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Manila: A Philippine military court dismissed from service on Thursday 11 junior officers linked to a 2003 mutiny that called for the overthrow of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
They pleaded guilty to the charge of "conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman," but still face a more serious allegation in a civil court of plotting a coup
d'etat along with 11 co-defendants.
Nine other soldiers were convicted by the same civil court of planning to overthrow the government in April and sentenced to 40 years in prison, but Arroyo pardoned them a month later.
About 300 officers and troops occupied a hotel and an adjacent shopping mall in the Makati financial district and rigged the area with bombs on July 27, 2003. They demanded that Arroyo and other officials resign for alleged corruption, but surrendered after a 19-hour standoff.
Only six of the original mutineers remain under military trial. Charges against others have been dismissed or lowered in a plea bargain.
Among those still in military detention was former navy Lt. Antonio Trillanes, who won a Senate seat in 2007. Another prominent mutineer, marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, escaped in November when he, Trillanes and others walked out of their trial and occupied another five-star hotel.
Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Legaspi, the military court's president, said the verdict will become final once Arroyo approves it. It wasn't clear when that will happen.
One of those dismissed, marine Capt. Gary Alejano, said the sentence was expected and meant one less legal problem for him and the others. "We are facing the consequences of our actions," he said.
The 2003 coup attempt was one of Arroyo's most serious challenges since she took power in a 2001 uprising that ousted her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, on charges of corruption.
Arroyo, who has used her power to grant pardons to reach out to her adversaries, has survived four attempted power grabs and three opposition impeachment attempts.
Ten of the dismissed officers, including Alejano, face a separate rebellion case in a civilian court for the Nov. 29, 2007, takeover of The Peninsula hotel.
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