That is what I am asking for, that is my desire. I will be hypocrite if I will not tell you that," he said.

Gambala said they thought of applying for the pardon even before they decided to change their plea before the civil court last April 1.

Gambala, Maestrecampo and six others - Captains Alvin Ebreo, Louis Somera, Albert Baloloy, and 1Lts. Cleo Donggas and Kristopher Bryan Yasay - faced the media with permission from the military leadership.

The ninth convict, Capt. John Andres, was brought to a hospital before the press conference because of vomiting.

The nine were part of a group dishonorably dismissed last year by a military court for conduct unbecoming an officer, but they remain members of the military because their discharge has yet to be approved by the President.

ONLY HOPE

Gambala turned misty-eyed after a member of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines asked him why they were afraid of further incarceration and why they are appealing for pardon when they already said they are accepting the court's decision.

"I am doing that not because I want to evade the sentence. I am doing that because it's one option that I can hold on to. Strip a man of everything but not his hope. It's a hope that I can have and the only hope that I have right now. Please don't take that away from me," said Gambala, adding they have been in detention for already five years.

"I need to hold on to that not only for myself but also for my family. I have a son, a one-year-old son. He does not know what is happening to my life now but I would like to see him grow... I will bow, I will ask for your humility because that's the last hope that I have. Please don't take that away from me," he added.

'WE ARE GUILTY'

Gambala read in the conference a statement he and the eight others signed.

The statement said while there are different interpretations of the Oakwood incident, "we know in our hearts that we are guilty."

"We have trudged the wrong path when we crossed the boundary between professionalism and adventurism so we got lost along the way. But during the years we spent in detention, a sense of conviction dawned before each one of us in unique and wondrous ways, which led us to acknowledge that we undoubtedly made a mistake. Since then, we learned to live each day with a contrite heart," the statement read.

The group said while it is their right to seek redress for their grievances, which was corruption in government, they should have done it within the framework of democratic institutions under the rule of law.

"And as long as these institutions are functional, it is our duty to strengthen them - not to destroy them through force, violence and unlawful means," the statement said.

BAD EXAMPLE

"We apologize to the Filipino people. We humbly ask for your forgiveness for our act of rebellion, for setting a bad example to the future generations and for presenting ourselves as the only individuals who have the monopoly of idealism. While we have envisioned genuine reforms for our country, our actions at Oakwood brought political upheaval and further disunity. We have seen that instead of helping, we weakened the very country we dearly love," they added.

"We have committed ourselves to the decision we have made, and we have nothing more to hold on to except to continually seek for mercy and grace from God and the authorities we have submitted ourselves to. So today, we earnestly ask for your prayers as we face another chapter in our lives," they also said.

NOTHING TO OFFER

Gambala and Maestrecampo belied talks they entered into a deal with government in changing their plea. They said they had nothing to "We have nothing to place on the table for any arrangement and for any deal," said Maestrecampo.

Maestrecampo said their group had alliances with political interest groups and the Left when it mounted the mutiny.

He refused to name names, saying he might not be able to identify all of them, "but we all know our political scenario, there is a grand political battle between the opposition and the administration."

He also said they have not decided on whether to return to the service if pardoned. But the military has said convicts are not allowed in the service.

Gambala, asked for his message to the group of Trillanes who have not changed their plea, said Trillanes' group has to respect their decision.

Trillanes' group remains critical of government.

Gambala's group split from Trillanes in December 2005 when it signed a manifesto supporting the Arroyo government and expressing regret over their action at Oakwood.

PUNO FAVORS PARDON

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno told a press briefing in Camp Crame that he is favor of a pardon for Gambala's group.

"They have recognized their mistake and they have turned away from violent means of asking reforms. I think they can be constructive members of the society," he said.

Puno also brushed aside fears that granting pardon to the nine officers would invite more adventurism.