BY VICTOR REYES

A SUPPOSED surveillance TV camera was found to have been installed in a room in Camp Aguinaldo where a military general court martial is trying 28 Marines and Army officers implicated in the alleged power grab attempt in February 2006.

The court’s president, Maj. Gen. Jogy Leo Fojas, had the camera dismantled shortly after Vicente Caoile, lawyer of accused Marine Col. Armando Bañez, informed the court of the camera pointed at the table of the defense panel.

Caoile said the camera, positioned at the top of a window and hidden behind a Christmas decor, could prejudice the defense strategy.

Caoile said if the camera was being used to record the proceedings and record conversations of defense lawyers, it was a violation of the anti-wiretapping law and of the Human Security Act that prohibits the recording of conversation of lawyers.

"It is a violation of our rights," said lawyer Alex Avisado who is representing Army Captains Joey Fontiveros and Isagani Christie.

The camera was later removed by military personnel supervising security in the court house.

Before the dismantling of the cameras, Fojas said: "We are not aware that surveillance cameras are installed. We have not directed anyone to install surveillance cameras. The court directs whoever installed it to remove it immediately."

The camera was scrutinized by defense lawyers before it was finally turned over to the military. The members of the military tribunal or the prosecution panel did not bother to check the equipment.

Capt. Edgardo Abad, acting court spokesman, said the closed-circuit TV camera was installed for security purposes and long before court martial proceedings were transferred to Camp Aguinaldo from Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal. "It’s a CCTV camera pointed at the main entrance of the pavilion."

The court tried to arraign the 28 accused officers but questions were raised about "defects" on the charge sheet that accused the officers of involvement in the alleged attempt to grab power in February 2006.

At around 7 p.m., the prosecution told the court it had amended the charge sheet but the court reset the proceedings to February 19. Court personnel tried to read the defective charge sheet on accused former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda at least thrice since the proceedings started around 10 a.m. but defense lawyers interrupted them by making motions or manifestations.

The court ordered the amendment on the motion of prosecution lawyers who noted "defects" in the charge sheet that charged the officers with attempting to begin to create and "caused" a mutiny.

Lawyer Teddy Rigoroso said his client, Maj. Francisco Fernandez, was willing to be arraigned but is not going to enter a plea based on a vague charge sheet, noting the charges discussed a crime that has been contradictiorily described as "attempted" and "consummated."

Other defense lawyers supported Rigoroso’s motion, saying it would be useless to arraign the accused based on a defective arraignment. "If there is a defective charge sheet and defective arraignment, there is no arraignment," said Trixie Angeles, counsel of accused Capt. Ruben Guinolbay.