Esperon’s message was delivered two weeks ago by Maj. Dennis Eclarin to the junior Scout Ranger officers detained in Camp Capinpin.

A member of the Army’s elite Scout Rangers, Eclarin ( West Point ’84), widely written for his microfinancing initiative, told the detainees that the outgoing chief of staff is offering them (junior officers) liberty in exchange for a commitment that they won’t retaliate against him.

Eclarin, who is known to be close to Esperon, told the detained officers that in his conversations with the chief of staff, it was discussed that it’s wrong to look at the case of the 28 officers as one, single offense. "Why don’t you look at each case individually," he reportedly suggested to Esperon. He added that retired Gen. Jose Almonte, national security adviser during the Ramos administration, shares his view.

He is purposely focusing his efforts on the junior officers not only because he is close to some of them but also he knows that he won’t get first base with the senior officers.

It’s obvious that Eclarin’s mission is part of a divide-and-rule objective that Esperon has been trying achieve with the 28 officers whom he has charged with mutiny for allegedly planning to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo in February 2006 following the "Hello Garci" exposé that revealed how she and Comelec Commissioner manipulated the results of the 2004 elections in her favor.

Actually Eclarin is not the first emissary that Esperon has sent to the detained officers. One of those he sent earlier was his administrative officer, Maj. Cristobal JP "Tiny" Perez.

Perez started the "negotiations" in March during his casual visits at the ISAFP compound in Camp Aguinaldo where the officers were confined. The initial offer was for the officers to plead guilty to the minor charge of "conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman" in exchange for the dropping of the charge of mutiny. Punishment for "conduct unbecoming…" is dismissal from service while for mutiny it is life imprisonment.

The officers found the offer preposterous because the charge of "conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman" as well as other minor charges are considered dropped when no arraignment took place within two years since the commission of the alleged offense.

The second offer was that the 22 officers would be released but the six would have to remain in detention and face trial. The six are Miranda, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, Col Ariel Querubin, Col. Orlando de Leon, Major Jason Aquino, and Capt. Dante Langkit.

Both offers were rejected outright.

At the April 3 hearing, military defense lawyer Lt. Col. Basilio Pooten entered an urgent manifestation for nolle prosequi citing the recommendation in the pre-trial investigation report that the charge of mutiny be dismissed for "lack of legal and factual basis."

Nolle prosequi (Latin for we shall no longer prosecute) is a declaration of record by the prosecution to the effect that by direction of the appointing authority the prosecution withdraws a certain specification, or a certain specification and charge, and will not pursue the same further at the present trial.

A "nolle prosequi" will be entered only when directed by the appointing authority, who may give such direction on his own initiative or on application duly made to him.

The prosecution team headed by the trial judge advocate, Lt. Col. Feliciano Loy, said they would review the cases and make a recommendation to Esperon.

After that hearing, Perez was talking about a nolle prosequi for the junior officers namely Captains James Sababan, Montano Almodovar, Joey Fontiveros, Ruben Guinolbay, Isagani Criste, William Upano, and Dante Langkit, and 1Lts. Ervin Divinagracia, Jacon Cordero and Belinda Ferrer.

That was also the time when Eclarin entered the picture, reinforcing what Perez had started.

The junior officers consulted with the seniors and they all agreed that their liberty should be based on merit, as recommended by the team that investigated the incident, and not on what Perez and Eclarin are selling as the "kindness" of Esperon.

Eclarin’s latest message reveals that despite Esperon’s brash dismissal of allegations of his participation in the 2004 electoral fraud, the curse of "Hello Garci" continues to haunt him.

At the resumption of the hearing last April 25 (which was adjourned for lack of quorum) Gen. Miranda’s lawyer, Atty. Rolando Cipriano asked Colonel Loy for a feedback on Pooten’s manifestation of nolle prosequi.

On condition that it would not be recorded in the minutes of the trial, Loy reported that the prosecution agreed not to make a recommendation to Esperon because a review of the case showed that all the accused participated in the mutiny. However, Loy said, "in the course of trial, if we can’t establish the participation of anyone of the accused officers, we will not hesitate to file a nolle prosequi." Furthermore, he said that they have "lots of witnesses who have not yet executed affidavits."

That’s absurd. If after two years, those witnesses have not executed affidavits, what’s their incentive for executing them now?

It’s difficult to believe that the prosecution team, on their own, decided against a nolle prosequi without conferring with Esperon. What’s more believable is that they discussed the matter with Esperon and the chief of staff disapproved it. Is it because Esperon is still waiting for a solid assurance of non-reprisal from the junior officers, who will be future military leaders?

Someone should tell the outgoing chief of staff that in a just society that could only happen without Gloria Arroyo, the only assurance that he won’t end up where the detainees are is by doing what is right.

He should also be reminded of the divine lesson that whatever wrong one has done in life, there is always an opportunity to rectify and to do good. He has four days left to do that.