Palace promised jobs to Magdalo rebels

President Benigno Aquino III has promised not only amnesty but government jobs for the Magdalo mutineers, an official said Wednesday.

Mr. Aquino met with the representatives of the Magdalo group in a closed-door meeting in Malacañang on Oct. 4 to discuss the conditions for their pardon, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

“They discussed the conditions of the amnesty,” he said.

“The President informed them that these are the contents of my amnesty proclamation and if you will agree, these are my conditions. The soldiers also raised their concerns and they had a meeting of the minds,”

Lacierda said the officers may no longer go back to the service. The soldiers agreed but they also wanted to serve the government if they were amnestied.

“The President said you are very qualified and we’ll see in what manner can you be given a job in a civilian capacity,” he said.

Mr. Aquino’s amnesty, announced on Tuesday, covers those who participated in the Oakwood mutiny in July 2003, the February 2006 Marine stand-off, and the November 2007 Manila Peninsula siege.

Proclamation 50 allows only the enlisted personnel and not officers to be reintegrated into the Armed Forces, though it restores all the civil and political rights of the Magdalo mutineers that were suspended because of their pending criminal cases.

Among the more well-known officers who participated in the three power grab attempts are detained Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, former Army Scout Rangers commander Danilo Lim, and retired Marine Col. Ariel Querubin.

Trillanes was a party mate of Mr. Aquino during the 2007 senatorial polls, while Lim and Querubin ran and lost during the May 10 senatorial race. Faeldon, who had been in hiding for more than two years after the Manila Peninsula takeover, surrendered in July days after Mr. Aquino took office.

Lacierda admitted that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima was not consulted in the drafting of the amnesty proclamation that erased all the criminal liabilities of some 300 soldiers who participated in three power grab attempts against the past administration.

“Secretary De lima was supposed to be informed, but unfortunately she was a bit busy on the report of the [Incident Investigation and Review Committee that looked into the hostage-taking fiasco on Aug. 23 in Manila, which resulted in the killing of eight Hong Kong tourists],’’ Lacierda said.

“So it is true that she was not consulted on that, but there were other consultations made with the other lawyers in the legal team and with the concerned agencies such as the Department of National Defense.”

Despite the frustration expressed by government prosecutors over the President’s amnesty proclamation, which came at a time when a final decision on the cases was coming, Lacierda maintained that the mutineers had shown remorse and had suffered enough despite not pleading guilty to the rebellion and coup d’etat charges.

“From a purely legal point of view, amnesty is an act of grace from the President,” he said.

“When you are asking for admission of guilt, that means that is more in the nature of a pardon because pardon can only be given after final judgment.”

In his proclamation, Mr. Aquino cited the “clamor from certain sectors of society” urging amnesty for the military adventurists.

Lacierda had earlier denied the amnesty proclamation was issued to spite former President Gloria Arroyo, who survived all three coup attempts during her nine-year stay.

“The move was made in light of this administration’s policy of reconciliation,” he said.

Jouce Pangco Panares, Manila Standard Today