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02 AUGUST 2003 |
| Statement of Secretary Roilo Golez |
Ambassador Roy Cimatu has submitted a report to the President on the Oakwood incident indicating the following: 1, The Magdalo group would be moved back to barracks, i.e., they would be moved back from Makati to Fort Bonifacio barracks for processing. 2. From Fort Bonifacio, they would be returned to their respective service units under the custody of the major service commanders, i.e., Commanding General of the Philippine Army, Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force and Flag Officer in Command of the Philippine Navy. 3. All are covered by the Articles of War. 4. Core group will face all consequences. 5. The demands of Magdalo will be endorsed to the President and followed up. |
| President's radio address to the nation |
Magandang araw sa inyong lahat. Noong nakaraang linggo, ginambala tayo ng isang pag-aalsa ng ilang mga sundalo. Mabuti na lamang at napigil natin kaagad sa mapayapang paraan ang pag-aalsang ito at hindi na naka-apekto sa mga positibong kaganapan sa ating ekonomiya at seguridad. The state of rebellion will continue until we wrap up the residual threats. This must not be a cause for undue alarm, but we do not want our people to develop a false sense of complacency. We will keep the state of rebellion as a mantle of protection for our people as they go on with their day-to-day activities. Normalization has set in and must not be disturbed, but the need for vigilance continues. Totoo na ang problemang ito ay hindi pa tapos, pero kontrolado natin ito at reresolbahin sa lalong madaling panahon. Ginagawa natin ang lahat – administratively, operationally and politically – para hindi matuloy ang anumang hindi magandang balakin kaugnay ng problemang ito. Intelligence has its ears on the ground and monitoring developments closely. We have the assurances of political leaders, from Congress to the local governments, of the unswerving will to protect and preserve the Constitution. We will rapidly consolidate our gains as the independent fact-finding commission begins its work and the military and civilian judicial processes get on track. Ang krisis sa Makati ay naresolba sa loob lamang ng isang araw. Ito ay dahil nanatiling matatag ang ating mga demokratikong institution. Ang moral ng mamamayan ay mataas. Malakas ang kanilang tiwala sa demokrasya. Pinagmamalaki nila ang pagiging Pilipino. Sa kabila ng pangyayaring ito, ang ating political stability at seguridad ay nananatiling matatag. Naibalik natin kaagad ang normal na takbo ng pamahalaan at negosyo. Our economic fundamentals, undented, remain sound and stable for the long pull. Tuloy ngayong linggong ito ang miting ng Asean finance chiefs dito sa atin. Ang sabi naman ng pinagpipitagang Asian Development Bank, the impact of the failed coup will be minimal. The Armed Forces is fully united and staying the course of reform and modernization. I admire our soldiers all over the land for their loyalty, professionalism and patriotism. I empathize with their difficulties especially in the field and I have been doing all I can to make life better for their families. Our people are grateful for your sacrifices. Nananatiling matatag ang aking tiwala sa ating sandatahang lakas, at lubos ang aking paniniwala na kaya nilang resolbahin ang anumang hindi pagkakaunawaan sa kanilang samahan. Ang mga nag-alsa ay sasailalim sa court martial at tatanggap ng karampantang kaparusahan. Ako ay nahahabag sa kanila – sila ay mga batang sundalo na nalinlang ng maling paniniwala, ngunit kailangan nilang harapin ang bunga ng kanilang ginawa. We’ll punish the plotters, but we shall also look deeply into their grievances and charges, and punish those in the higher echelons who are shown to be responsible and accountable. There will be no whitewash or cover-up. I also welcome the respective inquiries of the Senate and the House of Representatives on this incident. Hindi natin matatapos ang problema kung hindi natin mareresolba ang tunay na mga dahilan nito. Kailangang kumprehensibo ang ating approach dito. Ang sinuman ay may karapatang maglahad ng kanilang paniniwala at saloobin, bastat ang pamamaraan ay naa-ayon sa ating Saligang Batas. Tapos na ang coup kaya, muli nating harapin ang ating mga prayoridad- ang ating laban kontra kahirapan, korupsyon, terorismo at ilegal na droga – at sa pagsasakatuparan ng ating mga inisyatibo sa larangan ng paglikha ng mga trabaho, pagkain, tahanan, edukasyon, at seguridad. Hindi aksidente lamang ang ating mga napagtagumpayan sa iba’t-ibang larangan. Ito ay dahil sa sipag at tiyaga ng mamamayan at ng ating pamahalaan. At hindi tayo titigil – kahit sa harap ng mga pagbabanta sa ating pambansang katatagan. Ang korupsyon na nilikha ng ilegal na droga ay malalim, apektado maging ang ating justice system at law enforcement. At ang tunay na nagdurusa ay ang ating taong bayan, kaya nga hindi tayo titigil hanggat hindi nabubura ang perhuwesyong ito sa ating paligid. At sa takbo ng ating pangyayari, mapagtatagumpayan natin ito. Katunayan sa loob lamang ng limang linggo ay nakakumpiska tayo ng may mahigit walong bilyong pisong halaga ng ilegal na droga. Noong lamang Lunes ay may nakumpiska tayong 358 kilos ng ilegal na gamot sa isang shabu laboratory sa Parañaque. Bago ito ay may nadiskubre tayong dalawang shabu laboratories sa mga bayan ng Silang at Tanza sa Cavite. Tatlong suspected drug lords ang mga nahuli dito. Ang pag-aalsa noong linggo ay nakagambala sa atin, pero panandalian lamang. At tulad ng mga nakaraang mga pagsubok sa ating pambansang katatagan nakaukit sa ating kasaysayan, muli tayong mangingibabaw at patuloy na haharapin ang ano mang hamon na darating pa sa atin. We must put a final stop to military adventurism, or our nation will be forever mired in the quicksand of instability and stagnation. We must close ranks behind the Constitution and the law. I need you in the valiant fight for justice and democracy. Maraming salamat. |
| GMA names Makati rebels' PMA classmate as 7th member of fact-finding commission |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today named a classmate of the Makati renegades as the seventh member of the fact-finding commission tasked to look into the roots of the Sunday rebellion and the provocations that inspired it. In a ceremony this morning at the Study Room, the President swore in Capt. Roland Narciso, a member of the Philippine Military Academy "Marilag" Class of 1995, as the seventh member of the commission chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Florentino Feliciano. Among the members of the Marilag Class who participated in the Sunday rebellion were Navy Lt. Senior Grade (equivalent of captain in the other armed services) Antonio Trillanes IV who was reputed to be the leader of the Makati renegades; Navy Lt. Senior Grade James Layug; and Army Captains Gerardo Gambala, Laurence Louis Somera, Milo Maestrecampo and Albert Baloloy. Captain Narciso, 30, quit the Philippine Air Force three years ago to join Philippine Airlines as a commercial pilot. He is married to Maria Carilla who witnessed the oath taking. Carrots, as the wife is fondly called, is four months pregnant with their second child. Their first child, a girl, is now 4 years old. President Arroyo thanked Captain Narciso for readily accepting his designation as a member of the fact-finding commission. After the oath-taking rites, which was also witnessed by First Gentleman Atty. Jose Migue Arroyo and Press Secretary Milton Alingod, the President invited Narciso and his wife to join her for the First Saturday Mass at the Malacanang Chapel and then breakfast. Narciso was in San Francisco, California after a flight from Manila when he learned of the Makati rebellion from his wife who telephoned him to inform him of developments at home. Narciso flies the Manila-San Francisco-Los Angeles routes of PAL. The President earlier named the other six members of the fact- finding panel which includes retired Justices Feliciano and Minerva Gonzaga-Reyes, University of the Philippines professor Carolina Hernandez, Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J., retired Commodore Rex C. Robles and Captain Rex Banjo Q. Bumanlag as members. |
| GMA says nation now back to normal but asks people to continue to safeguard democracy |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today asked the people to close ranks behind the Constitution and the country’s laws to prevent a repetition of the July 27 siege in Makati City even as she assured that the nation is now back to normal. "I need you in the valiant fight for justice and democracy," the President said in her weekly radio message this morning. The President said that we must put a "final stop" to military adventurism, "or our nation will forever be mired in the quicksand of instability and stagnation." She said that the plotters of the failed mutiny will have to face court-martial and be meted the necessary punishment that they deserve. According to the President, she pitied the young officers who were driven by wrong perceptions but they have to face the consequences of their wrongdoings. The President said that her administration will punish not only the plotters but those in the higher echelons of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) who are found to be accountable for the grievances aired by the young mutineers. "There will be no whitewash or cover-up," the President said, adding that she welcomed the inquiries being undertaken by both houses of Congress on the incident. She said that the problem would not be solved unless their roots are uprooted and this would need a comprehensive approach. Now that the coup is over, the President said, it is time to confront the priorities that her administration has set to accomplish, like the fight against poverty, against corruption, against terrorism and illegal drugs, and the realization of her objectives of providing jobs, food, shelter, education and security, to the Filipino people. The President also said that despite short-lived military adventurism, the political and economic situation, has remained stable. "Our economic fundamentals, undented, remain sound and stable for the long pull," the President said, adding that the scheduled meeting next week in Manila of the finance ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will push through. The President quoted the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as saying that "the impact of the failed coup will be minimal." |
| Fact-finding body member favors end to congressional probe on Makati siege |
A member of the presidential fact-finding commission tasked to look into the circumstances behind the July 27 mutiny, including the grievances aired by the young military officers, today said that she is in favor of the suggestion by some sectors that the congressional inquiries on the incident be stopped. In a radio interview, Professor Carolina Hernandez of the University of the Philippines said that the Congress should instead support the investigation to be conducted by the commission headed by former Supreme Court Justice Florentino Feliciano. Hernandez, who was also a member of the Davide Commission that looked into the series of failed coups during the administration of President Corazon Aquino, said it is also unfair for some people to say that the Feliciano commission might be influenced by the investigations in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Those who are saying this, Hernandez said, should first look at the integrity and the qualifications of the members of the fact-finding commission before making any statements. "May integridad naman kami. Hindi kami maiimpluwensiyahan ng iba (We have integrity. We cannot be influenced by others)," Hernandez said. Hernandez, who was interviewed while on a trip to Australia, said that in all her professional life, she has always been guided by principles, adding that she would not hesitate to do what is right no matter who gets hurt. She also said that from her experience in the Davide Commission, they have found that there are legitimate grievances in the military service, including graft and corruption. These cannot be denied but the manner in which these grievances should be addressed must be within constitutional and legal means, Hernandez said. Also this morning, the President swore in Captain Roland Narciso, now a Philippine Airlines pilot, as the seventh member of the Feliciano Commission. Narciso, a member of the Philippine Military Academy "Marilag Class" of l995, is a classmate of renegade Navy Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV, reportedly the leader of the Makati mutineers. The other members of the Feliciano Commission are retired Justice Minerva Gonzaga-Reyes, Fr. Joaquin Bernas, retired Commodore Rex C. Robles and Captain Rex Banjo Bumanlag. |
