|
Manila: A regional trial court in Makati City sentenced two top ranking soldiers to life imprisonment for their role in a failed coup attempt against President Gloria Arroyo in 2003, while seven other young officers got six to 12 years for the same offence.
Army Captains Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrocampo bowed their heads and did not show anger when Judge Oscar Pimentel handed down their sentence of 20 to 40 years.
"There is a chance that they could get presidential clemency," explained lawyer Trixie Angeles, adding the accused did not offer a plea bargain when they admitted last April 3, their guilt for leading some 300 young soldiers to take over the posh Oakwood Hotel in Makati City's Ayala Avenue in July 2003.
The same judge also sentenced Captains Alvin Ebreo, Laurence Louis Somera, Albert Baloloy and John Andres; 1st Lieutenants Florentino Somera and Cleo Dongga, and 2nd Lieutenant Kristoffer Bryan Yasay to six to 12 years in jail.
No return
The soldiers were handcuffed to their escorts during the promulgation of the court decision. Some 100 soldiers guarded the court and nearby streets when the accused arrived on board a military truck.
All of them could not return to their work as soldiers, explained military public information officer Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro.
He denied allegations that Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon had brokered the plea-bargain agreement with the accused soldiers.
Courage
"What is admirable is their courage to accept that they committed something wrong and that they are willing to face the consequences of their wrong actions," said Bacarro.
In 2004, Gambala and Maestrecampo read a statement of apology to Arroyo for the failed mutiny. In 2003, the mutineers had demanded the resignation of Arroyo and the defence and military leaders over allegations of corruption.
|
