Court martial proceedings will start soon against officers behind a failed mutiny in the Philippines last month as the government undertakes reforms to clean up the military, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said yesterday.
She said her government will attack the root causes of adventurism and disenchantment in the military by taking measures such as reforming military procurement and conducting lifestyle checks to stamp out corruption.
PHOTO: AP
"We will mop up the virus of destabilization in the armed forces, not by witch hunting, but by the force of justice and reforms," Arroyo said in a statement. "The court martial is about to start in tandem with civilian court proceedings against the leaders of the conspiracy."
Six junior officers who led more than 300 soldiers and officers in occupying a posh apartment building and shopping complex in Manila's Makati financial district on July 27 appeared before the Court of Appeals yesterday for a hearing.
They wore white shirts instead of their military uniforms, which they've worn at hearings with the Senate and an independent commission.
The mutineers had demanded that Arroyo, the defense secretary and other officials resign, and accused military officials of corruption and ordering soldiers to bomb Muslim mosques.
They surrendered after a 19-hour standoff that officials said was part of a bigger conspiracy to topple the government.
During the hearing, the mutineers' lawyer Homobono Adaza complained he and other lawyers did not have free access to their clients, and asked the court to transfer them to another jail.
The officers, held in a maximum security jail within the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces building, were allegedly being subjected to harsh conditions, he said.
He said they were detained in cells with wood planks covering the windows, and that letters for them have been opened and read by their guards. He added conversations between the mutineers and their lawyers were being monitored.
Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes, one of the mutiny leaders, complained that his family, including his pregnant wife, were facing difficulties because of his detention.
"They are dragging our families into the case," he said without elaborating. "You don't need to step on people if they are already down."
But, he added: "We have learned to accept our fate."
Major General Pedro Cabuay, the military's deputy chief of staff for intelligence, denied during the hearing that the officers' rights were being curtailed.
He said the windows were boarded up temporarily because they did not have bulletproof glass.
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