Detained marine cries persecution

From the Manila Standard Today (Dec 3): Detained marine cries persecution

A RETIRED colonel who has been restricted to quarters since July 2011 for criticizing the administration of President Benigno Aquino III on Sunday questioned his continued detention and accused the military brass of persecution. “What is my status? Am I a prisoner of war, a political prisoner or what?” said retired Col. Generoso Mariano, who was arrested on July 15, 2011, three days shy of his retirement, for the remarks that were captured on video and posted on the Internet.

When he was restricted to quarters, he was not apprised of his rights, Mariano said. Visits by relatives and friends were disallowed, and he needed approval from the officers in charge even to go to church to hear Mass. Mariano also accused outgoing Flag-Officer-in-Command Vice Admiral Alexander Pama of prolonging his court martial, and seeking to evict him and his family from their home inside Marine headquarters. He said they want to move him —without his family—to a small room in another building. Mariano was adjudged best commander of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 9 in 2006 and 2009, but he was also among the officers sent to military prison for leading the bloody 1989 coup attempt against the President’s mother, then President Corazon Aquino. A spokesman for Pama, Col. Omar Tonsay, declined to comment on Mariano’s claims.

The former colonel’s recent problems began when an unknown party uploaded onto YouTube a video of Mariano criticizing President Aquino hours before he was to arrive at Armed Forces headquarters for his fourth command conference. The video was dated July 3, 2011, but Mariano said the video was taken by a group that invited him as speaker in an “academic forum” on June 24, 2011, at Club Filipino. Mariano’s friend, retired Col. Ariel Querubin, said the Solidarity for Sovereignty (S4) could be responsible for recording the video and uploading it....

.....Mariano’s counsel, Fernando Perito, said they are preparing to file a petition before the Court of Appeals to seek a temporary restraining order against the military court. Mariano’s retirement benefits remain on hold pending the trial by the military court.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2012/12/03/detained-marine-cries-persecution/