BY VICTOR REYES

THE arraignment of seven officers accused of attempting to grab power from government in February 2006 was stalled anew yesterday.

The military said four of the officers – Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, Colonels Ariel Querubin and Orlando de Leon, and Lt. Col. Nestor Flordeliza – resisted being brought to Camp Aguinaldo from Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal where they are detained.

But lawyer Rodrigo Artuz said Querubin has flu and bronchitis while De Leon’s blood pressure was up.

"I don’t know what happened to the others," he said referring to Miranda and Flordeliza.

Only the three other officers – Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and Colonels Januario Caringal and Armando Banez – were present, prompting defense lawyers to call for an adjournment.

Lim is detained in Camp Crame. Caringal and Banez are confined in a medical facility in Cavite.

A total of 28 officers are facing court martial for the supposed February 2006 power grab attempt. The military court is arraigning them in batches.

All except Lim and Capt. Dante Langkit are detained in Camp Capinpin.

"I believe there was resistance from the accused, that’s why there were not brought down," said Maj. Emilio Felicen, court martial spokesman.

Felicen did not elaborate but sources said Querubin refused to go with his custodians led by Col. Arnulfo Marcos, the head of the AFP Custodial Center in Tanay, because of his ailment.

Maria Flor Querubin said he had a fever of 38.4 degrees Celsius and was suffering from urinary tract infection and bronchitis.

De Leon’s blood pressure was 170/100.

Despite this, the custodians tried to bodily carry the two officers out of their detention cell but they and their co-accused resisted, she said.

Mrs. Querubin said her husband, a recipient of the Medal for Valor, the highest military award, asked his custodians to just give him "some dignity and respect."

"Despite that Col. Arnulfo Marcos wants to forcibly carry them. Ariel was in his bed because he was dizzy. Still, Marcos insisted he bring Ariel because his career will be affected. He gave orders to his men to carry them (Querubin and De Leon)," said Mrs. Querubin.

"Ariel was woken up while he was having his chills at 5:30 a.m. He had been diagnosed to have UTI and bronchitis. He has plenty of medication but his fever is off and on. Then you will be forced to attend a hearing? He was feeling dizzy so he had to lie down," she added.

She quoted Marcos as saying Querubin could travel because he would be accompanied by a doctor.

She said De Leon suffered bruises as he resisted.

In the process, Marcos’ blood pressure shot up and he "fell on top of Jojo de Leon."

Mrs. Querubin said the other custodians did not know what to do as Querubin’s co-accused told them not to touch the officer while Marcos was shouting "I’m your boss."

She said her husband also shouted as he told the soldiers, "We’re going to have fistfight here if you are going to force me…I have a right to life."

She said the coaster, the ambulance, and a V-130 armored personnel carrier that were to transport the officers to Camp Aguinaldo left Camp Capinpin past 11 a.m. when the court reset the hearing.

Before the proceedings, defense and prosecution lawyers met and agreed to expedite the proceedings.

Defense lawyer Vicente Verdadero told the court about the agreement when the proceedings opened at 10:30 a.m.

The court gave the defense and the prosecution until February 6 to submit their proposal and counter-proposal and set the next hearing for February 7.

Shortly after the proceedings began, a defense lawyer read a statement of the accused who demanded to be "treated fairly and decently." The accused said it is their constitutional right to be accorded due process.

"Yet, we have not been accorded that right. We have been repeatedly condemned and publicly adjudged guilty by the convening authority, the chief of staff (Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr.), even before formal charges were filed," they said.

"This is the same officer who caused the filing of the charges against us, the same officer who will review the findings of the court martial before whom we now stand," the officers also said, referring to the AFP chief.

Artuz said they are going to discuss contentious issues like the exercise of peremptory challenge by some of the accused, which was waived by the court.